1995 ARL season

The 1995 ARL premiership was the 88th season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the first to be run by the Australian Rugby League following the hand-over of the Premiership's administration by the New South Wales Rugby League. For the first time since the 1988 NSWRL season, the Premiership expanded again, and for the first time ever outside the borders of New South Wales and Queensland, with the addition of four new clubs[1] from North Queensland, Western Australia, South Queensland and Auckland. This saw a total of twenty teams, the largest number in the League's history, compete during the regular season for the J J Giltinan Shield, which was followed by a series of play-off finals between the top eight teams that culminated in a grand final for the Winfield Cup between the newly re-branded Sydney Bulldogs and the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.

1995 Australian Rugby League
Teams20
Premiers Sydney Bulldogs (7th title)
Minor premiers Manly-Warringah (7th title)
Matches played229
Points scored5,370
Attendance3,352,927
Top points scorer(s) Matthew Ridge (257)
Player of the year Paul Green (Rothmans Medal)
Top try-scorer(s) Steve Menzies (22)

The 1995 season also saw the first major consequences of the Super League war, with the ARL's refusal to select players from the eight clubs (which included every club that had won the premiership since 1988) for State of Origin or Test matches, including the 1995 Rugby League World Cup, who had aligned with News Ltd's proposed Super League.

Season summary

1995 would prove to be a year of massive change for the League. In addition to the introduction of four new teams, it was the last year of the premiership's association with Rothmans and the Winfield brand and consequently the final year that clubs competed for the Winfield Cup.

The storm clouds that had been gathering for some time in the form of rumours and speculation about Super League were to break on 1 April 1995 with a verification that would rain on the game with more force than anyone could have expected. The subsequent Super League war would rock the sport in Australia and set it back almost a decade in terms of its loss of public support and damage to its grass roots values.

The 1995 season was played in front of a background of legal actions, breaking friendships and with clubs, players and managers all jockeying for position and self-interest. Players who had signed with the new Super League venture were forbidden by the ARL from participating in the 1995 State of Origin. Queensland and New South Wales selectors were limited to selecting players only from ARL-aligned clubs.

The usual twenty-two regular season rounds were played from March till August. However the large number of teams meant a resulting top eight would battle it out in the finals rather than the usual five. These were Manly, Canberra, Brisbane, Cronulla, Newcastle, Sydney Bulldogs, St. George and North Sydney (who made it in due to Auckland being penalised for an interchange infringement). Cronulla-Sutherland's halfback Paul Green was awarded the 1995 Rothmans Medal. The Dally M Award was given to Canberra's five-eighth, Laurie Daley who was also named Rugby League Week's player of the year. Manly-Warringah's Steve Menzies became the first forward for 50 years to top the season's try-scoring list, while his teammate Matthew Ridge set a club point scoring record of 257 points (11 tries, 106 goals and 1 field goal) to be the league's leading point scorer for the year.

By the end of the regular season, the ARL's inaugural 20-team competition had set a new record for aggregate match attendances of 3,061,338.[2]

Advertising

1995 marked the final year of the New South Wales Rugby League's sponsorship arrangement with Rothmans and Winfield due to the Federal Government's blanket ban on cigarette advertising in Australia effective from 1 January 1996. It was consequently the final year of a seven-year association with Tina Turner and the end of an era in Australian sports marketing.

With a lock-up-your-daughters, kick-off your suspenders, red-blooded Tina Turner marketing blitz, the ARL had stuck it right up the other footy codes.

Ray Martin, 1999[3]

As in 1994 the New South Wales Rugby League and its advertising agency Hertz Walpole returned to the original 1989 recording of The Best by Turner to underscore the season launch advertisement. Footage from the studio bluescreen shoot taken during Turner's 1993 Sydney visit was used in the final advertisements. The enduring images are of Turner performing the song on an elevated stage in front of the fluttering banners of the 20 clubs that would participate in 1995's expanded competition.

Teams

When the Australian Rugby League began taking bids for additional teams to begin playing in 1995, it was expected that only two teams would enter. The Auckland Warriors were the first club to be accepted, with the final place being fought for by South Queensland, North Queensland and Perth. The Australian Rugby League later announced that all three clubs had been accepted, taking the number of teams from 16 in 1994 to 20 in 1995, the highest it had ever been and would ever be.

With the addition of the Auckland Warriors, North Queensland Cowboys, South Queensland Crushers and Western Reds the 1995 season involved an unprecedented twenty clubs,[4] including five Sydney-based foundation teams, another six from Sydney, one from Newcastle, one from Wollongong two from Brisbane, one from Gold Coast, one from Townsville, one from Auckland, one from Canberra and one from Perth, who all contested the premiership, making it the largest competition in terms of participation in Australia's history.

We haven't brought these teams into the Winfield Cup just to see them dropped after one season

With the storm that would be the Super League war already brewing in the background, three clubs based in Sydney suburbs, in an effort to position themselves favourably as battle lines were being drawn up, re-branded themselves for the 1995 season with less geographically distinct names: the Balmain Tigers became the 'Sydney Tigers', the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs became the 'Sydney Bulldogs', and the Eastern Suburbs Roosters became the 'Sydney City Roosters'.

Auckland Warriors
1st season
Ground: Ericsson Stadium
Coach: John Monie
Captain: Dean Bell
Brisbane Broncos
8th season
Ground: ANZ Stadium
Coach: Wayne Bennett
Captain: Allan Langer
Canberra Raiders
14th season
Ground: Bruce Stadium
Coach: Tim Sheens
Captain: Ricky Stuart
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
29th season
Ground: Endeavour Park
Coach: John Lang
Captain: Andrew Ettinghausen
Gold Coast Seagulls
8th season
Ground: Seagulls Stadium
Coach: John Harvey
Captain: Craig Coleman
Illawarra Steelers
14th season
Ground: Wollongong Stadium
Coach: Graham MurrayAllan Fitzgibbon
Captain: John Cross
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
49th season
Ground: Brookvale Oval
Coach: Bob Fulton
Captain: Geoff Toovey
Newcastle Knights
8th season
Ground: Marathon Stadium
Coach: Malcolm "Mal" Reilly
Captain: Mark SargentPaul Harragon
North Queensland Cowboys
1st season
Ground: Stockland Stadium
Coach: Grant Bell
Captain: various
North Sydney Bears
88th season
Ground: North Sydney Oval
Coach: Peter Louis
Captain: Jason Taylor
Parramatta Eels
49th season
Ground: Parramatta Stadium
Coach: Ron Hilditch
Captain: Paul Dunn
Penrith Panthers
29th season
Ground: Penrith Stadium
Coach: Royce Simmons
Captain: John Cartwright
Sydney Bulldogs
61st season
Ground: Parramatta Stadium
Coach: Chris Anderson
Captain: Terry Lamb
Sydney City Roosters
88th season
Ground: Sydney Football Stadium
Coach: Phil Gould
Captain: Sean Garlick
Sydney Tigers
88th season
Ground: Parramatta Stadium
Coach: Wayne Pearce
Captain: Paul Sironen
South Queensland Crushers
1st season
Ground: Suncorp Stadium
Coach: Bill GardnerBob Lindner
Captain: Mario FenechTrevor Gillmeister
South Sydney Rabbitohs
88th season
Ground: Sydney Football Stadium
Coach: Ken Shine
Captain: Lee JacksonCraig Field
St. George Dragons
75th season
Ground: Kogarah Oval
Coach: Brian Smith
Captain: Mark Coyne
Western Reds
1st season
Ground: WACA Ground
Coach: Peter Mulholland
Captain: Brad Mackay
Western Suburbs Magpies
88th season
Ground: Campbelltown Stadium
Coach: Tommy Raudonikis
Captain: Paul Langmack

Ladder

Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 222002687248+43940
2 Canberra Raiders 222002634255+37940
3 Brisbane Broncos 221705600364+23634
4 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 221606516287+22932
5 Newcastle Knights 221507549396+15330
6 Sydney Bulldogs (P) 221408468352+11628
7 St. George Dragons 221309583382+20126
8 North Sydney Bears 221129542331+21124
9 Sydney City Roosters 2212010466406+6024
10 Auckland Warriors 221309544493+5124
11 Western Reds 2211011361549-18822
12 Illawarra Steelers 2210111519431+8821
13 Western Suburbs Magpies 2210012459534-7520
14 Penrith Panthers 229013481484-318
15 Sydney Tigers 227015309591-28214
16 South Queensland Crushers 226115303502-19913
17 Gold Coast Seagulls 224117350628-2789
18 South Sydney Rabbitohs 224117319686-3679
19 Parramatta Eels 223019310690-3806
20 North Queensland Cowboys 222020269660-3914
  • Auckland Warriors were stripped of 2 competition points due to exceeding the replacement limit in round 3.

Ladder progression

  • Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top 8.
  • Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished first on the ladder in that round.
  • Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished in last place on the ladder in that round
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
1 Manly-Warringah 2468101214161820222426283030323234363840
2 Canberra 2468101214161818202224262628303234363840
3 Brisbane 2468101214141618181820222222242628303234
4 Cronulla-Sutherland 0224688101212141616161820222426283032
5 Newcastle 2468101214161818202224242628282830303030
6 Sydney Bulldogs 2466888101012121414161820202224242628
7 St. George 00022244688810121214161820222426
8 North Sydney 2446688888101012141616161820222324
9 Sydney City 022446881012141414141416161820222224
10 Auckland 0000024668101012141618202222242424
11 Western Reds 224446688881010121414161818202222
12 Illawarra 02246677777999911131515171921
13 Western Suburbs 2224668101012141616181818202020202020
14 Penrith 2244444468101212141616161616161618
15 Sydney Tigers 224444666881012121212121212121414
16 South Queensland 00002235577799911111113131313
17 Gold Coast 0022244444446666888889
18 South Sydney 0000222244444468888899
19 Parramatta 0222222244666666666666
20 North Queensland 0000000222222244444444

Finals

A new finals system involving eight teams instead of the previous five was introduced for the expanded 1995 competition.[6] The final eight was to be made of four clubs who would ultimately prove loyal to the Australian Rugby League (Manly-Warringah, St. George, North Sydney and Newcastle) and four clubs who would join Super League's rebel ranks (Sydney Bulldogs, Canberra, Brisbane and Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks). The Grand Final was played out by a team from each faction, being the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and the Sydney Bulldogs.

Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Crowd
Quarter Finals
Newcastle Knights 20-10 North Sydney Bears 1 September 1995 Parramatta Stadium David Manson 14,174
Canberra Raiders 14-8 Brisbane Broncos 2 September 1995 Suncorp Stadium Kelvin Jeffes 40,187
Sydney Bulldogs 12-8 St. George Dragons 2 September 1995 Sydney Football Stadium Eddie Ward 26,835
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 24-20 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 3 September 1995 Sydney Football Stadium Paul McBlane 32,795
Semi Finals
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 18-19 Newcastle Knights 9 September 1995 Sydney Football Stadium Eddie Ward 26,061
Brisbane Broncos 10-24 Sydney Bulldogs 10 September 1995 Sydney Football Stadium David Manson 34,087
Preliminary Finals
Canberra Raiders 6-25 Sydney Bulldogs 16 September 1995 Sydney Football Stadium Eddie Ward 36,894
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 12-4 Newcastle Knights 17 September 1995 Sydney Football Stadium David Manson 38,874
Grand Final
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 4-17 Sydney Bulldogs 24 September 1995 Sydney Football Stadium Eddie Ward 41,127

Grand Final

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Position Sydney Bulldogs
Matthew RidgeFBRod Silva
Craig HancockWGJason Williams
Danny MooreCEJohn Timu
Terry HillCEMatthew Ryan
John HopoateWGDaryl Halligan
Cliff LyonsFETerry Lamb (c)
Geoff Toovey (c)HBCraig Polla-Mounter
David GillespiePRDarren Britt
Des HaslerHKJason Hetherington
Mark CarrollPRDean Pay
Steve MenziesSRSteve Price
Ian RobertsSRSimon Gillies
Nik KosefLKJim Dymock
Owen CunninghamRes.Jason Smith
Daniel GartnerRes.Glen Hughes
Solomon HaumonoRes.Mitch Newton
Bob FultonCoachChris Anderson

Having finished in sixth place at the end of the regular season, the Bulldogs managed a history-making finals surge, winning three sudden death matches to make the grand final. Canterbury were ahead at half-time 6-4. They lost the scrum count 3-5 and the penalty count 9-10. Manly's 22-3 season win/loss record was the best not to have secured the premiership.

At game's end Lamb enjoyed the rare honour of celebrating as a retiring victorious skipper, although he surprisingly returned for the 1996 season.

The performance of Eddie Ward, refereeing his first grand final, was subject to some post match controversy.[7][8][9] Rugby League Week commented: "Two of Canterbury's three tries appeared to have resulted from borderline passes, another came on the seventh tackle, and a fourth - which in fact was a fair try - was disallowed"[10]

Sydney Bulldogs 17 (Tries: Price, Hughes, Silva. Goals: Halligan 2/5. Field Goal: Lamb.)

Manly-Warringah 4 (Goals: Ridge 2/2.)

Clive Churchill Medallist: Jim Dymock[11]

Player statistics

The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 22.

See also

References

  1. Harms, John (2005). The Pearl: Steve Renouf's Story. Australia: University of Queensland Press. p. 167. ISBN 9780702235368.
  2. "Gallop salutes NRL's march forward - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Abc.net.au. 2009-09-02. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
  3. Ray Martin (1999-10-03). "Why my beloved Rabbitohs can't die". The Sun-Herald. Fairfax Digital. p. 69. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
  4. "History of the Premiership". centenaryofrugbyleague.com.au. Australian Rugby League. Archived from the original on 9 February 2008. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  5. Hadfield, Dave (1995-03-13). "Winfield plan threatened by revolt". The Independent. London: independent.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-12-08.
  6. "NRL Finals in the 1990s". sportal.com.au. Archived from the original on 6 December 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
  7. "6 Referee/Umpire Blunders « The Grandstand Sports Lists". Lists.thegrandstand.net. 2010-09-30. Archived from the original on 2012-04-02. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
  8. "Grand Final Dramas( No. 8)". The Sydney Morning Herald. 28 September 2009. Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  9. "Greatest gaffes by those in charge | Knockout Polls". Fox Sports. 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
  10. Rugby League Week, Vol. 26 No. 34, p. 20
  11. D'Souza, Miguel. "Grand Final History". wwos.ninemsn.com.au. AAP. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
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