| | | St George Dragons Rugby League History
Since
1921 - Our Proud History
1985-1989 |
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1985:
ST
GEORGE MINOR PREMIERS AND GRAND FINALISTS FOR 1985
Michael O'Connor |
Sydney
Cricket Ground, 29 September 1985: St George have been narrowly
beaten 7-6 by Canterbury in the 1985 Grand Final in front of 44,569
people.
Earlier in the year, St George and Canterbury played
a 10-all draw in round six at Belmore (21 April) and in round
19, St George had defeated Canterbury 16-6 at the Sydney Cricket
Ground (14 July).
Saints had
defeated Canterbury again in the major semi final 17-6 (15 September).
On Grand Final
day, Saints were favourites to win their 16th premiership. With
both the under 23s and reserve grade winning their Grand Finals,
it was up to the first graders to pull off the treble.
Canterbury scored first with a try to winger, Peter
Mortimer.
|
Season
snapshot
In 1985,
Saints were seeing a resurgence and were minor premiers
in all three grades with most players being local juniors.
|
Brother, Steve
Mortimer was instrumental in pinning St George down as the
halfback delivered a series of towering bombs onto St George fullback,
Glenn Burgess who never faltered.
But this effectively forced Saints into successive
line drop outs. The following year, the rule would be modified
to allow a 20-metre tap re-start should the defender catch the
ball on the full. Canterbury took full advantage of this flaw
in the rules of the day.
Canterbury
increased their lead to 7-nil following a field goal. Saints struck
back with
a try to Steve Morris which was converted
but Saints were unable to score again, Canterbury eventually winning
by the narrowest of margins.
HISTORY
SPOT
JEFF FENECH WINS WORLD TITLE
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STEELERS
WOODEN SPOONERS
WIN
Stadium, 1 September 1985: Needing to win their last
game of the year to avoid last place and the wooden spoon,
Illawarra have gone down to 18-16 to Parramatta in front of a
crowd of 8,243.
STEVE
LINNANE
'DALLY M' ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Steve
Linnane has won the end of season 'Dally M' Rookie
of the year for 1985. The young halfback was signed to
Saints just this year and was the season's top try scorer
with 16 tries. |
 SAINTS
SIGN RICKY WALFORD
In
1985, St George signed promising young winger, Ricky Walford.
Hailing from Walgett NSW, Ricky was an Australian Schoolboy
representative against NZ in 1981. He played for Easts (1982-83)
and Norths (1984) before finding a home at St George.
A speedy flankman, Walford is also an accurate goal kicker. |
1985
NSWRL
First Grade
Ladder
(top 5 in semis - playoff for 5th)
| St
George |
42 |
| Balmain |
40 |
| Canterbury
p |
38 |
| Parramatta |
36 |
| Penrith |
31 |
| Manly |
31 |
| Easts |
27 |
| Cronulla |
26 |
| Souths |
24 |
| Canberra |
22 |
| Norths |
17 |
| Wests |
16 |
| Illawarra |
14 |
p = Season Premiers
AFTER 26 ROUNDS
Minor Premiership
Won-Lost-Draw-Bye
Points For 470
(2nd best attack)
Points Against 264
(1st best defence)
|
|
MP Standing
1st
(13 teams)
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FINALS
Points For 23
Points Against 13
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Final Standing
2nd
|
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TOTALS
26 matches
|
|
Points For 493
75t 94g 5fg
Points Against 277
42t 53g 3fg
|
AFTER 26 ROUNDS
Minor Premiership
Won-Lost-Draw-Bye
Points For 303
(12th best attack)
49t 53g 1fg
Points Against 467
(10th best defence)
78t 76g 3fg
|
|
MP Standing
13th
(13 teams)
|
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1986:
St
George depart from Kogarah and miss out on semis
|
Season
snapshot
In 1986,
Saints
finished the season in 7th position, missing out
on a semi-final berth.
|
SCG,
31 August 1986: 8,387 were on hand to see St George and
Canberra played out an 18-all draw, effectively ending the Dragons'
season. Saints
fell short of a play off for fifth place by just one competition
point.
Saints
went to into an extraordinary slump in 1986 when, for the first
time in 50 years, all three grades missed out on the semi finals.
Many put this down to the decision to refurbish Kogarah Jubilee
Oval and the Dragons playing all their their 'home' games in
1986 at the Sydney Cricket Ground, effectively removing the
home ground advantage.
STEELERS
WOODEN SPOONERS AGAIN
Belmore
Oval, 1 September 1986: Illawarra have been defeated by Canterbury
8-2 in front of 10,013 people to place them firmly at the bottom
of the table for 1986. This the second year running that the Steelers
have finished last.
MICHAEL
O'CONNOR SIGNS WITH MANLY
Saints lost
one of their star players, Michael O'Connor who will be
playing with big spending Manly in 1987.
A former Wallaby international, 'Snoz' came to Saints
in 1983 from rugby union and played four seasons before departing
at the end of 1986, and shortly before leaving on a Kangaroo tour.
The superb centre played 71 games (plus seven replacements) for
the Dragons and scored 33 tries, 130 goals and nine field goals
for a total of 401 points.
O'Connor continued to thrill crowds in Australia and overseas
until his eventual retirement from Rugby League in 1992. O'Connor
posted a number of records for NSW and Australia.
STEVE
MORRIS SIGNS WITH EASTS
Halfback and
winger, 'Slippery' Steve Morris has finished up with St
George. Dally M' winger of the year in 1984 and 1987, Morris will
see out his final career years with Easts in 1987 and Leeds in
1987-1988.
HISTORY
SPOT
1987: PAT CASH WINS WIMBLEDON
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The last player
to represent Australia from the country, centre sensation Morris
hailed from
Dapto before joining Saints in 1979 as halfback. Coach Roy
Masters moved Morris to the wing in the mid-1980s where he
enjoyed enormous success.
'Slippery'
played for NSW in 1978, 1980, 1984 and 1986 and played one Test
for Australia in 1978. In all, Morris
played 174 games for St George scoring 102 tries (357 points).
|
1986
NSWRL
First Grade
Ladder
(top 5 in semis - playoff for 5th)
| Parramatta
p |
37 |
| Souths |
36 |
| Canterbury |
35 |
| Manly |
33 |
| Balmain |
30 |
| Norths |
30 |
| St
George |
29 |
| Penrith |
27 |
| Easts |
24 |
| Cronulla |
23 |
| Canberra |
21 |
| Wests |
21 |
| Illawarra |
18 |
p = Season Premiers
AFTER 26 ROUNDS
Minor Premiership
Won-Lost-Draw-Bye
Points For 360
(7th best attack)
57t 62g 8fg
Points Against 402
(9th best defence)
63t 72g 6fg
|
|
MP Standing
7th
(13 teams)
|
AFTER 26 ROUNDS
Minor Premiership
Won-Lost-Draw-Bye
Points For 310
(equal 12th best attack)
50t 55g 0fg
Points Against 372
(5th best defence)
56t 71g 6fg
|
|
MP Standing
12th
(13 teams)
|
|
1987:
EASTS
THRASH SAINTS, SAINTS THRASH WESTS
|
Season
snapshot
In 1987,
Saints had another ordinary season, failing to make the
semis for the second year running and finishing in
9th position.
|
SCG, 20
March 1987: Saints have suffered a humiliating defeat going
down to Easts by 44-2 in front of 11,831 people. Easts whitewashed
Saints eight tries to nil.
Campbelltown Stadium, 10 May 1987: Saints
have locked out Wests with a 34-0 thrashing in front of 6,490
people. Unfortunately,
STEVE LINNANE OUTED FOR 20 WEEKS
Saints' halfback Steve Linnane has been
suspended for 20 weeks by the judiciary after being found guilty
of eye gouging Penrith's Greg Alexander.
ROY MASTERS ENDS
COACHING STINT
At
the end of 1987, Roy Masters finished as coach of St George.
Masters coached Saints from 1982-87 and in that time took the
Dragons to the semi finals in 1983, a preliminary final in 1984
and minor premiers & grand finalists in 1985. Captain Craig
Young was short listed as his successor but an outsider is
more likely considering the current trend to have a non-playing
coach.
SAINTS
SIGN BRAD MACKAY
St
George have secured the services if young local junior, Brad
Mackay. The talented utility player equally at home at lock,
centre or five eighth.
ILLAWARRA
OUTCLASS CRONULLA
WIN
Stadium, 30 August 1987: The Steelers have outclassed Cronulla
24-4. Illawarra hammered their neighbours 4 tries to 1 in front
of a small crowd of 5,726.
Illawarra ended their season in 11th position,
four points clear of last placed Wests.
BRIAN SMITH DEPARTS AS COACH
Brian Smith has accepted an offer to coach Hull in England
and will not be coaching the Steelers in 1988. New coach will
be former Parramatta forward, Ron Hilditch.
'POPPA'
CLAY DIES
Brian
'Poppa' Clay passed away in September 1987 after a
long battle with heart disease. 'Poppa', so named because of his
bald pate, was widely regarded as one of the best and toughest
pivots to ever play for St George. Clay was a popular clubman
who represented Australia in the World Cup in 1957 and played
five Tests in 1959-60.
Best remembered for his role in eight Grand Final
wins, Clay's career stats include 200 grade games.
Brian Clay retired as a player in
1967. |
1987
NSWRL
First Grade
Ladder
(top 5 in semis)
| Manly
p |
41 |
| Easts |
35 |
| Canberra |
34 |
| Balmain |
33 |
| Souths |
31 |
| Canterbury |
30 |
| Parramatta |
28 |
| Cronulla |
27 |
| St
George |
26 |
| Norths |
26 |
| Illawarra |
20 |
| Penrith |
17 |
| Wests |
16 |
p = Season Premiers
AFTER 26 ROUNDS
Minor Premiership
Won-Lost-Draw-Bye
Points For 394
(5th best attack)
62t 68g 10fg
Points Against 409
(9th best defence)
65t 73g 3fg
|
|
MP Standing
9th
(13 teams)
|
AFTER 26 ROUNDS
Minor Premiership
Won-Lost-Draw-Bye
Points For 372
(8th best attack)
56t 72g 4fg
Points Against 449
(12th best defence)
74t 73g 7fg
|
|
MP Standing
11th
(13 teams)
|
|
1988:
SAINTS
STILL HOMELESS
In
1987, Saints had another ordinary
season, failing to make the semis for the second year running
and finishing in 9th position.
The slump, one of the worst in the history of St George,
coincides with the decision not to play at Kogarah due to
venue upgrades.
The
on-field woes continued into the latter part of the 1980s
whilst 'sharing' a home ground with Canterbury at Belmore.
Work on Kogarah Jubilee will not be finished before 1989.
 NEW
ST GEORGE COACH
Ted Glossop took over as coach of St George
in 1988 following the departure of Roy
Masters. |
|
THREE
NEW TEAMS FOR '88 COMP
1988 saw the inclusion of three new teams:
Newcastle, Gold Coast and Brisbane into what
used to be referred to as the Sydney premiership.
|
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|
Season
snapshot
In
1988, both St George (10th) and the Illawarra (13th)
failed to qualify for the NSWRL first grade semi-finals.
|
SAINTS
v EASTS AT ALL NEW SFS
Sydney
Football Stadium, 4 March 1988: Saints had an historic victory
over Easts at the first ever Rugby League game to be played
at the all new 40,000 capacity Sydney
Football Stadium.
Saints
won the night match under lights, 24-14 in front of 19,295
spectators.
ST GEORGE WIN THE 1988 PANASONIC MID WEEK CUP
Pic left: Craig Young & Paul Osborne
hold up the Panasonic Cup |
Parramatta
Stadium, 25 May 1988:
St George 16 have defeated Balmain 8 in Wednesday
night's Mid-week (Panasonic) Cup Final. Dragons lock Peter Gill
was named Player of the Series.
Endeavour
Field, 14 August 1988: St George have lost narrowly to minor
premiers, Cronulla 16-14 in front of 18,111 people. This was
Saints' last game of '88 and saw them finish 10th
in a 16 team comp.
ILLAWARRA
THRASH EASTS
Sydney
Football Stadium, 14 August 1988:
A crowd of
3459 saw Steelers hammer Easts 31-10 by scoring five tries
to two. However, Illawarra had an ordinary season and finished
13th.
CRAIG
YOUNG RETIRES
St
George captain, Craig 'Albert' Young has retired
from Rugby League. The big prop forward first came to notice
in 1972 in the undefeated Australian Schoolboys tour of England.
Craig was a first grade soccer player in the Illawarra competition.
He switched to
Rugby League and played for Corrimal before joining St
George in 1977 and was a star in Saints premiership victory
that year. In 1978 he played in all five Tests on the Kangaroo
tour and was named player of the tour.
HISTORY
SPOT
1988: SYDNEY CELEBRATES BICENTENARY
|
At just 22 years of age, Young captained St George to their
15th premiership in 1979. Young was a Kangaroo again in
1982 and 1984. He retires in 1988 but is expected to take up
the coaching job in 1989.
CRAIG YOUNG STATS
St George (1977-88): 234 games (including replacements),
11 tries, 2 f-goals (42pts).
NSW (1979-82 and 1984):
10 games (1 replacement)
Australia (1978-82 and
1984): 20 Tests, 1 try.
|
1988
NSWRL
First Grade
Ladder
(top 5 in semis
-playoff for 5th)
| Cronulla |
34 |
| Canterbury
p |
32 |
| Canberra |
30 |
| Manly |
30 |
| Penrith |
30 |
| Balmain |
30 |
| Brisbane |
28 |
| Souths |
24 |
| Norths |
20 |
| St
George |
18 |
| Parramatta |
16 |
| Easts |
15 |
| Illawarra |
13 |
| Newcastle |
11 |
| Gold
Coast |
10 |
| Wests |
9
|
p = Season Premiers
AFTER 22 ROUNDS
Minor Premiership
Won-Lost-Draw
Points For 352
(13th best attack)
62t 52g 0fg
Points Against 493
(equal 13th best defence)
76t 93g 3fg
|
|
MP Standing
10th
(16 teams)
|
AFTER 22 ROUNDS
Minor Premiership
Won-Lost-Draw
Points For 353
(12th best attack)
57t 62g 1fg
Points Against 510
(16th best defence)
89t 75g 4fg
|
|
MP Standing
13th
(16 teams)
|
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1989:
 CRAIG
YOUNG APPOINTED AS NEW COACH
In what was seen as a smooth transition,
recently retired captain Craig Young (pictured during his
playing days in 1985) has taken over the 1989 coaching reins from
Ted Glossop who served just the one season as coach in
1988.
ALL
IN THE FAMILY: SAINTS SIGN SCOTT GOURLEY, MARK COYNE FOR 1989
HISTORY
SPOT
1989: THE NEWCASTLE EARTHQUAKE
|
St
George have signed Rugby Union convert, Scott Gourley.
Originally from Narribri, the son of former St George prop Robin
Gourley. Scott captained the 1986 Australian Rugby Union Schoolboys
to New Zealand before touring the United Kingdom with the Wallabies
in 1988. Gourley decided in 1989 to switch codes and join his
father's former club.
St George first grade also gained
the services of Queensland junior and Brothers (Brisbane) centre,
Mark Coyne in 1989 after he was originally graded in the
St George reserves in 1988. His brother, Peter Coyne was
to follow Mark to Saints three years later and partner him in
the centres but it was Mark Coyne who would have a long lasting
relationship with the Dragons for more than a decade.
|
Season
snapshot
In 1989,
St George (10th) again failed to qualify for the NSWRL
first grade semi-finals. Illawarra (16th - last) faired
worse, picking up the wooden spoon.
|
SAINTS
RETURN TO KOGARAH FOR 1989
Saints
have finally returned to Kogarah Jubilee Oval for the '89 season
after three years of being without a proper home ground. Unfortunately
it didn't help Saints' standings in the premiership as they finished
10th for the second year in a row.
ILLAWARRA
WOODEN SPOONERS 1989
For
the third time in their short history, the Illawarra Steelers
have been lumbered with the wooden spoon. In '89, the Steelers
have conceded more points than any other team on their way to
last position.
 RICKY
WALFORD: COMPETITION'S TOP SCORER FOR 1989 AND COUNTRY REP
Ricky Walford (pic
right) became the season's leading point-scorer for 1989 with
146 points consisting of 13 tries and 47 goals. In the same year,
Ricky gained rep duties when selected for Country Origin.
GEOFF
SELBY DIES IN CAR CRASH
 Promising
young St George forward, Geoff Selby (pictured
left) was tragically killed in a car accident in February
1989. A St George junior, Selby was graded at Illawarra
on the recommendation of James Cook High teacher and Illawarra
coach, Brian Smith in 1984. He returned to St George
in 1986 under the guidance of Johnny Raper. Playing
at lock or second row, Geoff Selby played a total of 39
games for Illawarra scoring nine tries plus a total of
44 games for St George (18 replacement) scoring four tries. |
|
1989
(top 5 in semis
-playoff for 5th)
| Souths |
37 |
| Penrith |
32 |
| Balmain |
29 |
| Canberra
p |
28 |
| Brisbane |
28 |
| Cronulla |
28 |
| Newcastle |
22 |
| Parramatta |
22 |
| Canterbury |
22 |
| St
George |
20 |
| Easts |
19 |
| Manly |
19 |
| Wests |
15 |
| Gold
Coast |
15 |
| Norths |
11 |
| Illawarra |
5
|
p = Season Premiers
AFTER 22 ROUNDS
Minor Premiership
Won-Lost-Draw
Points For 330
(8th best attack)
57t 50g 2fg
Points Against 356
(11th best defence)
60t 58g 0fg
|
|
MP Standing
10th
(16 teams)
|
AFTER 22 ROUNDS
Minor Premiership
Won-Lost-Draw
Points For 256
(13th best attack)
42t 44g 0fg
Points Against 503
(16th best defence)
88t 75g 1fg
|
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MP Standing
16th
(16 teams)
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Seasons
In Review
