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Post by Rugby League Historian on Sept 23, 2021 19:40:42 GMT 10
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Post by Rugby League Historian on Sept 23, 2021 19:44:17 GMT 10
The 1986 New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the seventy-ninth season of professional rugby league football in Australia. Thirteen clubs competed for the J J Giltinan Shield and Winfield Cup during the season, which culminated in a grand final between the Parramatta Eels and Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs which featured the introduction of the Clive Churchill Medal. This season, NSWRL teams also competed for the 1986 National Panasonic Cup.
Grand Final
Eels coach John Monie had stepped into the large shoes left by Jack Gibson in 1984 and was under pressure to ensure Parramatta did not fall short for a third year. Eels legends Ray Price and Mick Cronin were in their farewell seasons and the Eels fans at least wanted to see them go out on a winning note. Everything had augured well right through the season with a Parramatta victory in the pre-season competition, the midweek National Panasonic cup and the minor premiership.
The Bulldogs on the other hand were building a dynasty under the Warren Ryan-coached style of uncompromising defence that had changed the game. In prop Peter Kelly, hooker Mark Bugden and three-quarter Andrew Farrar, Ryan possessed a number of defensive hitmen capable of carrying out his game plan.
Parramatta's Mick Cronin required a police escort to the match after being stuck in a traffic jam.
The Grand Final was fifteen minutes old when Eels winger Mick Delroy was knocked out by a high shot from Farrar while Price suffered a constant barrage from Kelly throughout the first half. Referee Mick Stone at least initially appeared reluctant to send anyone off and Farrar and Kelly benefitted.
Stone also disallowed two near tries in the first half to Eels five-eighth Brett Kenny who was ultimately frustrated in his attempt to replicate the two tries per Grand Final statistic that he'd maintained in each of the 1981, 1982 and 1983 deciders.
It wasn't until Kelly was sin-binned for 10 minutes for a high tackle on Price that the Eels started to find gaps in the Bulldogs line. Two minutes before half time and still with 12 men Canterbury looked in trouble when Eric Grothe Sr. set off down the sideline with a clear path. A desperate Steve Mortimer cover-defending run brought Grothe down metres from the tryline. A minute later Cronin opened the scoring for the Eels with a successful penalty goal.
Twelve minutes into the second half, Canterbury five-eighth Terry Lamb levelled the score with a penalty goal after Peter Sterling was penalised for a late tackle on Steve Mortimer.
With eighteen minutes remaining, Canterbury replacement forward David Boyd was penalised for a high tackle on Price who had by now suffered an hour of ferocious Bulldog attention. Price appeared concussed and the Parramatta trainers unsuccessfully tried to convince him to leave the field. Cronin kicked the resultant penalty and the Eels again took a 2-point lead.
After Canterbury fullback Phil Sigsworth was sent off for a high shot on Kenny, the 12 remaining Bulldogs lifted a level and continued with attacking surges. Farrar was stopped by the Eels defence centimetres from the line, Lamb missed an opportunity to level with another penalty attempt and then right on the bell Parramatta forward Michael Moseley, in a career highlight moment, cut down Bugden as the Bulldogs hooker appeared certain to score.
Parramatta had taken on Canterbury at their own game - defence-focused trench warfare and managed to keep the game tryless and win the battle of attrition. In the process they halted Canterbury's hopes of three successive titles in the first try-less grand final.
Parramatta 4 Goals: Cronin 2
Canterbury-Bankstown 2 Goals: Lamb 1
Clive Churchill Medal: Peter Sterling (Parramatta)
Wikipedia
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Post by Rugby League Historian on Sept 23, 2021 19:45:05 GMT 10
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Post by Rugby League Historian on Sept 23, 2021 19:46:01 GMT 10
1986 Grand Final: Parramatta 4 d Canterbury 2 at SCG
The 1986 grand final was a thriller and as in the previous three years, was dominated by defence. It was also the lowest scoring and first tryless grand final since 1910. Parramatta won 4-2, with retiring club stalwart Mick Cronin's two penalty goals coming after two easy misses early in the match. Canterbury pivot Terry Lamb kicked Canterbury's lone goal.
Parramatta had just a touch the better of the first half. Kenny had two tries disallowed-the first in the seventeenth minute and the second three minutes after halftime. Both were extremely difficult decisions for referee Mick Stone to make, as was his decision to send off Canterbury full-back Phil Sigsworth for a headhigh tackle on Kenny with thirteen minutes remaining. The unlucky former Newtown and Manly star was the first player sent off in a grand final in twenty-four years. Both Kelly and Farrar committed offences far more serious than the one which saw Sigsworth removed from the game.
Led by the dangerous Steve Mortimer, Canterbury lifted their game in the second half. With full-time fast approaching they seemed almost certain to score on three occasions. With five minutes to go Farrar charged down the touchline where Sterling and Price pulled off a brilliant cover tackle, taking the corner post with them. Two minutes later Lamb pulled a shot at goal from wide out after a touch judge reported Geoff Bugden. Finally, with the full-time hooter sounding, Mark Bugden crashed to within a metre of the line.
Parramatta captain Price, playing his last game in Sydney, accepted the trophies which went with his club's fourth premiership. The veteran had played in each of the victories, as well as three losing grand finals. Eels half-back Peter Sterling became the first recipient of the Clive Churchill Medal for best afield in the grand final.
Parramatta became the second team, after Easts in 1975, to win both the premiership and the midweek National Panasonic Cup.
Parramatta 4 (M.Cronin 2 goals) defeated Canterbury 2 (T.Lamb goal). Referee: M.Stone. Crowd: 45,843.
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Post by Rugby League Historian on Sept 23, 2021 19:46:27 GMT 10
1986 Grand Final: Parramatta 4 d Canterbury 2 at SCG
Jack Gibson, master coach with Steve Gillis
Parramatta could have thrown away yesterday's Winfield Cup rugby league grand final by digging in late in the game. That's the opinion of the most successful coach in the business, Jack Gibson, who said yesterday the Eels almost let Canterbury steal that victory lap from under their feet after they overcame a few bad decisions against them. "Parramatta certainly curtailed their attacking ability, being content in trying to pick up a couple of yards from dummy half, and this resulted in poor field position for their kicking game," Gibson said. "Parramatta had done a great job for the first 70 minutes but they shut up shop too early and fatigue set in. "And with only two points in it Canterbury could have pulled it out of the fire." Gibson said he was suprised when Parramatta tried to close the game up with less than 10 minutes to go. "I was suprised when Parra starting taking the ball up from dummy half and one man off the ruck," he said. " They were easy pickings for the Canterbury defence and at the same time the Bulldogs got a bit of a rest. "Parramatta looked good when they threw the ball about-maybe that's what they should of kept doing." Gibson's assessment was right on the mark. With Parramatta clinging to a 4-2 lead, the Eels dramatically subdued their tactics, deciding to graft away from dummy half. "Picking up a yard here and a yard there led them into bad field position in trying to pick up yardage from the kick. "I don't know why Parra shelled up so early," Gibson said. "Maybe Peter Sterling simply ran out of juice." Gibson believes the Eels were the better side and deserved to win by a few more. "Brett Kenny had at least one fair try disallowed," he said. In the first half Kenny looked to score after Peter Sterling put a kick through. "He had control of the ball until it got to the ground and that's all that's required." Asked to nominate his most damaging Eels players, Gibson named Peter Sterling, Paul Taylor and Geoff Bugden. "Sterling was everywhere he should have been," he said. "He's the best club and team player. "Bugden probably made more ground with the ball than any other player while Taylor's defence was outstanding." Champion Parramatta skipper Ray Price's decision to call it quits brought a suprising reaction from Gibson. "I can't believe Price will retire," he said. "Price is the type of player who will make two or three comebacks in his career and he hasn't even made one yet." In a match which provided both excitment and incident, Gibson said he felt Canterbury could have ended up with only 11 men. "Andrew Farrar was lucky to play 80 minutes while the player he felled (Mick Delroy) only played 40 minutes." Delroy was replaced at halftime after he was hit high by Farrar in a tackle in the first half. "I thought the Sigsworth incident was worth 10 minutes. That would have been sufficient. "And in one case I thought one of the touch judges might have been influenced by the replay before reporting an incident."
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Post by Rugby League Historian on Sept 23, 2021 19:47:17 GMT 10
1986 Grand Final: Parramatta 4 d Canterbury 2 at SCG
By Electric Eel
The last 10 minutes was the most nervous I have ever been watching a Parra game. My heart was thumping!!!
The winner of the 1986 Grand Final was the right team though, cause that year the Eels beat the Bulldogs 7-6 at Belmore, 28-6 in the major semi and were the better team in the grand final. Parramatta did lose to Canterbury in their first encounter that year, 21-12 in round 10 at Parramatta Stadium.
The first 70 minutes of the game, Canterbury kept giving away penalties, trying to get under Parra's skin, I recall Paul Langmack being the main offender and had a number of run-in's with Parramatta skipper Ray Price.
The Bulldogs guided by Steve Mortimer who was by far Canterbury's best on the day, finally decided to play some football in that last 10 minutes and raid after raid came at the Eels, but it was really too late in the end.
The 1986 Grand Final was a game I thought Parra were going to win convincingly, but it was a defensive game where neither team gave the other an inch. It was also a game Brett Kenny had two disallowed tries, the first a possible try, the second an obvious double movement.
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Post by Rugby League Historian on Sept 23, 2021 19:47:58 GMT 10
Sterlo
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Post by Rugby League Historian on Sept 23, 2021 19:48:33 GMT 10
Ray Price
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Post by Rugby League Historian on Sept 23, 2021 19:49:03 GMT 10
Eric Grothe
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Post by Rugby League Historian on Sept 23, 2021 19:49:36 GMT 10
Mick Cronin
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Post by Rugby League Historian on Sept 23, 2021 19:50:13 GMT 10
Grand Final Celebrations
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Post by Rugby League Historian on Sept 23, 2021 19:50:32 GMT 10
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Post by Rugby League Historian on Sept 23, 2021 19:50:52 GMT 10
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Post by Rugby League Historian on Sept 23, 2021 19:51:25 GMT 10
Price and Cronin
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Post by Rugby League Historian on Sept 23, 2021 19:51:42 GMT 10
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