1985 NSWRL season

1985 New South Wales Rugby League
Teams13
Premiers Canterbury-Bankstown (5th title)
Minor premiers St. George (15th title)
Matches played163
Points scored5416
Attendance1450162
Top points scorer(s) Mick Cronin (204)
Player of the year Wayne Pearce (Rothmans Medal)
Top try-scorer(s) Steve Linnane (17)

The 1985 New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the seventy-eighth season of professional rugby league football in Australia. Thirteen teams competed for the J J Giltinan Shield and Winfield Cup during the season, which culminated in a grand final between the Canterbury-Bankstown and St. George clubs. This season NSWRL teams also competed for the 1985 National Panasonic Cup.

Season summary

Twenty-six regular season rounds were played from March till September, resulting in a top five of St. George, Balmain, Canterbury, Parramatta and Penrith battling it out in the finals

The 1985 season's Rothmans Medallist was Balmain's lock, Wayne Pearce. The Dally M Award was given to Penrith's halfback, Greg Alexander, while Rugby League Week gave its player of the year award to Parramatta's lock, Ray Price.

Teams

The lineup of clubs remained unchanged from the previous year, with thirteen contesting the 1985 premiership, including five Sydney-based foundation teams, another six from Sydney, one from greater New South Wales and one from the Australian Capital Territory

Balmain Tigers

78th season
Ground: Leichhardt Oval
Coach: Frank Stanton
Captain: Wayne Pearce

Canberra Raiders

4th season
Ground: Seiffert Oval
Coach: Don Furner
Captain: Dean Lance

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs

51st season
Ground: Belmore Oval
Coach: Warren Ryan
Captain: Steve Mortimer

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks

19th season
Ground: Ronson Field
Coach: Terry Fearnley
Captain: David Hatch

Eastern Suburbs Roosters

78th season
Ground: Sydney Sports Ground
Coach: Arthur Beetson
Captain: Ron GibbsJohn Tobin

Illawarra Steelers

4th season
Ground: Wollongong Showground
Coach: Brian Smith
Captain: Brian Hetherington

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles

39th season
Ground: Brookvale Oval
Coach: Bob Fulton
Captain: Glen Ryan→Paul Vautin

North Sydney Bears

78th season
Ground: North Sydney Oval
Coach: Greg HawickBrian Norton
Captain: W. Honeywood→Fred Teasdell→Mark Graham

Parramatta Eels

39th season
Ground: Belmore Oval
Coach: John Monie
Captain: Ray Price

Penrith Panthers

19th season
Ground: Penrith Park
Coach: Tim Sheens
Captain: Royce Simmons

South Sydney Rabbitohs

78th season
Ground: Redfern Oval
Coach: Ron Willey
Captain: David Boyle

St. George Dragons

65th season
Ground: Kogarah Oval
Coach: Roy Masters
Captain: Craig Young

Western Suburbs Magpies

78th season
Ground: Lidcombe Oval
Coach: Ken Gentle
Captain: Lee Crooks

Regular season

Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 F1 F2 F3 F4 GF
Balmain Tigers NOR
+20
PEN
+30
CRO
+24
WES
+40
CBY
−2
MAN
−4
EAS
−4
X STG
+5
ILA
+8
CAN
+3
PAR
+13
SOU
+12
NOR
+23
PEN
+6
CRO
−20
WES
+6
CBY
+6
MAN
+8
EAS
+1
X STG
−2
ILA
+13
CAN
+18
PAR
−32
SOU
+18
X CBY
−6
PAR
−28
Canberra Raiders ILA
+10
PAR
−14
NOR
+8
SOU
+14
PEN
−30
CRO
−20
WES
+32
CBY
−24
MAN
0
EAS
−2
BAL
−3
STG
+10
X ILA
+9
PAR
−14
NOR
+30
SOU
+7
PEN
−6
CRO
−2
WES
0
CBY
−12
MAN
−15
EAS
−18
BAL
−18
STG
−44
X
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs CRO
+14
X MAN
−20
EAS
0
BAL
+2
STG
0
ILA
+6
CAN
+24
PAR
−20
NOR
+8
SOU
−15
PEN
−11
WES
+52
CRO
+8
X MAN
+4
EAS
+7
BAL
−6
STG
−10
ILA
+20
CAN
+12
PAR
+15
NOR
+18
SOU
+18
PEN
+14
WES
+28
X BAL
+6
STG
−11
PAR
+26
STG
+1
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks CBY
−14
EAS
−20
BAL
−24
STG
−10
ILA
+8
CAN
+20
PAR
−4
NOR
+14
SOU
−6
PEN
−6
X WES
+18
MAN
+15
CBY
−8
EAS
−7
BAL
+20
STG
−18
ILA
+26
CAN
+2
PAR
+8
NOR
+12
SOU
−2
PEN
−8
X WES
+26
MAN
−6
Eastern Suburbs Roosters SOU
−18
CRO
+20
WES
+38
CBY
0
MAN
−12
X BAL
+4
STG
−4
ILA
+2
CAN
+2
PAR
−26
NOR
−4
PEN
+20
SOU
−8
CRO
+7
WES
0
CBY
−7
MAN
−22
X BAL
−1
STG
0
ILA
−10
CAN
+18
PAR
+2
NOR
+16
PEN
−32
Illawarra Steelers CAN
−10
NOR
−5
SOU
+13
PEN
+6
CRO
−8
WES
−10
CBY
−6
MAN
−12
EAS
−2
BAL
−8
STG
−8
X PAR
−20
CAN
−9
NOR
+18
SOU
+4
PEN
−26
CRO
−26
WES
−12
CBY
−20
MAN
−6
EAS
+10
BAL
−13
STG
−12
X PAR
−2
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles PEN
−12
WES
+20
CBY
+20
X EAS
+12
BAL
+4
STG
−4
ILA
+12
CAN
0
PAR
+4
NOR
+14
SOU
−8
CRO
−15
PEN
−12
WES
+24
CBY
−4
X EAS
+22
BAL
−8
STG
−17
ILA
+6
CAN
+15
PAR
−12
NOR
+18
SOU
−26
CRO
+6
PEN
−3
North Sydney Bears BAL
−20
ILA
+5
CAN
−8
PAR
−2
X SOU
+4
PEN
−12
CRO
−14
WES
+2
CBY
−8
MAN
−14
EAS
+4
STG
−16
BAL
−23
ILA
−18
CAN
−30
PAR
−8
X SOU
+4
PEN
0
CRO
−12
WES
+16
CBY
−18
MAN
−18
EAS
−16
STG
−8
Parramatta Eels STG
−20
CAN
+14
X NOR
+2
SOU
+17
PEN
−8
CRO
+4
WES
+6
CBY
+20
MAN
−4
EAS
+26
BAL
−13
ILA
+20
STG
+4
CAN
+14
X NOR
+8
SOU
−13
PEN
+11
CRO
−8
WES
+38
CBY
−15
MAN
+12
EAS
−2
BAL
+32
ILA
+2
X PEN
+32
BAL
+28
CBY
−26
Penrith Panthers MAN
+12
BAL
−30
STG
−3
ILA
−6
CAN
+30
PAR
+8
NOR
+12
SOU
+5
X CRO
+6
WES
−9
CBY
+11
EAS
−20
MAN
+12
BAL
−6
STG
−10
ILA
+26
CAN
+6
PAR
−11
NOR
0
SOU
−4
X CRO
+8
WES
+26
CBY
−14
EAS
+32
MAN
+3
PAR
−32
South Sydney Rabbitohs EAS
+18
STG
−6
ILA
−13
CAN
−14
PAR
−17
NOR
−4
X PEN
−5
CRO
+6
WES
−8
CBY
+15
MAN
+8
BAL
−12
EAS
+8
STG
−24
ILA
−4
CAN
−7
PAR
+13
NOR
−4
X PEN
+4
CRO
+2
WES
+8
CBY
−18
MAN
+26
BAL
−18
St. George Dragons PAR
+20
SOU
+6
PEN
+3
CRO
+10
WES
+12
CBY
0
MAN
+4
EAS
+4
BAL
−5
X ILA
+8
CAN
−10
NOR
+16
PAR
−4
SOU
+24
PEN
+10
CRO
+18
WES
−3
CBY
+10
MAN
+17
EAS
0
BAL
+2
X ILA
+12
CAN
+44
NOR
+8
X X CBY
+11
X CBY
−1
Western Suburbs Magpies X MAN
−20
EAS
−38
BAL
−40
STG
−12
ILA
+10
CAN
−32
PAR
−6
NOR
−2
SOU
+8
PEN
+9
CRO
−18
CBY
−52
X MAN
−24
EAS
0
BAL
−6
STG
+3
ILA
+12
CAN
0
PAR
−38
NOR
−16
SOU
−8
PEN
−26
CRO
−26
CBY
−28
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 F1 F2 F3 F4 GF

Bold – Home game
X – Bye
Opponent for round listed above margin

Ladder

Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1 St. George Dragons 24 18 2 4 2 470 264 +206 42
2 Balmain Tigers 24 18 0 6 2 494 304 +190 40
3 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 24 16 2 6 2 435 267 +168 38
4 Parramatta Eels 24 16 0 8 2 458 311 +147 36
5 Penrith Panthers 24 13 1 10 2 460 379 +81 31
6 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 24 13 1 10 2 404 345 +59 31
7 Eastern Suburbs Roosters 24 10 3 11 2 374 389 -15 27
8 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 24 11 0 13 2 440 404 +36 26
9 South Sydney Rabbitohs 24 10 0 14 2 373 419 -46 24
10 Canberra Raiders 24 8 2 14 2 432 534 -102 22
11 North Sydney Bears 24 6 1 17 2 281 491 -210 17
12 Western Suburbs Magpies 24 5 2 17 2 311 661 -350 16
13 Illawarra Steelers 24 5 0 19 2 303 467 -164 14

Ladder progression

  • Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top 5.
  • Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished first on the ladder in that round.
  • Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished last place on the ladder in that round.
  • Underlined numbers indicate that the team had a bye during 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 23 24 25 26
1 St. George Dragons 2 4 6 8 10 11 13 15 15 17 19 19 21 21 23 25 27 27 29 31 32 34 36 38 40 42
2 Balmain Tigers 2 4 6 8 8 8 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 24 26 28 30 32 34 34 36 38 38 40
3 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2 4 4 5 7 8 10 12 12 14 14 14 16 18 20 22 24 24 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38
4 Parramatta Eels 0 2 4 6 8 8 10 12 14 14 16 16 18 20 22 24 26 26 28 28 30 30 32 32 34 36
5 Penrith Panthers 2 2 2 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 14 16 16 18 18 18 20 22 22 23 23 25 27 29 29 31
6 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 0 2 4 6 8 10 10 12 13 15 17 17 17 17 19 19 21 23 23 23 25 27 27 29 29 31
7 Eastern Suburbs Roosters 0 2 4 5 5 7 9 9 11 13 13 13 15 15 17 18 18 18 20 20 21 21 23 25 27 27
8 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 0 0 0 0 2 4 4 6 6 6 8 10 12 12 12 14 14 16 18 20 22 22 22 24 26 26
9 South Sydney Rabbitohs 2 2 2 2 2 2 4 4 6 6 8 10 10 12 12 12 12 14 14 16 18 20 22 22 24 24
10 Canberra Raiders 2 2 4 6 6 6 8 8 9 9 9 11 13 15 15 17 19 19 19 20 20 20 20 20 20 22
11 North Sydney Bears 0 2 2 2 4 6 6 6 8 8 8 10 10 10 10 10 10 12 14 15 15 17 17 17 17 17
12 Western Suburbs Magpies 2 2 2 2 2 4 4 4 4 6 8 8 8 10 10 11 11 13 15 16 16 16 16 16 16 16
13 Illawarra Steelers 0 0 2 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 6 6 6 8 10 10 10 10 10 10 12 12 12 14 14

Finals

Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Crowd
Playoff
Penrith Panthers 10-7 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 3 September 1985 Sydney Cricket Ground Mick Stone 16,428
Qualifying Finals
Parramatta Eels 38-6 Penrith Panthers 7 September 1985 Sydney Cricket Ground Kevin Roberts 18,939
Balmain Tigers 8-14 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 8 September 1985 Sydney Cricket Ground Mick Stone 25,194
Semi-finals
Balmain Tigers 4-32 Parramatta Eels 14 September 1985 Sydney Cricket Ground Kevin Roberts 25,423
St. George Dragons 17-6 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 15 September 1985 Sydney Cricket Ground Mick Stone 39,013
Preliminary final
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 26-0 Parramatta Eels 22 September 1985 Sydney Cricket Ground Kevin Roberts 34,915
Grand final
St. George Dragons 6-7 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 29 September 1985 Sydney Cricket Ground Kevin Roberts 44,569

Chart

Qualifying finalMajor semi-finalPreliminary finalGrand final
1 St. George17 St. George6
Canterbury6 Canterbury7
2 Balmain8 Canterbury26
3 Canterbury14Minor semi-final Parramatta0
Balmain4
4 Parramatta38 Parramatta32
5 Penrith6

Grand final

St. George Dragons Position Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
  1. Glenn Burgess
FB
  1. Michael Potter
2. Denis Kinchela WG 2. Matthew Callinan
3. Michael O'Connor CE 3. Andrew Farrar
4. Michael Beattie CE 4. Chris Mortimer
5. Steve Morris WG 5. Peter Mortimer
6. Steve Linnane FE 14. Michael Hagan
7. Perry Haddock HB 7. Steve Mortimer (c)
13. Pat Jarvis PR 13. Peter Tunks
12. Phil Ritchie HK 12. Billy Johnstone
11. Craig Young (c) PR 11. Peter Kelly
10. Billy Noke SR 10. Steve Folkes
9. Graeme Wynn SR 9. Brian Battese
8. Graeme O'Grady LK 8. Paul Langmack
17. Chris Johns Reserve 15. David Gillespie
20. Alan Neil Reserve 16. Greg Mullane
23. Stephen Funnell Reserve 17. Mark Bugden
38. Chris Guider Reserve
Roy Masters Coach Warren Ryan

The 1985 grand final was played at the Sydney Cricket Ground before a crowd of 44,569. Canterbury continually put St George fullback Burgess under the test of the high-ball in his in-goal area, which, under the rules of the time, resulted in a line drop-out with the Bulldogs regaining possession. After felling St George's Graeme Wynn as a scrum broke up, Canterbury's prop Peter Kelly was surprising awarded a penalty and shortly thereafter Kelly used the blindside to send winger Peter Mortimer over out wide for a 6-0 half time lead.

Bulldogs half and skipper Steve Mortimer seized control of the match and centre Andrew Farrar clinched it with a field goal in the 72nd minute to take the score to 7-0. A last light of hope appeared for the Dragons when Steve Morris scored and Michael O'Connor converted with five minutes left on the clock. In the end a practised and clinical approach from Canterbury shut out the Dragons who had been the minor premiers.

Canterbury-Bankstown 7
Tries: P Mortimer. Goal: Farrar. Field Goal: Farrar.

St. George 6
Tries: Morris. Goal: O'Connor.

Man-of-the-match: Steve Mortimer

Player statistics

The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 26.


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