New South Wales Rugby League season 1986

Infobox rugby league season
year = 1986
competition = New South Wales Rugby League


imagesize = 125px
caption =
teams = 13
premiers =
count = 4th
minor premiers =
mpcount = 3rd
matches = 163
points = 5212
attendance = 1705156
top points scorer = (210)
top try scorer = (13)
1986's 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. This season, NSWRL teams also competed for the 1986 National Panasonic Cup.

eason summary

Twenty-six regular season rounds were played from March till September, resulting in a top five of Parramatta, Souths, Canterbury, Manly and Balmain who battled it out in the finals. Parramatta completed a perfect season, winning the pre-season competition, the midweek Panasonic Cup, finishing the regular season as minor premiers, winning the Grand Final and farewelling their international long time stars Mick Cronin and Ray Price as victorious champions.

The 1986 season's Rothmans Medallist was Manly-Warringah forward, Mal Cochrane. Parramatta's halfback, Peter Sterling was given the Dally M Award as well as "Rugby League Week's" player of the year award.

Teams

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

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.

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 unsuccesfully 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 replacement 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 and the lowest ever scoring Grand Final.

Parramatta 4 ( Goals: Cronin 2.)

Canterbury-Bankstown 2 (Goals: Lamb 1.)

Clive Churchill Medal: Peter Sterling (Parramatta)

References

* [http://www.stats.rleague.com/rl/seas/1986.html Rugby League Tables - Season 1986] "The World of Rugby League"
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwtEtYx749c 1986 Winfield Cup TVC] "Youtube".
* Clarkson, Alan (1997). "The Greatest Games We Ever Played" (Essay Collection, ed. Geoff Prenter). Sydney: Ironbark Publishing.
* [http://www.rabbitohs.com.au/The-Club/Tradition/Results---1981-1990.html Results:1981-90 at rabbitohs.com.au]
* [http://www.rleague.com//db/year/1986/j_j_giltinan_shield_and_winfield_cup/index.php 1986 J J Giltinan Shield and Winfield Cup at rleague.com]
* [http://rugbyleagueproject.com/competitions/NSWRL_1986.html NSWRL season 1986 at rugbyleagueproject.com]