1985 NSWRL season explained

Year:	1985
Competition:	New South Wales Rugby League
Teams:	13
Count:	5th
Mpcount:	15th
Matches:	163
Points:	5,416
Attendance:	1,450,162
Top Point Scorer:	Mick Cronin (204)
Top Try Scorer:	Steve Linnane (17)
Player Of The Year:	Wayne Pearce (Rothmans Medal)
Prevseason Link:	1984 NSWRL season
Prevseason Year:	1984
Nextseason Link:	1986 NSWRL season
Nextseason Year:	1986

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

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

– Extra time game

Opponent for round listed above margin

Ladder

width=20 abbr="Position×"		width=225	Team	width=20 abbr="Played"	Pld	width=20 abbr="Won"	W	width=20 abbr="Drawn"	D	width=20 abbr="Lost"	L	width=20 abbr="Bye"	B	width=20 abbr="Points for"	PF	width=20 abbr="Points against"	PA	width=20 abbr="Points difference"	PD	width=20 abbr="Points"	Pts
1		24	18	2	4	2	470	264	+206	42
2		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.

width=20 abbr="Position"	width=250	Team	width=20 abbr="Round 1"	1	width=20 abbr="Round 2"	2	width=20 abbr="Round 3"	3	width=20 abbr="Round 4"	4	width=20 abbr="Round 5"	5	width=20 abbr="Round 6"	6	width=20 abbr="Round 7"	7	width=20 abbr="Round 8"	8	width=20 abbr="Round 9"	9	width=20 abbr="Round 10"	10	width=20 abbr="Round 11"	11	width=20 abbr="Round 12"	12	width=20 abbr="Round 13"	13	width=20 abbr="Round 14"	14	width=20 abbr="Round 15"	15	width=20 abbr="Round 16"	16	width=20 abbr="Round 17"	17	width=20 abbr="Round 18"	18	width=20 abbr="Round 19"	19	width=20 abbr="Round 20"	20	width=20 abbr="Round 21"	21	width=20 abbr="Round 22"	22	width=20 abbr="Round 23"	23	width=20 abbr="Round 24"	24	width=20 abbr="Round 25"	25	width=20 abbr="Round 26"	26
1	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	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
width=17%	Date and Time	width=17%	Venue	width=11%	Referee	width=7%	Crowd
Playoff
align=left	Penrith Panthers	10-7	align=left	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	3 September 1985	Sydney Cricket Ground	Mick Stone	16,428
Qualifying Finals
align=left	Parramatta Eels	38-6	align=left	Penrith Panthers	7 September 1985	Sydney Cricket Ground	Kevin Roberts	18,939
align=left	Balmain Tigers	8-14	align=left	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	8 September 1985	Sydney Cricket Ground	Mick Stone	25,194
Semi-finals
align=left	Balmain Tigers	4-32	align=left	Parramatta Eels	14 September 1985	Sydney Cricket Ground	Kevin Roberts	25,423
align=left		17-6	align=left	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	15 September 1985	Sydney Cricket Ground	Mick Stone	39,013
Preliminary final
align=left	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	26-0	align=left	Parramatta Eels	22 September 1985	Sydney Cricket Ground	Kevin Roberts	34,915
Grand final
align=left	St. George Dragons	6-7	align=left	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	29 September 1985	Sydney Cricket Ground	Kevin Roberts	44,569

Grand final

St. George Dragons	Position	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Glenn Burgess	FB	Michael Potter
	WG	2. Matthew Callinan
		3. Andrew Farrar
	CE	4. Chris Mortimer
5. Steve Morris		5. Peter Mortimer
		14. Michael Hagan
	HB	7. Steve Mortimer (c)
		13. Peter Tunks
	HK	12. Billy Johnstone
11. Craig Young (c)		11. Peter Kelly
	SR
9. Graeme Wynn		9. Brian Battese

	Reserve
	Reserve	16. Greg Mullane
	Reserve	17. Mark Bugden
38. Chris Guider	Reserve
	Coach	Warren Ryan

The 1985 grand final was played at the Sydney Cricket Ground before a crowd of 44,569.^[2] 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.Top 5 point scorers

width=50	Points	width=200	Player	width=30	Tries	width=30	Goals	width=30	Field goals
194	Dean Carney	11	75	0
192	Ross Conlon	4	88	0
184	Greg Alexander	13	65	2
178	Michael O'Connor	6	76	2
178	Mick Cronin	4	81	0

Top 5 try scorers

width=50	Tries	width=200	Player
16	Steve Linnane
14	Steve Ella
13	Greg Alexander
12	John Davidson
11	Ben Gonzales
11	Wayne Challis
11	Dean Carney
11	Les Biles
11	Craig Bellamy

Top 5 goal scorers

width=50	Goals	width=200	Player
88	Ross Conlon
81	Mick Cronin
77	Ron Giteau
76	Michael O'Connor
75	Dean Carney

External links

1985 season Rugby League Tables
Results:1981-90 at rabbitohs.com.au
1985 J J Giltinan Shield and Winfield Cup at rleague.com
NSWRL season 1985 at rugbyleagueproject.org

Notes and References

Web site: History . northsydneybears.com.au . . 3 July 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140717114532/http://www.northsydneybears.com.au/abo-history.html . 17 July 2014 .
Web site: D'Souza . Miguel . Grand Final History . https://web.archive.org/web/20140819082626/http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/league/2009-grand-final/grandFinal_History.swf . dead . 19 August 2014 . wwos.ninemsn.com.au . . 8 September 2013 .