1997 ARL season explained

1997 ARL season should not be confused with 1997 AFL season.

Year:1997
Competition:Australian Rugby League
Duration:7 March – 28 September 1997
Teams:12
Count:1st
Mpcount:9th
Matches:141
Points:5,370
Attendance:1,496,040
Avg Attendance:10,610
Top Point Scorer: Jason Taylor (242)
Top Try Scorer: Terry Hill (22)
Player Of The Year: Brad Fittler (Provan-Summons Medal)
Nextseason Year:1998 (NRL)

The 1997 Australian Rugby League season was the 90th season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the third season run by the Australian Rugby League. While several clubs had left the League to compete in the 1997 Super League season, twelve ARL-loyal teams – eight from across Sydney, two from greater New South Wales and two from Queensland (Brisbane and Gold Coast) – competed for the Optus Cup Trophy. The top seven teams then played a series of knock-out finals which culminated in a September grand final played in Sydney between the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and the Newcastle Knights. The fairytale came true for thousands of Novocastrians when the Newcastle club won their first ever premiership, staging a comeback from 8–16 to shatter Manly's hopes.

Pre season

The season is most notable for being run parallel to the rival Super League competition. This was the only season when the two competitions actually ran, notwithstanding that 1995 and 1996 had been disrupted by the Super League war.

ARL chairman Ken Arthurson resigned in February 1997 in an effort to enable re-unification negotiations held during the season to succeed. It would not be 'til after the season's end in December that the boards of every ARL club would gather at the SCG in an unprecedented meeting to consider the proposed peace deal following five months of secret negotiations between Ian Frykberg and Neil Whittaker.

Regular season

In 1997 the official player of the year award, the Provan-Summons Medal was won by Brad Fittler. This award was replaced by the Dally M Medal from the following year. The Illawarra Steelers' Scott Cram was named the 1997 season's rookie of the year.[1]

The grand finals:

The winners in all grades were:

The test match

The State of Origin Series

Teams

The eight ARL teams that had aligned themselves with Super League were absent from this year's ARL premiership, instead spending the year competing in the new Telstra Cup competition. The Balmain Tigers changed their name back from the Sydney Tigers this season.

Ladder

width=020 abbr="Position" width=240 Teamwidth=020 abbr="Played" Pldwidth=020 abbr="Won" Wwidth=020 abbr="Drawn" Dwidth=020 abbr="Lost" Lwidth=020 abbr="Points for" PFwidth=020 abbr="Points against" PAwidth=020 abbr="Points difference" PDwidth=020 abbr="Points" Pts
1 Manly-Warringah (MP)221525521366+15532
2 Newcastle (P)221417512320+19229
3 Parramatta221417431359+7229
4 North Sydney (Norths)221318529341+18827
5 Sydney City (Easts)221318487366+12127
6 Illawarra221039423376+4723
7 Gold Coast2210111438466−2821
8 Balmain2210012339340−120
9 Western Suburbs (Wests)2210012355424−6920
10 St. George229112331392−6119
11 South Sydney (Souths)224117323630−3079
12 South Queensland224018321630−3098

Finals

Sydney City
(Eastern Suburbs)
and North Sydney played out a bizarre Qualifying Final with the Roosters winning 33–21. The Roosters fought back from 14–2 down with 10 minutes to go to get it back to 14–14, then both sides kicked a field goal to send it to extra time at 15–15. The Roosters went on to play Gold Coast who were in their first ever finals campaign with the Roosters winning 32–10 to book a Preliminary Final showdown with Manly. A peculiarity of the finals system saw Manly and Newcastle face off in what later realised to be a pointless game where both the winner and loser progressed to a Grand Final qualifier the following week. The Roosters had another fight back when they came from 16–6 down to get it back to 16–16, but it was a Sea Eagles field goal that proved the difference to book themselves a third straight Grand Final berth with a 17–16 win.

Newcastle reached the 1997 grand final after defeating Parramatta in week one of the finals series. At one stage, Parramatta lead the match 18–0 before a comeback gave Newcastle a 28–20 victory. Newcastle then lost the following week to Manly 27–12 before setting up a preliminary final clash with North Sydney.

With the score 12–8 in favor of Newcastle with under 10 minutes to play Jason Taylor set up Michael Buettner for a try which made the score 12–12. Normally a very reliable kicker and one of the most accurate in the competition, Taylor had already missed two previous conversions in the match but if he was to kick this goal it could send North Sydney through to their first grade final since 1943. Taylor ended up missing the goal. With the scores locked at 12–12, Newcastle player Matthew Johns kicked a field goal with 2 minutes to play to make it 13–12. With only seconds remaining Norths frantically threw the ball around and lost it, the ball was swooped up by Newcastle's Owen Craigie and he raced away to score a try and won the game.[2] [3]

HomeScoreAwayMatch Information
width=17%Date and Timewidth=17%Venuewidth=11%Refereewidth=7%Crowd
Qualifying Finals
align=left Illawarra14–25align=left Gold Coast5 September 1997Parramatta StadiumDavid Manson8,197
align=left North Sydney (Norths)21–33align=left Sydney City (Easts)6 September 1997Sydney Football StadiumKelvin Jeffes11,332
align=left Newcastle28–20align=left Parramatta7 September 1997Sydney Football StadiumPaul McBlane17,849
Semi Finals
align=left Sydney City (Easts)32–10align=left Gold Coast12 September 1997Parramatta StadiumPaul McBlane10,466
align=left Parramatta14–24align=left North Sydney (Norths)13 September 1997Sydney Football StadiumDavid Manson17,025
align=left Manly27–12align=left Newcastle14 September 1997Sydney Football StadiumKelvin Jeffes26,531
Preliminary Finals
align=left Newcastle17–12align=left North Sydney (Norths)20 September 1997Sydney Football StadiumKelvin Jeffes22,540
align=left Manly17–16align=left Sydney City (Easts)21 September 1997Sydney Football StadiumDavid Manson 30,794
Grand Final
align=left Manly16–22align=left Newcastle28 September 1997Sydney Football StadiumDavid Manson42,482[4]

Grand Final

Year:1997
ARL Grand Final
Home:
Manly
Away:
Newcastle
Home Abbr:MAN
Away Abbr:NEW
Home Half1:16
Home Half2:0
Home Total:16
Away Half1:8
Away Half2:14
Away Total:22
Date:28 September 1997
Stadium:Sydney Football Stadium
Location:Sydney
Mom Title:Clive Churchill Medal
Mom:Robbie O'Davis (NEW)
Anthem Title:Australian National anthem
Referee:David Manson
Attendance:42,482
Network:Nine Network
Commentators:Ray Warren
Commentators2:Peter Sterling

The fairytale came true for thousands of Novocastrians when the Knights won their first ever premiership, staging a comeback from 8–16 to shatter Manly's hopes.

1st half

The long-running duel between opposing front rowers Mark Carroll and Paul Harragon erupted once again in the 2nd minute when Carroll reacted to a Harragon shot on Geoff Toovey. Newcastle applied pressure early when they regained possession inside Manly's 20m and shortly after that Andrew Johns took a penalty attempt, but Manly's defence and luck stood firm and the score stayed nil-all. Manly scored first after rookie hooker Anthony Colella won a scrum against the feed. John Hopoate exploited a weakness in Newcastle's right side defence and got between Darren Albert and Mark Hughes to score. Nevin's sideline conversion gave the Sea Eagles a 6–0 lead. In 13th minute Manly suffered a blow when Toovey was steamrolled. He left the field concussed for Cliff Lyons to come on.

Johns went within inches of scoring for Newcastle in the 24th minute when his blindside break on the last tackle was stopped by a desperate Hopoate. Manly responded with a thrilling try in the 25th minute. The movement started 55 metres out – Hopoate making the initial break down the left-hand side with Lyons backing up to enable Craig Innes to crash over for a Manly 10–0 lead. Newcastle's first points came through a Johns' penalty goal. Then in the 34th minute they scored their first ever Grand Final try after a clever kick from Matthew Johns was taken by Hopoate who was bundled into touch. From the scrum win, Robbie O'Davis got outside Terry Hill to score. Andrew Johns' conversion brought Newcastle within two points. Manly hit back in the 38th minute after some magical work from Lyons. He swept onto the ball which had been dropped by Harragon and spun around to find Shannon Nevin on the inside. The Newcastle forwards couldn't get across to cover the overlap and Nevin then converted his own try for a 16–8 half-time scoreline.

2nd half

Manly-Warringah
Sea Eagles
PositionNewcastle Knights
  1. Shannon Nevin
  1. Robbie O'Davis
WG2. Darren Albert
CE
5. Mark Hughes
6. Geoff Toovey (c) 6. Matthew Johns
HB7. Andrew Johns
8. Tony Butterfield
9. Billy Peden
10. Paul Harragon (c)
SR11. Wayne Richards
12. Adam Muir
13. Marc Glanville
Reserve 15. Troy Fletcher
Reserve 16. Scott Conley
Reserve 18. Lee Jackson
Reserve 19. Steve Crowe
Coach Malcolm "Mal" Reilly
Early in the second half there was more concern for Toovey after he was stomped on by Adam MacDougall. Manly then almost put Newcastle away in the 51st minute when Steven Menzies powered through close to the line only to be stopped by Troy Fletcher scrambling well to effect a try- and match-saving tackle for the Knights. Andrew Johns booted a penalty goal in the 57th minute to claw Newcastle back to within a converted try. In the 61st minute Adam Muir dropped a pass from Andrew Johns a metre from Manly's line but it was a sign that the Knights were back in the game. Manly on the other hand, began to play conservatively to their own ultimate cost. They received a penalty after another Harragon high tackle and elected to kick at goal 32 metres out with a swirling breeze. Nevin missed and Darren Albert returned the kick with a 40-metre run. Manly applied pressure for the next ten minutes but came away empty handed. Colella and then Nik Kosef both dropped balls inside Newcastle's 30m line while trying to off-load. A 69th minute last tackle raid ten metres out by Manly also fell short when a field-goal might have sealed the game. Having withstood the pressure, Newcastle then lifted. Following a long break by Fletcher, Andrew Johns received the ball from his brother. He stood in a tackle, handed to O'Davis, who spun and planted the ball on the line. Johns' conversion levelled the scores 16–16 with five minutes remaining.

The match is ultimately best remembered for its classic grandstand finish. With 28 seconds remaining and on their last tackle, the Knights attempted a match-winning field goal. A charge-down by a Manly player foiled the field goal attempt but gave the Knights six more tackles. With 19 seconds left, Darren Albert played the ball on the first tackle of the next set of six, with Andrew Johns at dummy-half. At the play of the ball Johns unexpectedly went down the narrow blind-side, throwing a dummy and engaging several Manly players, before slipping a pass back inside to Albert whose try took the score to 20–16 only seven seconds from full-time.[5] The Knights players and their fans broke into celebration at having won their inaugural title, with Ray Warren proclaiming "Newcastle have won the Grand Final!"[6] With the after the siren conversion from Andrew Johns, the final score was 22-16.

Newcastle Knights 22
Tries: O'Davis 2, Albert
Goals: Johns 5/6

Manly Sea Eagles 16
Tries: Hopoate, Innes, Nevin
Goals: Nevin 2/4

Clive Churchill Medal

Robbie O'Davis[7]

Seventy per cent of the winning squad were Newcastle juniors. The win was a huge morale boost to the blue-collar Newcastle district in the same year that the area's biggest employer, the BHP steelworks had announced its closure.

Post game

A Super Bowl style match between the Newcastle Knights and Brisbane Broncos, the 1997 Super League season's premiers was mooted, but did not eventuate.[8] Newcastle only had to wait another four years for its next premiership, whilst Manly had to wait until 2007 for another shot at the title, which was unsuccessful. Manly's next premiership would however come the following year.

Player statistics

The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 22.Top 5 point scorers

width=50 Pointswidth=200 Playerwidth=30 Trieswidth=30 Goalswidth=30 Field Goals
217 Jason Taylor9893
158 Ivan Cleary5690
109 Andrew Leeds3473
106 Wayne Bartrim5430
102 Michael Withers8350
Top 5 try scorers
width=50 Trieswidth=200 Player
20 Terry Hill
17 Darren Albert
14 Wayne Clifford
12 Steve Menzies
12 John Hopoate
12 Andrew Walker
12 William Kennedy
Top 5 goal scorers
width=50 Goalswidth=200 Player
89 Jason Taylor
69 Ivan Cleary
47 Andrew Leeds
43 Wayne Bartrim
37 Brendan Hurst

Post season

See main article: National Rugby League. With twenty-two teams playing in two competitions in 1997 crowd attendances and corporate sponsorships were spread very thinly, and many teams found themselves in financial difficulty by the end of the season. Despite having the financial backing of Optus, the Australian Rugby League decided that it was not in the best interests of the game to run two competitions and undertook moves to approach News Limited and invite the traditional clubs back into the main competition. As a consequence of the negotiations that followed, on 23 September 1997 the ARL announced that it was forming a new competition in partnership with News Limited. The NRL was formed from the ARL and Super League competitions.

It was announced that the 1998 season would have 20 teams competing, 19 of the ARL and Super League teams and the Melbourne Storm, who were owned by News Limited. Some of the clubs on both sides of the war were shut down. News decided to close the Hunter Mariners and the financially ruined Western/Perth Reds, who were $10million in debt at the end of 1997, while the ARL decided to close down the South Queensland Crushers, who were also in financial trouble. Additionally, at the end of the following season News Limited would decide to close down the Adelaide Rams and the ARL would close down the Gold Coast Chargers, even though they were one of the few clubs to make a profit during the Super League war.

1997 Transfers

Players

Player1996 Club1997 Club
data-sort-value="Alexander, Greg"Greg Alexander Auckland Warriors Penrith Panthers (Super League)
data-sort-value="Blackmore, Richie"Richie Blackmore Auckland Warriors Super League: Leeds Rhinos
data-sort-value="Platt, Andy"Andy Platt Auckland Warriors Super League: Salford Reds
data-sort-value="Tatupu, Tony"Tony Tatupu Auckland Warriors Super League: Warrington Wolves
data-sort-value="Cann, Alan"Alan Cann Brisbane Broncos Adelaide Rams (Super League)
data-sort-value="Carne, Willie"Willie Carne Brisbane BroncosRetirement
data-sort-value="Galea, Brett"Brett Galea Brisbane Broncos Adelaide Rams (Super League)
data-sort-value="Johns, Chris"Chris Johns Brisbane BroncosRetirement
data-sort-value="Ross, Robbie"Robbie Ross Brisbane Broncos Hunter Mariners (Super League)
data-sort-value="Walters, Kerrod"Kerrod Walters Brisbane Broncos Adelaide Rams (Super League)
data-sort-value="Corvo, Mark"Mark Corvo Canberra Raiders Adelaide Rams (Super League)
data-sort-value="Stone, Steve"Steve Stone Canberra Raiders Adelaide Rams (Super League)
data-sort-value="Walters, Steve"Steve Walters Canberra Raiders North Queensland Cowboys (Super League)
data-sort-value="Hill, Scott"Scott Hill Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Hunter Mariners (Super League)
data-sort-value="Lamb, Terry"Terry Lamb Canterbury-Bankstown BulldogsRetirement
data-sort-value="Lidden, Jason"Jason Lidden Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Super League: Castleford Tigers
data-sort-value="Boughton, Dave"Dave Boughton Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Adelaide Rams (Super League)
data-sort-value="Jones, Gavin"Gavin Jones Cronulla-Sutherland SharksRetirement
data-sort-value="Pierce, Andrew"Andrew Pierce Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Adelaide Rams (Super League)
data-sort-value="Gillard, Brett"Brett Gillard Gold Coast Chargers South Sydney Rabbitohs
data-sort-value="Kenward, Shane"Shane Kenward Gold Coast Chargers St. George Dragons
data-sort-value="Orford, Jeff"Jeff Orford Gold Coast Chargers South Sydney Rabbitohs
data-sort-value="Watson, Dave"Dave Watson Gold Coast Chargers South Queensland Crushers
data-sort-value="Doherty, Darrien"Darrien Doherty Illawarra Steelers Hunter Mariners (Super League)
data-sort-value="Fritz, Darren"Darren Fritz Illawarra Steelers North Sydney Bears
data-sort-value="O'Meara, Brendan"Brendan O'Meara Illawarra Steelers South Sydney Rabbitohs
data-sort-value="Piccinelli, Neil"Neil Piccinelli Illawarra Steelers Hunter Mariners (Super League)
data-sort-value="Richards, Wayne"Wayne Richards Illawarra Steelers Newcastle Knights
data-sort-value="Riolo, David"David Riolo Illawarra Steelers Parramatta Eels
data-sort-value="Simon, Craig"Craig Simon Illawarra Steelers South Sydney Rabbitohs
data-sort-value="White, Josh"Josh White Illawarra Steelers Super League: London Broncos
data-sort-value="Cunningham, Owen"Owen Cunningham Manly Warringah Sea Eagles North Queensland Cowboys (Super League)
data-sort-value="Dunford, Matt"Matt Dunford Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Super League: London Broncos
data-sort-value="Elsegood, Jack"Jack Elsegood Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Sydney City Roosters (Eastern Suburbs Roosters)
data-sort-value="Hasler, Des"Des Hasler Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Western Suburbs Magpies
data-sort-value="Ridge, Matthew"Matthew Ridge Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Auckland Warriors (Super League)
data-sort-value="Ainscough, Jamie"Jamie Ainscough Newcastle Knights St. George Dragons
data-sort-value="Beauchamp, Keith"Keith Beauchamp Newcastle Knights Hunter Mariners (Super League)
data-sort-value="Godden, Brad"Brad Godden Newcastle Knights Hunter Mariners (Super League)
data-sort-value="Marquet, Paul"Paul Marquet Newcastle Knights Hunter Mariners (Super League)
data-sort-value="McCormack, Robbie"Robbie McCormack Newcastle Knights Hunter Mariners (Super League)
data-sort-value="Treacy, Darren"Darren Treacy Newcastle Knights St. George Dragons
data-sort-value="Bouveng, David"David Bouveng North Queensland Cowboys Super League: Halifax Blue Sox
data-sort-value="Edmed, Steve"Steve Edmed North Queensland Cowboys Super League: Sheffield Eagles
data-sort-value="Gibson, Damian"Damian Gibson North Queensland Cowboys Super League: Leeds Rhinos
data-sort-value="Martin, Jason"Jason Martin North Queensland Cowboys Super League: Paris Saint-Germain
data-sort-value="Schifilliti, Dean"Dean Schifilliti North Queensland Cowboys Adelaide Rams (Super League)
data-sort-value="Sing, Wayne"Wayne Sing North Queensland Cowboys Super League: Paris Saint-Germain
data-sort-value="Vowles, Adrian"Adrian Vowles North Queensland Cowboys Super League: Castleford Tigers
data-sort-value="Toshack, Mat"Mat Toshack North Sydney Bears South Queensland Crushers
data-sort-value="Wilson, Craig"Craig Wilson North Sydney Bears South Queensland Crushers
data-sort-value="Blackett, Keith"Keith Blackett Parramatta Eels Gold Coast Chargers
data-sort-value="Erickson, Michael"Michael Erickson Parramatta EelsRetirement
data-sort-value="Freeman, Gary"Gary Freeman Parramatta EelsRetirement
data-sort-value="Maybon, Rod"Rod Maybon Parramatta Eels Adelaide Rams (Super League)
data-sort-value="McKenzie, Marty"Marty McKenzie Parramatta Eels Adelaide Rams (Super League)
data-sort-value="Russell, Shane"Shane Russell Parramatta Eels Gold Coast Chargers
data-sort-value="Cartwright, John"John Cartwright Penrith Panthers Super League: Salford Reds
data-sort-value="Pethybridge, Scott"Scott Pethybridge Penrith Panthers North Sydney Bears
data-sort-value="Walker, Barry"Barry Walker Penrith PanthersRetirement
data-sort-value="Collins, Wayne"Wayne Collins South Queensland Crushers Super League: Leeds Rhinos
data-sort-value="Gaffey, Nigel"Nigel Gaffey South Queensland Crushers Sydney City Roosters (Eastern Suburbs Roosters)
data-sort-value="Gillmeister, Trevor"Trevor Gillmeister South Queensland CrushersRetirement
data-sort-value="Hearn, Tony"Tony Hearn South Queensland Crushers St. George Dragons
data-sort-value="Horsnell, Brett"Brett Horsnell South Queensland Crushers Parramatta Eels
data-sort-value="Mackay, Graham"Graham Mackay South Queensland Crushers Gold Coast Chargers
data-sort-value="McKenna, Chris"Chris McKenna South Queensland Crushers Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks (Super League)
data-sort-value="Peacock, Danny"Danny Peacock South Queensland Crushers Super League: Bradford Bulls
data-sort-value="Shearer, Dale"Dale Shearer South Queensland Crushers Sydney City Roosters (Eastern Suburbs Roosters)
data-sort-value="Bell, Jason"Jason Bell South Sydney Rabbitohs Parramatta Eels
data-sort-value="Field, Craig"Craig Field South Sydney Rabbitohs Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
data-sort-value="Masella, Martin"Martin Masella South Sydney Rabbitohs Super League: Leeds Rhinos
data-sort-value="Robinson, Will"Will Robinson South Sydney Rabbitohs Illawarra Steelers
data-sort-value="Salvatori, Craig"Craig Salvatori South Sydney RabbitohsRetirement
data-sort-value="Sinclair, Jacin"Jacin Sinclair South Sydney Rabbitohs Sydney City Roosters (Eastern Suburbs Roosters)
data-sort-value="Barnhill, David"David Barnhill St. George Dragons Sydney City Roosters (Eastern Suburbs Roosters)
data-sort-value="Campion, Kevin"Kevin Campion St. George Dragons Adelaide Rams (Super League)
data-sort-value="Donnelly, Jason"Jason Donnelly St. George Dragons Adelaide Rams (Super League)
data-sort-value="Goldthorpe, Noel"Noel Goldthorpe St. George Dragons Hunter Mariners (Super League)
data-sort-value="Gourley, Scott"Scott Gourley St. George Dragons Sydney City Roosters (Eastern Suburbs Roosters)
data-sort-value="Mundine, Anthony"Anthony Mundine St. George Dragons Brisbane Broncos (Super League)
data-sort-value="Murray, Scott"Scott Murray St. George Dragons South Sydney Rabbitohs
data-sort-value="Quinn, Chris"Chris Quinn St. George Dragons Adelaide Rams (Super League)
data-sort-value="Stevens, Jason"Jason Stevens St. George Dragons Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks (Super League)
data-sort-value="Stone, Troy"Troy Stone St. George Dragons Hunter Mariners (Super League)
data-sort-value="Walford, Ricky"Ricky Walford St. George DragonsRetirement
data-sort-value="Zisti, Nick"Nick Zisti St. George Dragons Hunter Mariners (Super League)
data-sort-value="Bourke, Greg"Greg Bourke Sydney Tigers Sydney City Roosters (Eastern Suburbs Roosters)
data-sort-value="Brann, Anthony"Anthony Brann Sydney Tigers Hunter Mariners (Super League)
data-sort-value="Herron, Ian"Ian Herron Sydney Tigers Parramatta Eels
data-sort-value="Patten, Wes"Wes Patten Sydney Tigers Gold Coast Chargers
data-sort-value="Pearson, Corey"Corey Pearson Sydney Tigers St. George Dragons
data-sort-value="Stains, Dan"Dan Stains Sydney TigersRetirement
data-sort-value="Dunn, Paul"Paul Dunn Sydney City Roosters (Eastern Suburbs Roosters)Retirement
data-sort-value="Iro, Tony"Tony Iro Sydney City Roosters (Eastern Suburbs Roosters) Hunter Mariners (Super League)
data-sort-value="Maddison, Tim"Tim Maddison Sydney City Roosters (Eastern Suburbs Roosters) Hunter Mariners (Super League)
data-sort-value="Simon, John"John Simon Sydney City Roosters (Eastern Suburbs Roosters) Parramatta Eels
data-sort-value="Smith, James"James Smith Sydney City Roosters (Eastern Suburbs Roosters) Western Suburbs Magpies
data-sort-value="Whereat, Shane"Shane Whereat Sydney City Roosters (Eastern Suburbs Roosters) Parramatta Eels
data-sort-value="Blair, Cameron"Cameron Blair Perth Reds Adelaide Rams (Super League)
data-sort-value="Boyd, David"David Boyd Perth RedsRetirement
data-sort-value="Goldspink, Brett"Brett Goldspink Perth Reds Super League: Oldham Bears
data-sort-value="O'Neill, Julian"Julian O'Neill Perth Reds South Sydney Rabbitohs
data-sort-value="Potter, Mick"Mick Potter Perth RedsRetirement
data-sort-value="Coleman, Craig"Craig Coleman Western Suburbs MagpiesRetirement
data-sort-value="Dooley, Justin"Justin Dooley Western Suburbs Magpies Hunter Mariners (Super League)
data-sort-value="Hick, Andrew"Andrew Hick Western Suburbs Magpies Adelaide Rams (Super League)
data-sort-value="Howard, Harvey"Harvey Howard Super League: Leeds Rhinos Western Suburbs Magpies
data-sort-value="Iro, Kevin"Kevin Iro Super League: Leeds Rhinos Hunter Mariners (Super League)
data-sort-value="Dynevor, Leo"Leo Dynevor Super League: London Broncos Newcastle Knights
data-sort-value="Roberts, Ian"Ian RobertsHiatus North Queensland Cowboys (Super League)
data-sort-value="Tallis, Gorden"Gorden TallisHiatus Brisbane Broncos (Super League)
data-sort-value="Simonds, Wayne"Wayne SimondsN/A Adelaide Rams (Super League)

Coaches

Coach1996 Club1997 Club
Tim Sheens Canberra Raiders North Queensland Cowboys (Super League)
Brian Smith Super League: Bradford Bulls Parramatta Eels

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Illawarra History . dragons.com.au . . 11 August 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120528165554/http://www.dragons.com.au/illawarra-history . 28 May 2012 .
  2. Web site: ARL 1997 – Prelim Final – Rugby League Project. Shawn Dollin and Andrew. Ferguson. www.rugbyleagueproject.org. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170801114155/http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/seasons/arl-1997/prelim-final/newcastle-vs-north-sydney/summary.html. 1 August 2017.
  3. Web site: The Greatest Goalkickers in NRL History • Rugby League Opinions . 5 April 2019 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170212221054/http://rugbyleagueopinions.com/greatest-goalkickers-australian-rugby-league-nrl-history/ . 12 February 2017 .
  4. http://www.rl1908.com/clubcomps/Grand-Finals.htm NRL Grand Final History
  5. Web site: Sydney Football Stadium Magic Moments . sydneycricketground.com.au . . https://web.archive.org/web/20070816081038/http://www.scgt.nsw.gov.au/MM-SFS.html . dead . 16 August 2007 . 2 September 2009 .
  6. Book: Roberts , Michael . Great Australian Sporting Moments. 2008. The Miegunyah Press. Australia. 978-0-522-85547-0.
  7. 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 . Australian Associated Press. 8 September 2013 .
  8. News: Broncos: Super Bowl no go . . 85 . . 19 September 1997 . 28 February 2011.