The 1989 NSWRL season was the 82nd season of professional rugby league football in Australia. Sixteen clubs competed for the New South Wales Rugby League's J.J. Giltinan Shield and Winfield Cup Premiership during the season, which culminated in a grand final between Balmain and Canberra. This season NSWRL teams also competed for the 1989 Panasonic Cup. This would be the last time a mid-season competition was played concurrent with the regular season. From 1990 it would become a pre-season competition.
Season summary Twenty-two regular season rounds were played from March till August, resulting in a top five of South Sydney, Penrith, Balmain, Canberra and Cronulla (who finished equal with Brisbane but beat them in a play-off for fifth) to battle it out in the finals.
This year Penrith forward Geoff Gerard set new record for most first-grade NSWRL premiership games at 320 before retiring at the end of the season.
The 1989 season's Rothmans Medal was shared by Cronulla-Sutherland forward Gavin Miller and Newcastle front-rower Mark Sargent. Miller also won the Dally M Award and was named Rugby League Week's player of the year.
The grand finals:
Canberra Raiders vs Balmain Tigers (Senior Grade) North Sydney Bears vs Parramatta Eels (Reserve Grade) South Sydney Rabbitohs vs Canberra Raiders (Under-21s Grade) Brisbane Broncos vs Illawarra Steelers (Mid-week)
The winners in all grades were:
Canberra Raiders (Senior Grade) North Sydney Bears (Reserve Grade) South Sydney Rabbitohs (Under-21s Grade) Brisbane Broncos (Mid-week)
The State of Origin Series
Queensland vs New South Wales
Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged from the previous season, with sixteen clubs contesting the premiership, including five Sydney-based foundation teams, another six from Sydney, two from greater New South Wales, two from Queensland, and one from the Australian Capital Territory. Balmain 82nd seasonGround: Leichhardt Oval Coach: Warren RyanCaptain: Wayne PearceBrisbane 2nd seasonGround: Lang Park Coach: Wayne BennettCaptain: Wally LewisCanberra 8th seasonGround: Seiffert Oval Coach: Tim SheensCaptain: Mal MeningaCanterbury-Bankstown 55th seasonGround: Belmore Oval Coach: Phil GouldCaptain: Peter TunksCronulla-Sutherland 23rd seasonGround: Caltex Field Coach: Allan FitzgibbonCaptain: David HatchEastern Suburbs 82nd seasonGround: Sydney Football Stadium Coach: Russell FairfaxCaptain: Hugh McGahanGold Coast Giants 2nd seasonGround: Seagulls Stadium Coach: Bob McCarthyCaptain: Ron Gibbs → Billy Johnstone Illawarra 8th seasonGround: Wollongong Stadium Coach: Ron HilditchCaptain: Chris WalshManly-Warringah 43rd seasonGround: Brookvale Oval Coach: Alan ThompsonCaptain: Paul VautinNewcastle 2nd seasonGround: Newcastle ISC Coach: Allan McMahonCaptain: Sam StewartNorth Sydney 82nd seasonGround: North Sydney Oval Coach: Frank StantonCaptain: John Dorahy → Tony ReaParramatta 43rd seasonGround: Parramatta Stadium Coach: John MonieCaptain: Peter SterlingPenrith 23rd seasonGround: Penrith Stadium Coach: Ron WilleyCaptain: Royce SimmonsSouth Sydney 82nd seasonGround: Sydney Football Stadium Coach: George Piggins Captain: Mario FenechSt. George 70th seasonGround: Kogarah Oval Coach: Craig YoungCaptain: Brian JohnstonWestern Suburbs 82nd seasonGround: Orana Park Coach: John BaileyCaptain: Cameron Blair → Ellery Hanley
Advertising 1989 was a watershed year for the New South Wales Rugby League's advertising commencing an association with Tina Turner that would last until 1995. In those years the NSWRL, its ad agency Hertz Walpole and promotions consultant Brian Walsh would fundamentally change the image and popular perception of the game in Australia.
Agency copywriter Paul Knights inspired by the brutal simplicity of the game, saw a link to the lyrics in Tina Turner's 1987 hit What You Get Is What You See written by Terry Britten & Graham Lyle. Negotiations were assisted by the fact that her Australian manager Roger Davies was familiar with the game and the rights deal was easily done. There was initially no intention to film Tina performing the song but at the last minute an availability appeared in her schedule. The agency and a production crew were despatched to England along with the NSWRL's General Manager John Quayle bearing bags of balls, jumpers and branded goalpost pads. Leading players Cliff Lyons (Manly) and Gavin Miller (Cronulla) were both in England at the time playing for Leeds and Hull Kingston Rovers respectively and made themselves available for the film and promotional stills shoot with Tina. In the finished ad the Tina footage is interspersed with the usual big hits and crowd scenes plus shots of the star players of the time in pre-season training. Lyons appears in the commercial in a hammy locker room shot with Tina.
Initial questions about the relevance of Tina to the Australian game were displaced when the up tempo, sexy ad appeared and the long running and successful association began.
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 F1 F2 F3 F4 GF Balmain TigersNOR+7NEW+2BRI+9PAR−2WES−2MAN+1PEN−20GCG+10CBY−6XSTG−10ILA+12SOU−2EAS+4CRO+22CAN+6NOR+32NEW−8BRI+18PAR+4WES+40MAN0PEN+27XPEN+12SOU+10XCAN−5* Brisbane BroncosPEN+20MAN+4BAL−9WES+2NEW+12PAR+4NOR+26ILA+8EAS+34XGCG+14STG−10CAN−21CRO+32CBY−14SOU−12PEN−10MAN−8BAL−18WES+12NEW+4PAR+8NOR+30CRO−24 Canberra RaidersCRO−18SOU−15EAS+1GCG+24CBY+30ILA+36STG+38MAN+2PAR+25XNEW−4PEN−10BRI+21WES−3NOR+9BAL−6CRO−6SOU−10EAS+4GCG+24CBY+4ILA+10STG+14XCRO+21PEN+9SOU+16BAL+5* Canterbury-Bankstown BulldogsGCG+6CRO+20ILA+12STG−8CAN−30EAS+24SOU−8NEW−8BAL+6XPEN−34PAR+14NOR0MAN−18BRI+14WES+20GCG+6CRO−15ILA+10STG−32CAN−4EAS−32SOU0 Cronulla-Sutherland SharksCAN+18CBY−20SOU−2EAS+4STG−1GCG+2ILA+20PEN+22NEW+26XPAR−10NOR+14WES+16BRI−32BAL−22MAN+5CAN+6CBY+15SOU+2EAS−18STG+14GCG−4ILA+32BRI+24CAN−21 Eastern Suburbs RoostersSOU+14STG+1CAN−1CRO−4ILA+42CBY−24GCG−14PAR−4BRI−34WES+2XMAN−10PEN−20BAL−4NEW−10NOR+6SOU−18STG+4CAN−4CRO+18ILA0CBY+32GCG+30 Gold Coast-Tweed GiantsCBY−6ILA+4XCAN−24SOU−15CRO−2EAS+14BAL−10PEN−23STG−4BRI−14WES0NEW+6NOR+2MAN+23PAR−14CBY−6ILA+2STG−32CAN−24SOU−11CRO+4EAS−30 Illawarra SteelersSTG−4GCG−4CBY−12SOU−8EAS−42CAN−36CRO−20BRI−8MAN+6NOR−12XBAL−12PAR−16PEN−1WES−2NEW−12STG+2GCG−2CBY−10SOU−12EAS0CAN−10CRO−32 Manly Warringah Sea EaglesPAR−2BRI−4NEW−14NOR+4PEN−10BAL−1WES+12CAN−2ILA−6XSOU−26EAS+10STG+14CBY+18GCG−23CRO−5PAR+22BRI+8NEW+10NOR−2PEN−18BAL0WES+6 Newcastle KnightsWES+9BAL−2MAN+14PEN−9BRI−12NOR+12PAR+4CBY+8CRO−26XCAN+4SOU−8GCG−6STG−8EAS+10ILA+12WES−18BAL+8MAN−10PEN−1BRI−4NOR+13PAR+10 North Sydney BearsBAL−7PEN−20WES+24MAN−4PAR+16NEW−12BRI−26SOU−10STG+2ILA+12XCRO−14CBY0GCG−2CAN−9EAS−6BAL−32PEN−29WES−30MAN+2PAR−24NEW−13BRI−30 Parramatta EelsMAN+2WES+20PEN+2BAL+2NOR−16BRI−4NEW−4EAS+4CAN−25XCRO+10CBY−14ILA+16SOU−8STG+12GCG+14MAN−22WES−18PEN+7BAL−4NOR+24BRI−8NEW−10 Penrith PanthersBRI−20NOR+20PAR−2NEW+9MAN+10WES+26BAL+20CRO−22GCG+23XCBY+34CAN+10EAS+20ILA+1SOU+11STG−4BRI+10NOR+29PAR−7NEW+1MAN+18WES+37BAL−27XBAL−12CAN−9 South Sydney RabbitohsEAS−14CAN+15CRO+2ILA+8GCG+15STG+32CBY+8NOR+10WES+9XMAN+26NEW+8BAL+2PAR+8PEN−11BRI+12EAS+18CAN+10CRO−2ILA+12GCG+11STG+4CBY0XXBAL−10CAN−16 St. George DragonsILA+4EAS−1XCBY+8CRO+1SOU−32CAN−38WES−2NOR−2GCG+4BAL+10BRI+10MAN−14NEW+8PAR−12PEN+4ILA−2EAS−4GCG+32CBY+32CRO−14SOU−4CAN−14 Western Suburbs MagpiesNEW−9PAR−20NOR−24BRI−2BAL+2PEN−26MAN−12STG+2SOU−9EAS−2XGCG0CRO−16CAN+3ILA+2CBY−20NEW+18PAR+18NOR+30BRI−12BAL−40PEN−37MAN−6 Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 F1 F2 F3 F4 GF
Bold – Home game X – Bye * – Extra time game Opponent for round listed above margin
Ladder TeamPldWDLPFPAPDPts1 South Sydney221813390207+183372 Penrith221606438241+197323 Balmain221417380236+144294 Canberra (P)221408457287+170285 Brisbane221408398290+108286 Cronulla221408368281+87287 Newcastle22110112812810228 Parramatta2211011346366-20229 Canterbury2210210280337-572210 St. George2210012330356-262011 Eastern Suburbs229112348346+21912 Manly229112334343-91913 Western Suburbs227114229389-1601514 Gold Coast227114223383-1601515 North Sydney225116194406-2121116 Illawarra222119256503-2475
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.
Team12345678910111213141516171819202122231 South Sydney Rabbitohs 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 16 18 20 22 24 24 26 28 30 30 32 34 36 372 Penrith Panthers 0 2 2 4 6 8 10 10 12 12 14 16 18 20 22 22 24 26 26 28 30 32 323 Balmain Tigers 2 4 6 6 6 8 8 10 10 10 10 12 12 14 16 18 20 20 22 24 26 27 294 Canberra Raiders 0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 14 14 14 16 16 18 18 18 18 20 22 24 26 285 Brisbane Broncos 2 4 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 16 18 18 18 20 20 20 20 20 20 22 24 26 286 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 2 2 2 4 4 6 8 10 12 12 12 14 16 16 16 18 20 22 24 24 26 26 287 Newcastle Knights 2 2 4 4 4 6 8 10 10 10 12 12 12 12 14 16 16 18 18 18 18 20 228 Parramatta Eels 2 4 6 8 8 8 8 10 10 10 12 12 14 14 16 18 18 18 20 20 22 22 229 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2 4 6 6 6 8 8 8 10 10 10 12 13 13 15 17 19 19 21 21 21 21 2210 St. George Dragons 2 2 2 4 6 6 6 6 6 8 10 12 12 14 14 16 16 16 18 20 20 20 2011 Eastern Suburbs Roosters 2 4 4 4 6 6 6 6 6 8 8 8 8 8 8 10 10 12 12 14 15 17 1912 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 0 0 0 2 2 2 4 4 4 4 4 6 8 10 10 10 12 14 16 16 16 17 1913 Western Suburbs Magpies 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 4 4 4 4 5 5 7 9 9 11 13 15 15 15 15 1514 Gold Coast-Tweed Giants 0 2 2 2 2 2 4 4 4 4 4 5 7 9 11 11 11 13 13 13 13 15 1515 North Sydney Bears 0 0 2 2 4 4 4 4 6 8 8 8 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 11 11 11 1116 Illawarra Steelers 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 4 4 4 4 5 5 5
Finals Cronulla and Brisbane, having finished equal fifth, played off for a semi-final berth. Cronulla would secure fifth position via a dominant display in a midweek clash on neutral turf at the recently constructed Parramatta Stadium.
Despite being on fourth place on the ladder, Canberra went on to win the competition, the first club to do so since the top five system's introduction. They won their last nine games of the season. Canberra's win also saw them become the first non-Sydney based club to win the premiership. HomeScoreAwayMatch informationDate and timeVenueRefereeCrowd Playoff Brisbane14–38 Cronulla-Sutherland29 August 1989Parramatta StadiumMick Stone9,047 Qualifying Finals Canberra31–10 Cronulla-Sutherland2 September 1989Sydney Football StadiumBill Harrigan18,186 Penrith12–24 Balmain3 September 1989Sydney Football StadiumMick Stone29,508 Semi-finals Penrith18–27 Canberra9 September 1989Sydney Football StadiumMick Stone20,314 South Sydney10–20 Balmain10 September 1989Sydney Football StadiumBill Harrigan40,000 Preliminary final South Sydney16–32 Canberra17 September 1989Sydney Football StadiumBill Harrigan31,469 Grand final Balmain14–19 Canberra24 September 1989Sydney Football StadiumBill Harrigan40,500
Chart
Grand final BalmainPositionCanberra Garry Jack FB Gary Belcher 2. Steve O'Brien WG 2. Matthew Wood 3. Tim Brasher CE 3. Mal Meninga (c) 4. Andy Currier CE 4. Laurie Daley 5. James Grant WG 5. John Ferguson 6. Mick Neil FE 6. Chris O'Sullivan 7. Gary Freeman HB 7. Ricky Stuart 8. Steve Roach PR 8. Brent Todd 9. Benny Elias HK 9. Steve Walters 10. Steve Edmed PR 10. Glenn Lazarus 11. Paul Sironen SR 11. Dean Lance 12. Bruce McGuire SR 12. Gary Coyne 13. Wayne Pearce (c) LK 13. Bradley Clyde 14. Michael Pobjie Bench 15. Paul Martin 15. Shaun Edwards Bench 20. Steve Jackson 16. Kevin Hardwick Bench 22. Kevin Walters Warren Ryan Coach Tim Sheens