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 The regular season commenced in March with reigning premiers Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs winning 18–4 against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. Bulldogs forward Paul Langmack scored the first try of the season. Parramatta played their round 2 match against the Canberra at Orana Park following the opening of a new 1.25m grandstand. It was the first match played at the venue since 1983. Parramatta hosted their remaining matches at Belmore Sports Ground with the new Parramatta Stadium to open in time for the 1986 season.
St. George would be undefeated through the opening eight rounds of the season, before losing to Balmain 24–19 at Kogarah Oval, the Tigers had been behind 13–0 after only 17 minutes of the match.
In the second half of the season, the NSWRL experimented by fixturing 11 matches played at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Monday nights, with matches broadcast live by Network 10. The experiment was hailed as a success with average attendance over 10,000 fans and an average television audience of 750,000.
Following the final round of the season, Penrith and Manly Warringah Sea Eagles finished level on 31 competition points to force a Tuesday night playoff for fifth place. The scores were tied at 6-all after 80 minutes forcing extra time. Manly led 7–6 early in the first half of extra time, but two goals by Penrith halfback Greg Alexander gave the Panthers a 10–7 victory.
Penrith joined minor premiers St. George in the finals with Balmain, Canterbury and Parramatta the other finalists.
Awards Rothmans Medal — Wayne Pearce (Balmain Tigers) Dally M Medal — Greg Alexander (Penrith Panthers) Rugby League Week Player of the Year — Ray Price (Parramatta Eels)
Teams The lineup of clubs remained unchanged from the previous year, with 13 clubs 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 seasonGround: Leichhardt Oval Coach: Frank StantonCaptain: Wayne PearceCanberra Raiders 4th seasonGround: Seiffert Oval Coach: Don FurnerCaptain: Dean LanceCanterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 51st seasonGround: Belmore Sports Ground Coach: Warren RyanCaptain: Steve MortimerCronulla-Sutherland Sharks 19th seasonGround: Ronson Field Coach: Terry FearnleyCaptain: David HatchEastern Suburbs Roosters 78th seasonGround: Sydney Sports Ground Coach: Arthur BeetsonCaptain: Ron Gibbs→John TobinIllawarra Steelers 4th seasonGround: Wollongong Showground Coach: Brian SmithCaptain: Brian HetheringtonManly-Warringah Sea Eagles 39th seasonGround: Brookvale Oval Coach: Bob FultonCaptain: Glenn Ryan→Paul VautinNorth Sydney Bears 78th seasonGround: North Sydney Oval Coach: Greg Hawick→Brian NortonCaptain: W. Honeywood→Fred Teasdell→Mark GrahamParramatta Eels 39th seasonGround: Belmore Sports Ground Coach: John MonieCaptain: Ray PricePenrith Panthers 19th seasonGround: Penrith Park Coach: Tim SheensCaptain: Royce SimmonsSouth Sydney Rabbitohs 78th seasonGround: Redfern Oval Coach: Ron WilleyCaptain: David BoyleSt. George Dragons 65th seasonGround: Kogarah Oval Coach: Roy MastersCaptain: Craig YoungWestern Suburbs Magpies 78th seasonGround: Lidcombe Oval Coach: Ken GentleCaptain: 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 TigersNOR+20PEN+30CRO+24WES+40CBY−2MAN−4EAS−4XSTG+5ILA+8CAN+3PAR+13SOU+12NOR+23PEN+6CRO−20WES+6CBY+6MAN+8EAS+1XSTG−2ILA+13CAN+18PAR−32SOU+18XCBY−6*PAR−28 Canberra RaidersILA+10PAR−14NOR+8SOU+14PEN−30CRO−20WES+32CBY−24MAN0EAS−2BAL−3STG+10XILA+9PAR−14NOR+30SOU+7PEN−6CRO−2WES0CBY−12MAN−15EAS−18BAL−18STG−44X Canterbury-Bankstown BulldogsCRO+14XMAN−20EAS0BAL+2STG0ILA+6CAN+24PAR−20NOR+8SOU−15PEN−11WES+52CRO+8XMAN+4EAS+7BAL−6STG−10ILA+20CAN+12PAR+15NOR+18SOU+18PEN+14WES+28XBAL+6*STG−11PAR+26STG+1 Cronulla-Sutherland SharksCBY−14EAS−20BAL−24STG−10ILA+8CAN+20PAR−4NOR+14SOU−6PEN−6XWES+18MAN+15CBY−8EAS−7BAL+20STG−18ILA+26CAN+2PAR+8NOR+12SOU−2PEN−8XWES+26MAN−6 Eastern Suburbs RoostersSOU−18CRO+20WES+38CBY0MAN−12XBAL+4STG−4ILA+2CAN+2PAR−26NOR−4PEN+20SOU−8CRO+7WES0CBY−7MAN−22XBAL−1STG0ILA−10CAN+18PAR+2NOR+16PEN−32 Illawarra SteelersCAN−10NOR−5SOU+13PEN+6CRO−8WES−10CBY−6MAN−12EAS−2BAL−8STG−8XPAR−20CAN−9NOR+18SOU+4PEN−26CRO−26WES−12CBY−20MAN−6EAS+10BAL−13STG−12XPAR−2 Manly Warringah Sea EaglesPEN−12WES+20CBY+20XEAS+12BAL+4STG−4ILA+12CAN0PAR+4NOR+14SOU−8CRO−15PEN−12WES+24CBY−4XEAS+22BAL−8STG−17ILA+6CAN+15PAR−12NOR+18SOU−26CRO+6PEN−3 North Sydney BearsBAL−20ILA+5CAN−8PAR−2XSOU+4PEN−12CRO−14WES+2CBY−8MAN−14EAS+4STG−16BAL−23ILA−18CAN−30PAR−8XSOU+4PEN0CRO−12WES+16CBY−18MAN−18EAS−16STG−8 Parramatta EelsSTG−20CAN+14XNOR+2SOU+17PEN−8CRO+4WES+6CBY+20MAN−4EAS+26BAL−13ILA+20STG+4CAN+14XNOR+8SOU−13PEN+11CRO−8WES+38CBY−15MAN+12EAS−2BAL+32ILA+2XPEN+32BAL+28CBY−26 Penrith PanthersMAN+12BAL−30STG−3ILA−6CAN+30PAR+8NOR+12SOU+5XCRO+6WES−9CBY+11EAS−20MAN+12BAL−6STG−10ILA+26CAN+6PAR−11NOR0SOU−4XCRO+8WES+26CBY−14EAS+32MAN+3PAR−32 South Sydney RabbitohsEAS+18STG−6ILA−13CAN−14PAR−17NOR−4XPEN−5CRO+6WES−8CBY+15MAN+8BAL−12EAS+8STG−24ILA−4CAN−7PAR+13NOR−4XPEN+4CRO+2WES+8CBY−18MAN+26BAL−18 St. George DragonsPAR+20SOU+6PEN+3CRO+10WES+12CBY0MAN+4EAS+4BAL−5XILA+8CAN−10NOR+16PAR−4SOU+24PEN+10CRO+18WES−3CBY+10MAN+17EAS0BAL+2XILA+12CAN+44NOR+8XXCBY+11XCBY−1 Western Suburbs MagpiesXMAN−20EAS−38BAL−40STG−12ILA+10CAN−32PAR−6NOR−2SOU+8PEN+9CRO−18CBY−52XMAN−24EAS0BAL−6STG+3ILA+12CAN0PAR−38NOR−16SOU−8PEN−26CRO−26CBY−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
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.
Team12345678910111213141516171819202122232425261 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 40 422 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 38 403 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 36 384 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 34 365 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 29 316 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 29 317 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 27 278 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 26 269 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 2410 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 2211 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 1712 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 1613 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 HomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeCrowd Playoff Penrith Panthers10–7 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles3 September 1985Sydney Cricket GroundMick Stone16,428 Qualifying Finals Parramatta Eels38–6 Penrith Panthers7 September 1985Sydney Cricket GroundKevin Roberts18,939 Balmain Tigers8–14 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs8 September 1985Sydney Cricket GroundMick Stone25,194 Semi-finals Balmain Tigers4–32 Parramatta Eels14 September 1985Sydney Cricket GroundKevin Roberts25,423 St. George Dragons 17–6 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs15 September 1985Sydney Cricket GroundMick Stone39,013 Preliminary final Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs26–0 Parramatta Eels22 September 1985Sydney Cricket GroundKevin Roberts34,915 Grand Final St. George Dragons6–7 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs29 September 1985Sydney Cricket GroundKevin Roberts44,569 Chart
Grand Final
Teams Aiming for back-to-back premierships, Canterbury-Bankstown's team featured 12 players who had played in the 1984 Grand Final, including replacements Mark Bugden and Greg Mullane. Michael Hagan replaced an injured Terry Lamb at five-eighth. The three Mortimer brothers and Steve Folkes also played in the 1979, 1980, 1984 and 1985 matches. St. George captain Craig Young, Steve Morris and Graeme Wynn had all played in the Dragons' 1979 premiership victory.
Match details The two teams had played twice during the regular season, playing out a 10-all draw at the Belmore Sports Ground in April, with St. George taking the return match 16–6 at the Sydney Cricket Ground in June. The teams met again in the major semi final, with the Dragons taking a 17–6 win to progress through the Grand Final. Canterbury then thrashed Parramatta 26–0 in the preliminary final to earn another grand final berth.
The match was played in sunny, albeit breezy conditions at the Sydney Cricket Ground before a crowd of 44,569.
St. George and goalkicker Michael O'Connor was injured in the first few minutes of the match and was in the hands of medical staff for a number of minutes before returning to his position. Canterbury's Steve Folkes was also struggling with a rib injury following the early exchanges. The Dragons had a few half-chances in the first ten minutes, but were unable to capitalise on the opportunities to score, while Canterbury centre Andrew Farrar was seen heading to the sidelines for treatment.
As the first half progressed with each team cancelling the other out, it would be Canterbury's tactical kicking game that continually put St. George fullback Glenn 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.
Midway through the half, a penalty was awarded to Canterbury against St. George captain Craig Young for punching Farrar in a tackle. Opting to take a shot at opening the scoring, Farrar's kick from 39 metres from the posts on a slight angle missed.
The turning point of the first half came in the 27th minute of the match. After felling St George's Graeme Wynn as a scrum broke up, Canterbury forward Peter Kelly was surprising awarded a penalty by referee Kevin Roberts for a different infraction by the Dragons. Gifted field position, Canterbury went on the attack and shortly thereafter Kelly used the blindside to send winger Peter Mortimer over out wide on the Bulldogs right flank to open the scoring with a try. Farrar slotted the conversion attempt for a 6–0 lead, which held to half time after O'Connor missed a penalty goal attempt four minutes from the break.
After a quiet first half, Bulldogs and skipper Steve Mortimer seized control of the match in the second half, as coach Warren Ryan sent on David Gillespie and Mark Bugden to replace Peter Tunks and Billy Johnstone. Winger Matthew Callinan won a contest against Burgess for a high-ball close to the Dragons line and crossed the tryline, only for referee Roberts to deny the try when he ruled Callinan was offside.