The 1978 NSWRFL season was the 71st season of the NSWRFL Premiership, Sydney's professional rugby league football competition, and Australia's first. Twelve clubs, including six of 1908's foundation teams and another six from around Sydney competed for the J.J. Giltinan Shield and WD & HO Wills Cup during the season, which culminated in a grand final between the Manly-Warringah and Cronulla-Sutherland clubs that was drawn and had to be re-played. NSWRFL teams also competed for the 1978 Amco Cup.
Season summary This season video citing was introduced for incidents of foul play that are not detected on the field. Twenty-two regular season rounds were played from March till August, resulting in a top five of Western Suburbs, Cronulla-Sutherland, Manly-Warringah, Parramatta and Canterbury-Bankstown who battled it out in the finals.
Mick Cronin set a new record for most points scored by an individual in Australian club rugby league history with his tally of 282 points from 25 games in 1978. This record would stand for another twenty years. He also broke Arthur Oxford's 1920 record for consecutive goals with 26 in a row.
In a tragic accident during the match between Penrith and Newtown at Henson Park on 28 May, rookie Panther prop John Farragher broke his neck in a scrum and was left a quadriplegic.Lester, Gary and Pritchard, Greg; Bound for Glory: The Story of the Penrith Panthers; pp. 101-103
The 1978 Rothmans Medallist was Parramatta centre Mick Cronin. Rugby League Week gave their player of the year award to Parramatta forward Geoff Gerard.
The 1978 season was also the last in the playing career of future Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame inductee, Ron Coote.
Logos For the 1978 season, the New South Wales Rugby Football League introduced a series of logos for each of the clubs competing in the premiership. Clubs that previously had not used a mascot were required to select one to represent their club. The new logos were commissioned by the NSWRFL properties division with Gordon Alexander designing them. Further revision of these logos continued over the next few years. The new logos gave the league a professional and consistent look which was used as the core of its promotional material until the arrival of the Super League. Many of the logos that were designed have become iconic with some being used in an updated form far on into the future. The logos were as followed: BalmainCanterbury-BankstownCronulla-SutherlandEastern SuburbsManly-WarringahNewtownNorth SydneyParramattaPenrithSouth SydneySt. GeorgeWestern Suburbs
Teams Balmain 71st seasonGround: Leichhardt Oval Coach: Ron WilleyCaptain: Trevor RyanCanterbury-Bankstown 44th seasonGround: Belmore Sports Ground Coach: Ted GlossopCaptain: George PeponisCronulla-Sutherland 12th seasonGround: Endeavour Field Coach: Norm ProvanCaptain: Greg PierceEastern Suburbs 71st seasonGround: Sydney Sports Ground Captain-Coach: Arthur BeetsonManly-Warringah 32nd seasonGround: Brookvale Oval Coach: Frank StantonCaptain: Max KrilichNewtown 71st seasonGround: Henson Park Coach: John RaperCaptain: Col CaseyNorth Sydney 71st seasonGround: North Sydney Oval Captain-Coach: Bill HamiltonParramatta 32nd seasonGround: Cumberland Oval Coach: Terry FearnleyCaptain: Ray PricePenrith 12th seasonGround: Penrith Park Coach: Don ParishCaptain: Ken WilsonSouth Sydney 71st seasonGround: Redfern Oval Coach: Jack GibsonCaptain: Paul Sait, Darrell BamptonSt. George 58th seasonGround: Kogarah Oval Coach: Harry BathCaptain: Steve EdgeWestern Suburbs 71st seasonGround: Lidcombe Oval Coach: Roy MastersCaptain: Tom Raudonikis
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 F2R F3 GF GFR Balmain TigersPEN+8NEW+34CBY−9PAR+6WES+10MAN−16SOU+18NOR0CRO−2EAS−7STG−31PEN−6NEW+37CBY+13PAR−15WES−28MAN+12XSOU−4NOR−8CRO−15EAS−12STG+8 Canterbury-Bankstown BulldogsNEW+19PAR−10BAL+9MAN+3SOU+14WES−4NOR+5CRO+3EAS+15STG−10PEN0NEW+7PAR−20BAL−13MAN+3SOU+3WES+2XNOR+20CRO−10EAS−6STG+4PEN0PAR−7 Cronulla-Sutherland SharksSOU+18NOR+26PAR+2EAS+17PEN+26STG+8NEW+12CBY−3BAL+2MAN−19WES−18SOU−11NOR+3PAR+10EAS−13PEN+39STG+12XNEW+44CBY+10BAL+15MAN−22WES−1MAN+5WES+4XXMAN0MAN−16 Eastern Suburbs RoostersWES+5SOU−2NOR+5CRO−17STG+16PAR+6PEN−2NEW+9CBY−15BAL+7MAN−3WES−4SOU−8NOR+10CRO+13STG−14PAR+5XPEN+29NEW+9CBY+6BAL+12MAN−10 Manly Warringah Sea EaglesSTG+14PEN+7NEW+27CBY−3PAR+12BAL+16WES−6SOU−25NOR+1CRO+19EAS+3STG−9PEN+23NEW+7CBY−3PAR−1BAL−12XWES+6SOU+4NOR+28CRO+22EAS+10CRO−5PAR0PAR+6WES+7CRO0CRO+16 Newtown JetsCBY−19BAL−34MAN−27WES−18NOR−11SOU−1CRO−12EAS−9STG0PEN−16PAR−29CBY−7BAL−37MAN−7WES−19NOR+8SOU−23XCRO−44EAS−9STG−31PEN+11PAR−44 North Sydney BearsPAR−33CRO−26EAS−5STG−9NEW+11PEN−1CBY−5BAL0MAN−1WES−10SOU−9PAR−22CRO−3EAS−10XNEW−8PEN+52STG+14CBY−20BAL+8MAN−28WES−1SOU−8 Parramatta EelsNOR+33CBY+10CRO−2BAL−6MAN−12EAS−6STG+8WES−1PEN+9SOU+9NEW+29NOR+22CBY+20CRO−10BAL+15MAN+1EAS−5XSTG+17WES−20PEN+24SOU+40NEW+44CBY+7MAN0MAN−6 Penrith PanthersBAL−8MAN−7WES−14SOU−1CRO−26NOR+1EAS+2STG−17PAR−9NEW+16CBY0BAL+6MAN−23WES−13SOU−8CRO−39NOR−52XEAS−29STG−1PAR−24NEW−11CBY0 South Sydney RabbitohsCRO−18EAS+2STG+8PEN+1CBY−14NEW+1BAL−18MAN+25WES0PAR−9NOR+9CRO+11EAS+8STG−1PEN+8CBY−3NEW+23XBAL+4MAN−4WES−3PAR−40NOR+8 St. George DragonsMAN−14WES−11SOU−8NOR+9EAS−16CRO−8PAR−8PEN+17NEW0CBY+10BAL+31MAN+9WES+10SOU+1XEAS+14CRO−12NOR−14PAR−17PEN+1NEW+31CBY−4BAL−8 Western Suburbs MagpiesEAS−5STG+11PEN+14NEW+18BAL−10CBY+4MAN+6PAR+1SOU0NOR+10CRO+18EAS+4STG−10PEN+13NEW+19BAL+28CBY−2XMAN−6PAR+20SOU+3NOR+1CRO+1XCRO−4XMAN−7 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 F2R F3 GF GFR
Bold – Home game X – Bye Opponent for round listed above margin
Ladder TeamPldWDLPFPAPDPts1 Western Suburbs221615426288+138332 Cronulla221507418261+157303 Manly221507427287+140304 Parramatta221408525306+219285 Canterbury221327307273+34286 Eastern Suburbs221309337280+57267 South Sydney221219298300-2258 St. George2210111367354+13219 Balmain229112337344-71910 Penrith224216206463-2571011 North Sydney224117325439-114912 Newtown222119199577-3785
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.
Team12345678910111213141516171819202122231 Western Suburbs Magpies 0 2 4 6 6 8 10 12 13 15 17 19 19 21 23 25 25 25 25 27 29 31 332 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 14 16 16 16 16 18 20 20 22 24 24 26 28 30 30 303 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 2 4 6 6 8 10 10 10 12 14 16 16 18 20 20 20 20 20 22 24 26 28 304 Parramatta Eels 2 4 4 4 4 4 6 6 8 10 12 14 16 16 18 20 20 20 22 22 24 26 285 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2 2 4 6 8 8 10 12 14 14 15 17 17 17 19 21 23 23 25 25 25 27 286 Eastern Suburbs Roosters 2 2 4 4 6 8 8 10 10 12 12 12 12 14 16 16 18 18 20 22 24 26 267 South Sydney Rabbitohs 0 2 4 6 6 8 8 10 11 11 13 15 17 17 19 19 21 21 23 23 23 23 258 St. George Dragons 0 0 0 2 2 2 2 4 5 7 9 11 13 15 15 17 17 17 17 19 21 21 219 Balmain Tigers 2 4 4 6 8 8 10 11 11 11 11 11 13 15 15 15 17 17 17 17 17 17 1910 Penrith Panthers 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 4 4 6 7 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 1011 North Sydney Bears 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 5 7 7 9 9 9 912 Newtown Jets 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 3 3 3 3 3 5 5
Finals Manly finished the regular season in the relatively strong position of equal second with Cronulla, three points behind minor premiers Wests. However after Cronulla beat Manly 17-12 in the qualifying final, every game from that point was a sudden-death fixture for the Sea Eagles.
The second week of finals saw Manly come from 3-13 behind Parramatta to draw 13-13 in the semi-final requiring a mid-week replay. Again in that match Parramatta led (11-2 this time), before Manly stormed home with three late tries in ten minutes to win 17-11. In the week following the game, Parramatta unsuccessfully attempted to have the match annulled and replayed due to Manly scoring a try on what was discovered to be a seventh tackle, a mistake by referee Greg Hartley.
Manly then had to back up a few days later to play a fresh Wests side in the preliminary final. Thus far the Magpies had only played one final to Manly's three. Wests had two tries disallowed by referee Greg Hartley. Manly coach Frank Stanton somehow coaxed a courageous effort out of his exhausted players and on field, five-eighth Alan Thompson was inspirational as they triumphed 14-7 and reached the grand final. HomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeCrowd Qualifying Finals Cronulla-Sutherland17-12 Manly-Warringah26 August 1978Sydney Cricket GroundJack Danzey17,718 Parramatta22-15 Canterbury-Bankstown27 August 1978Sydney Cricket GroundGreg Hartley24,967 Semi-finals Western Suburbs10-14 Cronulla-Sutherland2 September 1978Sydney Cricket GroundJack Danzey22,789 Manly-Warringah13-13 Parramatta3 September 1978Sydney Cricket GroundGreg Hartley30,850 Manly-Warringah17-11 Parramatta6 September 1978Sydney Cricket GroundGreg Hartley42,678 Preliminary final Western Suburbs7-14 Manly-Warringah9 September 1978Sydney Cricket GroundGreg Hartley27,345 Grand final Cronulla-Sutherland11-11 Manly-Warringah16 September 1978Sydney Cricket GroundGreg Hartley51,510 Grand final re-play Cronulla-Sutherland0-16 Manly-Warringah19 September 1978Sydney Cricket GroundGreg Hartley33,552
Chart
* - Indicates only the replay match, and not the match ending in a draw.
Grand final Cronulla-SutherlandPositionManly-Warringah Mick Mullane FB Graham Eadie 2. Rick Bourke WG 2. Tom Mooney 3. Steve Rogers (c) CE 3. Russel Gartner 6. Dave Chamberlin CE 4. Stephen Knight 5. Steve Edmonds WG 5. Simon Booth 8. Barry Andrews FE 6. Alan Thompson 7. Steve Hansard HB 7. Steve Martin 13. Gary Stares PR 13. Ian Thomson 12. John McMartin HK 12. Max Krilich (c) 11. Paul Khan PR 11. John Harvey 10Eric Archer SR 10. Bruce Walker 9. Steve Kneen SR 9. Terry Randall 18. John Glossop LK 8. Ian Martin 15. Rowland Beckett Reserve Norm Provan Coach Frank Stanton In the grand final, Cronulla went to a 9-4 lead in the second half before Manly came back to hit the front 11-9. A Steve Rogers penalty goal squared the scores at 11-11 but he then missed a desperate late field-goal attempt and at full-time the scores remained locked. Thus, for the second consecutive season, the weary grand finalists were required to play a rematch. Although, on this occasion, the NSWRFL were forced to hold the replay three days later on the Tuesday instead of the following weekend due to the imminent 1978 Kangaroo tour, with the Australian team due to leave for England that weekend. The drawn grand final also forced the Australian Rugby League to hold off on naming the touring Kangaroos squad until after the replay, with as many as twelve players from Manly and Cronulla in contention to be selected.
Manly 11 (Tries: Mooney. Goals: Eadie 4.)
Cronulla 11 (Tries: Edmonds. Goals: Rogers 4.)
Grand final Replay Cronulla-SutherlandPositionManly-Warringah Rick Bourke FB Graham Eadie 2. Chris Gardner WG 2. Tom Mooney 3. Steve Rogers (c) CE 3. Stephen Knight 4. Dave Chamberlin CE 4. Russel Gartner 5. Steve Edmonds WG 5. Simon Booth 6. Martin Raftery FE 6. Alan Thompson 7. Steve Hansard HB 7. Steve Martin 13. Paul Khan PR 13. Ian Thomson 12. Rowland Beckett HK 12. Max Krilich (c) 11. Peter Ryan PR 11. John Harvey 10. Steve Kneen SR 10. Bruce Walker 9. Eric Archer SR 9. Terry Randall8. John Glossop LK 8. Ian Martin Reserve 14. Wayne Springall Reserve 16. Ray Branighan Norm Provan Coach Frank Stanton The Tuesday rematch in front of 33,552 was Manly's sixth game in twenty-four days. It was the second Grand final in a row to end up going into a mid-week replay with the 1977 Grand final between St George and Parramatta also needing a re-match to decide the Premiers after the original game had been a 9-9 draw.