1995 Australian Rugby League
Teams20
Premiers Sydney Bulldogs (7th title)
Minor premiers Manly-Warringah (7th title)
Matches played229
Points scored5,370
Average attendance14,642
Attendance3,352,927
Top points scorer(s) Matthew Ridge (257)
Player of the year Paul Green (Rothmans Medal)
Top try-scorer(s) Steve Menzies (22)

The 1995 ARL premiership was the 88th season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the first to be run by the Australian Rugby League following the hand-over of the Premiership's administration by the New South Wales Rugby League. For the first time since 1988, the Premiership expanded again, with the addition of two new clubs from Queensland; North Queensland Cowboys, based in Townsville, and South Queensland Crushers, based in Brisbane. And for the first time ever outside the borders of New South Wales and Queensland, and indeed, Australia, the addition of two other new clubs[1] from Western Australia, Western Reds (later Perth Reds), based in Perth, and from Auckland, Auckland Warriors, based in Auckland. This saw a total of twenty teams, the largest number in the League's history, compete during the regular season for the J J Giltinan Shield, which was followed by a series of play-off finals between the top eight teams that culminated in a grand final for the Winfield Cup between the newly re-branded Sydney Bulldogs and the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.

The 1995 season also saw the first major consequences of the Super League war, with the ARL's refusal to select players from the eight clubs (which included every club that had won the premiership since 1988) for State of Origin or Test matches, including the 1995 Rugby League World Cup, who had aligned with News Ltd's proposed Super League.

Season summary

1995 would prove to be a year of massive change for the League. In addition to the introduction of four new teams, it was the last year of the premiership's association with Rothmans and the Winfield brand and consequently the final year that clubs competed for the Winfield Cup.

There had been a cloud over the league for some time in the form of rumours and speculation about the Super League, but the ensuing dispute was more extensive than almost any commentors and analysts had predicted. The subsequent Super League war would have massive impacts on the sport in Australia and would substantially harm the league's popular support and grassroots structures.[2]

The 1995 season was played in front of a background of legal actions which did large damage to interpersonal relations within the league, with players and managers jockeying for position. Players who had signed with the new Super League venture were forbidden by the ARL from participating in the 1995 State of Origin. Queensland and New South Wales selectors were limited to selecting players only from ARL-aligned clubs.

The usual twenty-two regular season rounds were played from March till August. However the large number of teams meant a resulting top eight would battle it out in the finals rather than the usual five. These were Manly, Canberra, Brisbane, Cronulla, Newcastle, Sydney Bulldogs, St. George and North Sydney (who made it in due to Auckland being penalised for an interchange infringement). Cronulla-Sutherland's halfback Paul Green was awarded the 1995 Rothmans Medal. The Dally M Award was given to Canberra's five-eighth, Laurie Daley who was also named Rugby League Week's player of the year. Manly-Warringah's Steve Menzies became the first forward for 50 years to top the season's try-scoring list, while his teammate Matthew Ridge set a club point scoring record of 257 points (11 tries, 106 goals and 1 field goal) to be the league's leading point scorer for the year.

By the end of the regular season, the ARL's inaugural 20-team competition had set a new record for aggregate match attendances of 3,061,338.[3]

Advertising

1995 marked the final year of the New South Wales Rugby League's sponsorship arrangement with Rothmans and Winfield due to the Federal Government's blanket ban on cigarette advertising in Australia effective from 1 January 1996. It was consequently the final year of a seven-year association with Tina Turner and the end of an era in Australian sports marketing.

With a lock-up-your-daughters, kick-off your suspenders, red-blooded Tina Turner marketing blitz, the ARL had stuck it right up the other footy codes.

Ray Martin, 1999[4]

As in 1994 the New South Wales Rugby League and its advertising agency Hertz Walpole returned to the original 1989 recording of The Best by Turner to underscore the season launch advertisement. Footage from the studio bluescreen shoot taken during Turner's 1993 Sydney visit was used in the final advertisements. The enduring images are of Turner performing the song on an elevated stage in front of the fluttering banners of the 20 clubs that would participate in 1995's expanded competition.

Teams

When the Australian Rugby League began taking bids for additional teams to begin playing in 1995, it was expected that only two teams would enter. The Auckland Warriors were the first club to be accepted, with the final place being fought for by South Queensland, North Queensland and Perth. The Australian Rugby League later announced that all three clubs had been accepted, taking the number of teams from 16 in 1994 to 20 in 1995, the highest it had ever been and would ever be.

With the addition of the Auckland Warriors, North Queensland Cowboys, South Queensland Crushers and Western Reds the 1995 season involved an unprecedented twenty clubs,[5] including five Sydney-based foundation teams, another six from Sydney, one from Newcastle, one from Wollongong, two from Brisbane, one from Gold Coast, one from Townsville, one from Auckland, one from Canberra and one from Perth, who all contested the premiership, making it the largest competition in terms of participation in Australia's history.

We haven't brought these teams into the Winfield Cup just to see them dropped after one season

With the storm that would be the Super League war already brewing in the background, three clubs based in Sydney suburbs, in an effort to position themselves favourably as battle lines were being drawn up, re-branded themselves for the 1995 season with less geographically distinct names: the Balmain Tigers became the 'Sydney Tigers', the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs became the 'Sydney Bulldogs', and the Eastern Suburbs Roosters became the 'Sydney City Roosters'.

Auckland
Warriors

1st season
Ground: Ericsson Stadium
Coach: John Monie
Captain: Dean Bell

Brisbane
Broncos

8th season
Ground: ANZ Stadium
Coach: Wayne Bennett
Captain: Allan Langer

Canberra
Raiders

14th season
Ground: Bruce Stadium
Coach: Tim Sheens
Captain: Ricky Stuart

Cronulla-Sutherland
Sharks

29th season
Ground: Endeavour Park
Coach: John Lang
Captain: Andrew Ettinghausen

Gold Coast
Seagulls

8th season
Ground: Seagulls Stadium
Coach: John Harvey
Captain: Craig Coleman

Illawarra
Steelers

14th season
Ground: Wollongong Stadium
Coach: Graham MurrayAllan Fitzgibbon
Captain: John Cross

Manly-Warringah
Sea Eagles

49th season
Ground: Brookvale Oval
Coach: Bob Fulton
Captain: Geoff Toovey

Newcastle
Knights

8th season
Ground: Marathon Stadium
Coach: Malcolm "Mal" Reilly
Captain: Mark SargentPaul Harragon

North Queensland
Cowboys

1st season
Ground: Stockland Stadium
Coach: Grant Bell
Captain: various

North Sydney
Bears

88th season
Ground: North Sydney Oval
Coach: Peter Louis
Captain: Jason Taylor

Parramatta
Eels

49th season
Ground: Parramatta Stadium
Coach: Ron Hilditch
Captain: Paul Dunn

Penrith
Panthers

29th season
Ground: Penrith Stadium
Coach: Royce Simmons
Captain: John Cartwright

South Queensland
Crushers

1st season
Ground: Suncorp Stadium
Coach: Bill Gardner → Bob Lindner
Captain: Mario FenechTrevor Gillmeister

South Sydney
Rabbitohs

88th season
Ground: Sydney Football Stadium
Coach: Ken Shine
Captain: Lee JacksonCraig Field

St. George
Dragons

75th season
Ground: Kogarah Oval
Coach: Brian Smith
Captain: Mark Coyne

Sydney
Bulldogs

61st season
Ground: Parramatta Stadium
Coach: Chris Anderson
Captain: Terry Lamb

Sydney City
Roosters

88th season
Ground: Sydney Football Stadium
Coach: Phil Gould
Captain: Sean Garlick

Sydney
Tigers

88th season
Ground: Parramatta Stadium
Coach: Wayne Pearce
Captain: Paul Sironen

Western
Reds

1st season
Ground: WACA Ground
Coach: Peter Mulholland
Captain: Brad Mackay

Western Suburbs
Magpies

88th season
Ground: Campbelltown Stadium
Coach: Tommy Raudonikis
Captain: Paul Langmack

Ladder

Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 222002687248+43940
2 Canberra Raiders 222002634255+37940
3 Brisbane Broncos 221705600364+23634
4 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 221606516287+22932
5 Newcastle Knights 221507549396+15330
6 Sydney Bulldogs (P) 221408468352+11628
7 St. George Dragons 221309583382+20126
8 North Sydney Bears 221129542331+21124
9 Sydney City Roosters 2212010466406+6024
10 Auckland Warriors 221309544493+5124
11 Western Reds 2211011361549-18822
12 Illawarra Steelers 2210111519431+8821
13 Western Suburbs Magpies 2210012459534-7520
14 Penrith Panthers 229013481484-318
15 Sydney Tigers 227015309591-28214
16 South Queensland Crushers 226115303502-19913
17 Gold Coast Seagulls 224117350628-2789
18 South Sydney Rabbitohs 224117319686-3679
19 Parramatta Eels 223019310690-3806
20 North Queensland Cowboys 222020269660-3914
  • Auckland Warriors were stripped of 2 competition points due to exceeding the replacement limit in round 3.

Ladder progression

  • Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top 8.
  • Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished first on the ladder in that round.
  • Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished in last place on the ladder in that round
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
1 Manly-Warringah 2468101214161820222426283030323234363840
2 Canberra 2468101214161818202224262628303234363840
3 Brisbane 2468101214141618181820222222242628303234
4 Cronulla-Sutherland 0224688101212141616161820222426283032
5 Newcastle 2468101214161818202224242628282830303030
6 Sydney Bulldogs 2466888101012121414161820202224242628
7 St George 00022244688810121214161820222426
8 North Sydney 2446688888101012141616161820222324
9 Sydney City 022446881012141414141416161820222224
10 Auckland 0000024668101012141618202222242424
11 Western Reds 224446688881010121414161818202222
12 Illawarra 02246677777999911131515171921
13 Western Suburbs 2224668101012141616181818202020202020
14 Penrith 2244444468101212141616161616161618
15 Sydney Tigers 224444666881012121212121212121414
16 South Queensland 00002235577799911111113131313
17 Gold Coast 0022244444446666888889
18 South Sydney 0000222244444468888899
19 Parramatta 0222222244666666666666
20 North Queensland 0000000222222244444444

Finals

A new finals system involving eight teams instead of the previous five was introduced for the expanded 1995 competition.[7] The final eight was to be made of four clubs who would ultimately prove loyal to the Australian Rugby League (Manly-Warringah, St. George, North Sydney and Newcastle) and four clubs who would join Super League's rebel ranks (Sydney Bulldogs, Canberra, Brisbane and Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks). The Grand Final was played out by a team from each faction, being the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and the Sydney Bulldogs.

Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Crowd
Quarter-finals
Newcastle Knights 20–10 North Sydney Bears 1 September 1995 Parramatta Stadium David Manson 14,174
Canberra Raiders 14–8 Brisbane Broncos 2 September 1995 Suncorp Stadium Kelvin Jeffes 40,187
Sydney Bulldogs 12–8 St. George Dragons 2 September 1995 Sydney Football Stadium Eddie Ward 26,835
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 24–20 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 3 September 1995 Sydney Football Stadium Paul McBlane 32,795
Semi-finals
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 18–19 Newcastle Knights 9 September 1995 Sydney Football Stadium Eddie Ward 26,061
Brisbane Broncos 10–24 Sydney Bulldogs 10 September 1995 Sydney Football Stadium David Manson 34,087
Preliminary finals
Canberra Raiders 6–25 Sydney Bulldogs 16 September 1995 Sydney Football Stadium Eddie Ward 36,894
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 12–4 Newcastle Knights 17 September 1995 Sydney Football Stadium David Manson 38,874
Grand final
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 4–17 Sydney Bulldogs 24 September 1995 Sydney Football Stadium Eddie Ward 41,127

Chart

Grand final

1995 (1995) ARL Grand Final  ()
12 Total
MAN 40 4
SYB 611 17
Date24 September 1995
StadiumSydney Football Stadium
LocationSydney
Clive Churchill MedalJim Dymock (SYB)
RefereeEddie Ward
Attendance41,127
Broadcast partners
Broadcasters
Commentators


An aerial view of the Sydney Football Stadium (1988), where the match was played

Having finished in sixth place at the end of the regular season, the Bulldogs managed a history-making finals surge, winning three sudden death matches to make the grand final. Canterbury were ahead at half-time 6-4 after a tight contest dominated by defence in the opening half.

The Bulldogs scored 11 unanswered points in the second half to secure the club's seventh NSWRL/ARL title and their first of the decade. This was despite the fact that in the game they lost the scrum count 3-5 and the penalty count 9-10. Manly's 22-3 season win–loss record was the best not to have secured the premiership.

At game's end Lamb enjoyed the rare honour of celebrating as a retiring victorious skipper, although he surprisingly returned for the 1996 season.

The performance of Eddie Ward, refereeing his NSWRL/ARL first grand final (Ward had previously officiated in Brisbane Rugby League grand finals including the infamous 1990 decider), was subject to some post match controversy.[8][9][10] Rugby League Week commented: "Two of Canterbury's three tries appeared to have resulted from borderline passes, another came on the seventh tackle, and a fourth - which in fact was a fair try - was disallowed"[11]

Sydney Bulldogs 17 (Tries: Price, Hughes, Silva. Goals: Halligan 2/5. Field Goal: Lamb.)

Manly-Warringah 4 (Goals: Ridge 2/2.)

Clive Churchill Medallist: Jim Dymock[12]

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Position Sydney Bulldogs
  1. Matthew Ridge
FB
  1. Rod Silva
2. Craig HancockWG18. Jason Williams
3. Danny MooreCE3. John Timu
4. Terry HillCE4. Matthew Ryan
5. John HopoateWG5. Daryl Halligan
6. Cliff LyonsFE6. Terry Lamb (c)
7. Geoff Toovey (c)HB7. Craig Polla-Mounter
8. David GillespiePR8. Darren Britt
9. Des HaslerHK9. Jason Hetherington
10. Mark CarrollPR10. Dean Pay
11. Steve MenziesSR11. Steve Price
12. Ian RobertsSR12. Simon Gillies
13 Nik KosefLK13. Jim Dymock
14. Owen CunninghamRes.25. Jason Smith
15. Daniel GartnerRes.27. Glen Hughes
16. Solomon HaumonoRes.28. Mitch Newton
Bob FultonCoachChris Anderson

Title and the Sydney Bulldogs name

After a grand final appearance the previous season in which they lost to Canberra, the Bulldogs rebranded from the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs to the Sydney Bulldogs in 1995. This short-lived rebrand saw the club capture its seventh title in its first season under the new name, before it was altered to Canterbury Bulldogs in 1997 by Super League, changed again to Bulldogs RLFC in the 2000s and eventually reverted back to its original name in 2010.

Player statistics

The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 22.

Top 5 point scorers

Points Player Tries Goals Field Goals
239 Matthew Ridge 10 99 1
192 David Furner 10 76 0
190 Daryl Halligan 12 71 0
186 Julian O'Neill 8 76 2
184 Mat Rogers 13 66 0


Top 5 try scorers

Tries Player
21 Steve Menzies
20 John Hopoate
19 Sean Hoppe
16 Jamie Ainscough
15 Jason Croker
15 Steve Renouf


Top 5 goal scorers

Goals Player
99 Matthew Ridge
83 Jason Taylor
78 Andrew Johns
76 David Furner
76 Julian O'Neill

See also

References

  1. Harms, John (2005). The Pearl: Steve Renouf's Story. Australia: University of Queensland Press. p. 167. ISBN 9780702235368.
  2. Masters, Roy (March 27, 2015). "How the Super League war changed the game". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  3. "Gallop salutes NRL's march forward - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Abc.net.au. 2009-09-02. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
  4. Ray Martin (1999-10-03). "Why my beloved Rabbitohs can't die". The Sun-Herald. Fairfax Digital. p. 69. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
  5. "History of the Premiership". centenaryofrugbyleague.com.au. Australian Rugby League. Archived from the original on 9 February 2008. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  6. Hadfield, Dave (1995-03-13). "Winfield plan threatened by revolt". The Independent. London: independent.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-12-08.
  7. "NRL Finals in the 1990s". sportal.com.au. Archived from the original on 6 December 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2012.
  8. "6 Referee/Umpire Blunders « The Grandstand Sports Lists". Lists.thegrandstand.net. 2010-09-30. Archived from the original on 2012-04-02. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
  9. "Grand Final Dramas( No. 8)". The Sydney Morning Herald. 28 September 2009. Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  10. "Greatest gaffes by those in charge | Knockout Polls". Fox Sports. 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
  11. Rugby League Week, Vol. 26 No. 34, p. 20
  12. D'Souza, Miguel. "Grand Final History". wwos.ninemsn.com.au. AAP. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
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