| 1994 New South Wales Rugby League | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 16 |
| Premiers |  Canberra (3rd title) |
| Minor premiers |  Canterbury-Bankstown (6th title) |
| Matches played | 182 |
| Points scored | 7416 |
| Average attendance | 15,013 |
| Attendance | 2,732,389 |
| Top points scorer | Daryl Halligan (270) |
| Wooden spoon | Balmain Tigers (4th spoon) |
| Rothmans Medal |  David Fairleigh |
| Top try-scorer |  Steve Renouf (23) |
The1994 NSWRL season (known as the1994 Winfield Cup Premiership due to sponsorship fromWinfield) was the eighty-seventh season of professionalrugby league football in Australia. Sixteen clubs, including 14 from within the borders ofNew South Wales plus two fromQueensland, competed for theJ J Giltinan Shield during the season, which culminated in agrand final match for theWinfield Cup trophy between theCanberra Raiders and theCanterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.[1]
On the first of June, the previous season's premiers, the Broncos played in the1994 World Club Challenge match in Brisbane against British championsWigan. Wigan defeated the Broncos 20 to 14 atANZ Stadium in front of 54,220 spectators. On 14 July theNorth Sydney Bears were fined $87,000 for breaching thesalary cap.[2] In total, twenty-two regular season rounds were played from March till August, resulting in a top five ofCanterbury-Bankstown,North Sydney,Canberra,Manly-Warringah andBrisbane who went on to battle it out in the finals. The 1994 season'sRothmans Medallist was North Sydney forwardDavid Fairleigh. TheDally M Award went to Manly-Warringah's five-eighth,Cliff Lyons who was also named asRugby League Week's player of the year. 1994 was the last premiership season to be administered by theNew South Wales Rugby League. At the end of the season control of the Winfield Cup would be passed on to theAustralian Rugby League and re-branded as such, as part of the move to become a more national competition. This season was also the last in the Premiership for futureAustralian Rugby League Hall of Fame inductee and coach,Mal Meninga. At the end of the 1994 season a squad of players from the NSWRL Premiership went on the1994 Kangaroo tour.
The grand finals:
Canberra Raiders vs Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs (Seniors Grade)
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks vs
Newcastle Knights (Reserve Grade) Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks vs
Eastern Suburbs Roosters (Under-21s Grade)The winners in all grades were:
Canberra Raiders (Seniors Grade) Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks (Reserve Grade) Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks (Under-21s Grade)The test match
Australia vs
FranceThe State of Origin Series
Queensland vs
New South WalesThe lineup of teams remained unchanged from the previous season, with sixteen clubs contesting the premiership, including five innerSydney-based foundation teams, another six from greater Sydney, two from greaterNew South Wales, two fromQueensland, and one from theAustralian Capital Territory.
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In 1994, theLeague and its advertising agency Hertz Walpole returned to the original 1989 recording of "The Best" byTina Turner to underscore the season launch ad. Footage had been shot of Turner's performance at the1993 grand final and a studiobluescreen shoot also took place during that visit ensuring a store of images that could be used in flexible adaptations for the final two years of Turner's association with the competition and theWinfield Cup.
The 1994 advertisement used the performance and superimposed studio footage of Turner into crowd and stadium scenes that replicated theSydney Football Stadium. The closing scenes of the commercial made it appear that Turner was singing the song high up in the Sydney Football Stadium's stands in front of its identifiable stretched-sail roofing.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | F1 | F2 | F3 | GF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balmain Tigers | NOR −11 | PAR +2 | GCS +22 | STG −40 | EAS −30 | PEN −24 | BRI −22 | SOU −2 | NEW +4 | CRO −8 | MAN −42 | WES −4 | ILA −16 | CBY −16 | CAN −36 | NOR −36 | PAR −12 | GCS −26 | STG −2 | EAS +7 | PEN −12 | BRI −35 | ||||
| Brisbane Broncos | PAR 0 | GCS −13 | STG −4 | EAS +32 | PEN +31 | NOR −1 | BAL +22 | CRO +32 | MAN −10 | WES +30 | ILA −22 | CBY +2 | CAN −19 | SOU +30 | NEW −14 | PAR +30 | GCS +36 | STG +12 | EAS +18 | PEN −16 | NOR +17 | BAL +35 | MAN +12 | NOR −1 | ||
| Canberra Raiders | CRO −8 | SOU +30 | NEW +26 | CBY −5 | ILA +14 | WES +16 | MAN +24 | PAR +14 | GCS −4 | STG +30 | EAS +34 | PEN −14 | BRI +19 | NOR −15 | BAL +36 | CRO +44 | SOU +40 | NEW +36 | CBY +30 | ILA +11 | WES +18 | MAN +3 | NOR +14 | CBY −1* | NOR +13 | CBY +24 |
| Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | MAN +6 | CRO −1 | SOU +7 | CAN +5 | NEW +24 | ILA +10 | WES +6 | GCS +24 | STG +18 | EAS +14 | PEN +20 | BRI −2 | NOR −11 | BAL +16 | PAR +16 | MAN +16 | CRO +2 | SOU +7 | CAN −30 | NEW +12 | ILA +10 | WES +28 | X | CAN +1* | X | CAN −24 |
| Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | CAN +8 | CBY +1 | ILA −14 | WES +26 | MAN +12 | NEW −17 | SOU −2 | BRI −32 | NOR +7 | BAL +8 | PAR −12 | GCS +46 | STG −14 | EAS +12 | PEN +32 | CAN −44 | CBY −2 | ILA −24 | WES +4 | MAN −28 | NEW +22 | SOU +42 | ||||
| Eastern Suburbs Roosters | STG −6 | NOR −18 | PEN −10 | BRI −32 | BAL +30 | PAR +10 | GCS +18 | WES 0 | ILA −26 | CBY −14 | CAN −34 | SOU −6 | NEW −6 | CRO −12 | MAN −34 | STG +20 | NOR −20 | PEN +22 | BRI −18 | BAL −7 | PAR −28 | GCS +2 | ||||
| Gold Coast Seagulls | PEN 0 | BRI +13 | BAL −22 | PAR −2 | NOR −28 | STG −24 | EAS −18 | CBY −24 | CAN +4 | SOU −18 | NEW +2 | CRO −46 | MAN −4 | WES −34 | ILA −16 | PEN −2 | BRI −36 | BAL +26 | PAR +12 | NOR −26 | STG −10 | EAS −2 | ||||
| Illawarra Steelers | WES −6 | MAN 0 | CRO +14 | SOU 0 | CAN −14 | CBY −10 | NEW −23 | STG +24 | EAS +26 | PEN 0 | BRI +22 | NOR −8 | BAL +16 | PAR +22 | GCS +16 | WES +22 | MAN −15 | CRO +24 | SOU +2 | CAN −11 | CBY −10 | NEW +6 | ||||
| Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | CBY −6 | ILA 0 | WES +58 | NEW +3 | CRO −12 | SOU +15 | CAN −24 | PEN +10 | BRI +10 | NOR +3 | BAL +42 | PAR +14 | GCS +4 | STG +61 | EAS +34 | CBY −16 | ILA +15 | WES +14 | NEW +16 | CRO +28 | SOU +28 | CAN −3 | BRI −12 | |||
| Newcastle Knights | SOU +29 | WES −1 | CAN −26 | MAN −3 | CBY −24 | CRO +17 | ILA +23 | NOR +4 | BAL −4 | PAR +30 | GCS −2 | STG +10 | EAS +6 | PEN +16 | BRI +14 | SOU −14 | WES −14 | CAN −36 | MAN −16 | CBY −12 | CRO −22 | ILA −6 | ||||
| North Sydney Bears | BAL +11 | EAS +18 | PAR +2 | PEN +10 | GCS +28 | BRI +1 | STG +7 | NEW −4 | CRO −7 | MAN −3 | WES 0 | ILA +8 | CBY +11 | CAN +15 | SOU +22 | BAL +36 | EAS +20 | PAR +6 | PEN +10 | GCS +26 | BRI −17 | STG +26 | CAN −14 | BRI +1 | CAN −13 | |
| Parramatta Eels | BRI 0 | BAL −2 | NOR −2 | GCS +2 | STG −8 | EAS −10 | PEN −24 | CAN −14 | SOU −16 | NEW −30 | CRO +12 | MAN −14 | WES +6 | ILA −22 | CBY −16 | BRI −30 | BAL +12 | NOR −6 | GCS −12 | STG +15 | EAS +28 | PEN +7 | ||||
| Penrith Panthers | GCS 0 | STG +2 | EAS +10 | NOR −10 | BRI −31 | BAL +24 | PAR +24 | MAN −10 | WES +14 | ILA 0 | CBY −20 | CAN +14 | SOU −8 | NEW −16 | CRO −32 | GCS +2 | STG +4 | EAS −22 | NOR −10 | BRI +16 | BAL +12 | PAR −7 | ||||
| South Sydney Rabbitohs | NEW −29 | CAN −30 | CBY −7 | ILA 0 | WES +20 | MAN −15 | CRO +2 | BAL +2 | PAR +16 | GCS +18 | STG +6 | EAS +6 | PEN +8 | BRI −30 | NOR −22 | NEW +14 | CAN −40 | CBY −7 | ILA −2 | WES −8 | MAN −28 | CRO −42 | ||||
| St. George Dragons | EAS +6 | PEN −2 | BRI +4 | BAL +40 | PAR +8 | GCS +24 | NOR −7 | ILA −24 | CBY −18 | CAN −30 | SOU −6 | NEW −10 | CRO +14 | MAN −61 | WES +16 | EAS −20 | PEN −4 | BRI −12 | BAL +2 | PAR −15 | GCS +10 | NOR −26 | ||||
| Western Suburbs Magpies | ILA +6 | NEW +1 | MAN −58 | CRO −26 | SOU −20 | CAN −16 | CBY −6 | EAS 0 | PEN −14 | BRI −30 | NOR 0 | BAL +4 | PAR −6 | GCS +34 | STG −16 | ILA −22 | NEW +14 | MAN −14 | CRO −4 | SOU +8 | CAN −18 | CBY −28 | ||||
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | F1 | F2 | F3 | GF |
Bold – Home game
X – Bye
* – Extra time game
Opponent for round listed above margin
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 22 | 18 | 0 | 4 | 537 | 340 | +197 | 36 | Advance tofinals series |
| 2 | North Sydney Bears | 22 | 17 | 1 | 4 | 517 | 291 | +226 | 35 | |
| 3 | Canberra Raiders(P) | 22 | 17 | 0 | 5 | 677 | 298 | +379 | 34 | |
| 4 |  Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 22 | 16 | 1 | 5 | 605 | 311 | +294 | 33 | |
| 5 | Brisbane Broncos | 22 | 13 | 1 | 8 | 544 | 316 | +228 | 27 | |
| 6 |  Illawarra Steelers | 22 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 484 | 387 | +97 | 25 | |
| 7 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 22 | 12 | 0 | 10 | 432 | 401 | +31 | 24 | |
| 8 |  Penrith Panthers | 22 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 404 | 448 | −44 | 22 | |
| 9 |  South Sydney Rabbitohs | 22 | 9 | 1 | 12 | 401 | 569 | −168 | 19 | |
| 10 | Newcastle Knights | 22 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 427 | 458 | −31 | 18 | |
| 11 |  St. George Dragons | 22 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 386 | 497 | −111 | 18 | |
| 12 |  Parramatta Eels | 22 | 7 | 1 | 14 | 350 | 474 | −124 | 15 | |
| 13 |  Western Suburbs Magpies | 22 | 6 | 2 | 14 | 439 | 650 | −211 | 14 | |
| 14 | Eastern Suburbs Roosters | 22 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 344 | 513 | −169 | 13 | |
| 15 |  Gold Coast Seagulls | 22 | 5 | 1 | 16 | 363 | 618 | −255 | 11 | |
| 16 |  Balmain Tigers | 22 | 4 | 0 | 18 | 303 | 642 | −339 | 8 |
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 30 | 32 | 34 | 36 |
| 2 | North Sydney Bears | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 23 | 25 | 27 | 29 | 31 | 33 | 33 | 35 |
| 3 | Canberra Raiders | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 34 |
| 4 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 25 | 27 | 29 | 31 | 33 | 33 |
| 5 | Brisbane Broncos | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 25 | 27 |
| 6 | Illawarra Steelers | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 25 |
| 7 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 24 |
| 8 | Penrith Panthers | 1 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 22 |
| 9 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 |
| 10 | Newcastle Knights | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
| 11 | St. George Dragons | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 |
| 12 | Parramatta Eels | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 15 |
| 13 | Western Suburbs Magpies | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
| 14 | Eastern Suburbs Roosters | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 13 |
| 15 | Gold Coast Seagulls | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| 16 | Balmain Tigers | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| Qualifying Finals | ||||||||
| North Sydney Bears | 12–26 | Canberra Raiders | 3 September 1994 | Sydney Football Stadium | Bill Harrigan | 33,641 | ||
| Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 4–16 | Brisbane Broncos | 4 September 1994 | Sydney Football Stadium | Greg McCallum | 34,891 | ||
| Semi-finals | ||||||||
| North Sydney Bears | 15–14 | Brisbane Broncos | 10 September 1994 | Sydney Football Stadium | Bill Harrigan | 36,011 | ||
| Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 19–18 | Canberra Raiders | 11 September 1994 | Sydney Football Stadium | Greg McCallum | 41,865 | ||
| Preliminary final | ||||||||
| Canberra Raiders | 22–9 | North Sydney Bears | 18 September 1994 | Sydney Football Stadium | Greg McCallum | 41,941 | ||
| Grand final | ||||||||
| Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 12–36 | Canberra Raiders | 25 September 1994 | Sydney Football Stadium | Greg McCallum | 42,234 | ||
| Qualifying final | Major semi-final | Preliminary final | Grand final | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | Canterbury | 19 | Canterbury | 12 | ||||||||||||||
| Canberra | 18 | Canberra | 36 | |||||||||||||||
| 2 | North Sydney | 12 | Canberra | 22 | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Canberra | 26 | Minor semi-final | North Sydney | 9 | |||||||||||||
| North Sydney | 15 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Manly | 4 | Brisbane | 14 | ||||||||||||||
| 5 | Brisbane | 16 | ||||||||||||||||
| Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Position | Canberra Raiders |
|---|---|---|
| FB | ||
| 2.Jason Williams | WG | 2.Ken Nagas |
| 3.Steven Hughes | CE | 3.Mal Meninga (c) |
| 4.Jarrod McCracken | CE | 4.Ruben Wiki |
| 5.Daryl Halligan | WG | 5.Noa Nadruku |
| 6.Terry Lamb (c) | FE | 6.Laurie Daley |
| 7.Craig Polla-Mounter | HB | 7.Ricky Stuart |
| 8.Darren Britt | PR | 8.Quentin Pongia |
| 9.Jason Hetherington | HK | 9.Steve Walters |
| 10.Martin Bella | PR | 46.Paul Osborne |
| 11.Dean Pay | SR | 11.Jason Croker |
| 12.Jason Smith | SR | 12.David Furner |
| 13.Jim Dymock | LK | 13.Bradley Clyde |
| 17.Matthew Ryan | Reserve | 42.Brett Hetherington |
| 21.Steve Price | Reserve | 43.David Westley |
| 40.Simon Gillies | Reserve | |
| 41.Mark Brokenshire | Reserve | |
| Chris Anderson | Coach | Tim Sheens |
The Canberra Raiders were confident in the lead up, despite their one-point loss to the Bulldogs in the major semi-final, and everything played into their hands from the whistle. Canterbury veteran prop Martin Bella dropped the ball from the kick-off and before too long Canberra had posted twotries.
Canberra legend Mal Meninga was given a champion's farewell as his "Green Machine" swamped the Bulldogs.[3] Canberra's Paul Osborne also enjoyed a fairytale day. On the outer for most of the year, Osborne won a reprieve, playing atProp after team-mateJohn Lomax was suspended for a high tackle in the preliminary final againstNorth Sydney. Osborne, playing in his 135th and last career game before retirement, rose to the occasion by setting up the first two Raiders tries in the opening sixteen minutes.[citation needed]
Meninga's 166th and final match for the Raiders ended perfectly when he scored the last try of the day after intercepting a pass from Jason Smith. Meninga then outlasted the cover defence, running almost 40 metres and palming off his oppositeCentre Jarrod McCracken to score the try beside the posts, sending the 42,234 strong crowd at theSydney Football Stadium into raptures.[citation needed] Despite being a goal kicker for most of his career, Meninga declined to take what would have been an easy conversion of his own try, instead leaving the kick to regular team kicker,Clive Churchill Medallist David Furner.[citation needed]
The Canberra Raiders had claimed their third premiership, amassing the highest score in a grand final since Eastern Suburbs defeated St. George 38-0 in 1975.[citation needed] It was the highest-scoring grand final since 1951 when South Sydney defeated Manly 42-14 (though tries then were worth only three points).[citation needed]
Canberra Raiders 36
Tries: Nagas 2, Furner, Daley, Nadruku, Croker, Meninga
Goals: Furner 4/7
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 12
Tries: Williams, Hetherington
Goals: Halligan 2/2
The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 22.
Top 5 point scorers
Top 5 try scorers
| Top 5 goal scorers
|
