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Seasons In Review
(Contents)

Introduction

1907 - 1920

1921 - 1925

1926 - 1929

1930 -1934

1935 -1939

1940 -1944

1945 -1949

1950 -1955

1956 -1959

1960 -1963

1964 -1966

1967 -1969

1970 -1973

1974 -1979

1980 - 1984

1985 - 1989

1990 - 1993

1994 - 1995

1996

1997 - 1998

1999

2000 - 2002

2003 - 2005

2006

2007

St George Dragons Rugby League History
Since 1921 - Our Proud History
1985-1989
1985:
ST GEORGE MINOR PREMIERS AND GRAND FINALISTS FOR 1985
Michael O'Connor - St George rugby league history
Michael O'Connor
Sydney Cricket Ground, 29 September 1985: St George have been narrowly beaten 7-6 by Canterbury in the 1985 Grand Final in front of 44,569 people.

Earlier in the year, St George and Canterbury played a 10-all draw in round six at Belmore (21 April) and in round 19, St George had defeated Canterbury 16-6 at the Sydney Cricket Ground (14 July).

Saints had defeated Canterbury again in the major semi final 17-6 (15 September).

On Grand Final day, Saints were favourites to win their 16th premiership. With both the under 23s and reserve grade winning their Grand Finals, it was up to the first graders to pull off the treble.

Canterbury scored first with a try to winger, Peter Mortimer.

Season snapshot
In 1985, Saints were seeing a resurgence and were minor premiers in all three grades with most players being local juniors.
Brother, Steve Mortimer was instrumental in pinning St George down as the halfback delivered a series of towering bombs onto St George fullback, Glenn Burgess who never faltered.

But this effectively forced Saints into successive line drop outs. The following year, the rule would be modified to allow a 20-metre tap re-start should the defender catch the ball on the full. Canterbury took full advantage of this flaw in the rules of the day.

Canterbury increased their lead to 7-nil following a field goal. Saints struck back with
a try to Steve Morris which was converted but Saints were unable to score again, Canterbury eventually winning by the narrowest of margins.

HISTORY SPOT

JEFF FENECH WINS WORLD TITLE
STEELERS WOODEN SPOONERS
WIN Stadium, 1 September 1985:  Needing to win their last game of the year to avoid last place and the wooden spoon, Illawarra have gone down to 18-16 to Parramatta in front of a crowd of 8,243.


STEVE LINNANE
'DALLY M' ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Steve Linnane has won the end of season 'Dally M' Rookie of the year for 1985. The young halfback was signed to Saints just this year and was the season's top try scorer with 16 tries.


Ricky Walford - St George rugby league historySAINTS SIGN RICKY WALFORD
In 1985, St George signed promising young winger, Ricky Walford.
Hailing from Walgett NSW, Ricky was an Australian Schoolboy representative against NZ in 1981. He played for Easts (1982-83) and Norths (1984) before finding a home at St George.
A speedy flankman, Walford is also an accurate goal kicker.
1985
NSWRL First Grade
Ladder

(top 5 in semis - playoff for 5th)
St George 42
Balmain 40
Canterbury p 38
Parramatta 36
Penrith 31
Manly 31
Easts 27
Cronulla 26
Souths 24
Canberra 22
Norths 17
Wests 16
Illawarra 14
p = Season Premiers

St George
1985
AFTER 26 ROUNDS
Minor Premiership
Won-Lost-Draw-Bye
W
L
D
B
18
4
2
2
Points For 470
(2nd best attack)
Points Against 264
(1st best defence)
MP Standing
1st

(13 teams)

FINALS
W
L
1
1
Points For 23
Points Against 13
Final Standing
2nd

TOTALS
26 matches
W
L
D
B
19
5
2
2
Points For 493
75t 94g 5fg
Points Against 277
42t 53g 3fg

Illawarra
1985
AFTER 26 ROUNDS
Minor Premiership
Won-Lost-Draw-Bye
W
L
D
B
5
19
0
2
Points For 303
(12th best attack)
49t 53g 1fg
Points Against 467
(10th best defence)
78t 76g 3fg
MP Standing
13th

(13 teams)
1986:
St George depart from Kogarah and miss out on semis
Season snapshot
In 1986, Saints finished the season in 7th position, missing out on a semi-final berth.

SCG, 31 August 1986: 8,387 were on hand to see St George and Canberra played out an 18-all draw, effectively ending the Dragons' season. Saints fell short of a play off for fifth place by just one competition point.

Saints went to into an extraordinary slump in 1986 when, for the first time in 50 years, all three grades missed out on the semi finals. Many put this down to the decision to refurbish Kogarah Jubilee Oval and the Dragons playing all their their 'home' games in 1986 at the Sydney Cricket Ground, effectively removing the home ground advantage.

STEELERS WOODEN SPOONERS AGAIN
Belmore Oval, 1 September 1986: Illawarra have been defeated by Canterbury 8-2 in front of 10,013 people to place them firmly at the bottom of the table for 1986. This the second year running that the Steelers have finished last.

MICHAEL O'CONNOR SIGNS WITH MANLY
Saints lost one of their star players, Michael O'Connor who will be playing with big spending Manly in 1987.

A former Wallaby international, 'Snoz' came to Saints in 1983 from rugby union and played four seasons before departing at the end of 1986, and shortly before leaving on a Kangaroo tour. The superb centre played 71 games (plus seven replacements) for the Dragons and scored 33 tries, 130 goals and nine field goals for a total of 401 points.

O'Connor continued to thrill crowds in Australia and overseas until his eventual retirement from Rugby League in 1992. O'Connor posted a number of records for NSW and Australia.


STEVE MORRIS SIGNS WITH EASTS
Halfback and winger, 'Slippery' Steve Morris has finished up with St George. Dally M' winger of the year in 1984 and 1987, Morris will see out his final career years with Easts in 1987 and Leeds in 1987-1988.

HISTORY SPOT

1987: PAT CASH WINS WIMBLEDON
The last player to represent Australia from the country, centre sensation Morris hailed from Dapto before joining Saints in 1979 as halfback. Coach Roy Masters moved Morris to the wing in the mid-1980s where he enjoyed enormous success.

'Slippery' played for NSW in 1978, 1980, 1984 and 1986 and played one Test for Australia in 1978. In all, Morris played 174 games for St George scoring 102 tries (357 points).
1986
NSWRL First Grade
Ladder

(top 5 in semis - playoff for 5th)
Parramatta p 37
Souths 36
Canterbury 35
Manly 33
Balmain 30
Norths 30
St George 29
Penrith 27
Easts 24
Cronulla 23
Canberra 21
Wests 21
Illawarra 18
p = Season Premiers

St George
1986
AFTER 26 ROUNDS
Minor Premiership
Won-Lost-Draw-Bye
W
L
D
B
12
11
1
2
Points For 360
(7th best attack)
57t 62g 8fg
Points Against 402
(9th best defence)
63t 72g 6fg
MP Standing
7th

(13 teams)

Illawarra
1986
AFTER 26 ROUNDS
Minor Premiership
Won-Lost-Draw-Bye
W
L
D
B
7
17
0
2
Points For 310
(equal 12th best attack)
50t 55g 0fg
Points Against 372
(5th best defence)
56t 71g 6fg
MP Standing
12th

(13 teams)
1987:
EASTS THRASH SAINTS, SAINTS THRASH WESTS
Season snapshot
In 1987, Saints had another ordinary season, failing to make the semis for the second year running and finishing in 9th position.
SCG, 20 March 1987: Saints have suffered a humiliating defeat going down to Easts by 44-2 in front of 11,831 people. Easts whitewashed Saints eight tries to nil.

Campbelltown Stadium, 10 May 1987: Saints have locked out Wests with a 34-0 thrashing in front of 6,490 people. Unfortunately,


STEVE LINNANE OUTED FOR 20 WEEKS
Saints' halfback Steve Linnane has been suspended for 20 weeks by the judiciary after being found guilty of eye gouging Penrith's Greg Alexander.


ROY MASTERS ENDS COACHING STINT
Roy Masters - St George rugby league history At the end of 1987, Roy Masters finished as coach of St George. Masters coached Saints from 1982-87 and in that time took the Dragons to the semi finals in 1983, a preliminary final in 1984 and minor premiers & grand finalists in 1985. Captain Craig Young was short listed as his successor but an outsider is more likely considering the current trend to have a non-playing coach.

SAINTS SIGN BRAD MACKAY
St George have secured the services if young local junior, Brad Mackay. The talented utility player equally at home at lock, centre or five eighth.

ILLAWARRA OUTCLASS CRONULLA
WIN Stadium, 30 August 1987: The Steelers have outclassed Cronulla 24-4. Illawarra hammered their neighbours 4 tries to 1 in front of a small crowd of 5,726.
Illawarra ended their season in 11th position, four points clear of last placed Wests.

BRIAN SMITH DEPARTS AS COACH
Brian Smith
has accepted an offer to coach Hull in England and will not be coaching the Steelers in 1988. New coach will be former Parramatta forward, Ron Hilditch.


'POPPA' CLAY DIES
Brian 'Poppa' Clay - St George rugby league history
Brian 'Poppa' Clay passed away in September 1987 after a long battle with heart disease. 'Poppa', so named because of his bald pate, was widely regarded as one of the best and toughest pivots to ever play for St George. Clay was a popular clubman who represented Australia in the World Cup in 1957 and played five Tests in 1959-60.
Best remembered for his role in eight Grand Final wins, Clay's career stats include 200 grade games.
Brian Clay retired as a player in 1967.
1987
NSWRL First Grade
Ladder

(top 5 in semis)
Manly p 41
Easts 35
Canberra 34
Balmain 33
Souths 31
Canterbury 30
Parramatta 28
Cronulla 27
St George 26
Norths 26
Illawarra 20
Penrith 17
Wests 16
p = Season Premiers

St George
1987
AFTER 26 ROUNDS
Minor Premiership
Won-Lost-Draw-Bye
W
L
D
B
10
12
2
2
Points For 394
(5th best attack)
62t 68g 10fg
Points Against 409
(9th best defence)
65t 73g 3fg
MP Standing
9th

(13 teams)

Illawarra
1987
AFTER 26 ROUNDS
Minor Premiership
Won-Lost-Draw-Bye
W
L
D
B
8
16
0
2
Points For 372
(8th best attack)
56t 72g 4fg
Points Against 449
(12th best defence)
74t 73g 7fg
MP Standing
11th

(13 teams)
1988:
SAINTS STILL HOMELESS
In 1987, Saints had another ordinary season, failing to make the semis for the second year running and finishing in 9th position.
The slump, one of the worst in the history of St George, coincides with the decision not to play at Kogarah due to venue upgrades.
The on-field woes continued into the latter part of the 1980s whilst 'sharing' a home ground with Canterbury at Belmore. Work on Kogarah Jubilee will not be finished before 1989.

Ted Glossop - St George rugby league historyNEW ST GEORGE COACH
Ted Glossop
took over as coach of St George in 1988 following the departure of Roy Masters.
THREE NEW TEAMS FOR '88 COMP
1988 saw the inclusion of three new teams: Newcastle, Gold Coast and Brisbane into what used to be referred to as the Sydney premiership.


Season snapshot
In 1988, both St George (10th) and the Illawarra (13th) failed to qualify for the NSWRL first grade semi-finals.
SAINTS v EASTS AT ALL NEW SFS
Sydney Football Stadium, 4 March 1988: Saints had an historic victory over Easts at the first ever Rugby League game to be played at the all new 40,000 capacity Sydney Football Stadium.
Saints won the night match under lights, 24-14 in front of  19,295 spectators.

ST GEORGE WIN THE 1988 PANASONIC MID WEEK CUP

Panasonic Cup - St George rugby league history
Pic left: Craig Young & Paul Osborne hold up the Panasonic Cup
Parramatta Stadium, 25 May 1988:
St George 16 have defeated Balmain 8 in Wednesday night's Mid-week (Panasonic) Cup Final. Dragons lock Peter Gill was named Player of the Series.

Endeavour Field, 14 August 1988: St George have lost narrowly to minor premiers, Cronulla 16-14 in front of 18,111 people. This was Saints' last game of  '88 and saw them finish 10th in a 16 team comp.

ILLAWARRA THRASH EASTS
Sydney Football Stadium, 14 August 1988:
A crowd of 3459 saw Steelers hammer Easts 31-10 by scoring five tries to two. However, Illawarra had an ordinary season and finished 13th.


CRAIG YOUNG RETIRES
St George captain, Craig 'Albert' Young has retired from Rugby League. The big prop forward first came to notice in 1972 in the undefeated Australian Schoolboys tour of England. Craig was a first grade soccer player in the Illawarra competition. He switched to Rugby League and played for Corrimal before  joining St George in 1977 and was a star in Saints premiership victory that year. In 1978 he played in all five Tests on the Kangaroo tour and was named player of the tour.
HISTORY SPOT

1988: SYDNEY CELEBRATES BICENTENARY
At just 22 years of age, Young captained St George to their 15th premiership in 1979. Young was a  Kangaroo again in 1982 and 1984. He retires in 1988 but is expected to take up the coaching job in 1989.
CRAIG YOUNG STATS
St George (1977-88): 234 games (including replacements), 11 tries, 2 f-goals (42pts).

NSW (1979-82 and 1984): 10 games (1 replacement)

Australia (1978-82 and 1984): 20 Tests, 1 try.
1988
NSWRL First Grade
Ladder

(top 5 in semis

-playoff for 5th)
Cronulla 34
Canterbury p 32
Canberra 30
Manly 30
Penrith 30
Balmain 30
Brisbane 28
Souths 24
Norths 20
St George 18
Parramatta 16
Easts 15
Illawarra 13
Newcastle 11
Gold Coast 10
Wests
9
p = Season Premiers

St George
1988
AFTER 22 ROUNDS
Minor Premiership
Won-Lost-Draw
W
L
D
9
13
0
Points For 352
(13th best attack)
62t 52g 0fg
Points Against 493
(equal 13th best defence)
76t 93g 3fg
MP Standing
10th

(16 teams)

Illawarra
1988
AFTER 22 ROUNDS
Minor Premiership
Won-Lost-Draw
W
L
D
6
15
1
Points For 353
(12th best attack)
57t 62g 1fg
Points Against 510
(16th best defence)
89t 75g 4fg
MP Standing
13th

(16 teams)
1989:
Craig Young - St George rugby league historyCRAIG YOUNG APPOINTED AS NEW COACH
In what was seen as a smooth transition, recently retired captain Craig Young (pictured during his playing days in 1985) has taken over the 1989 coaching reins from Ted Glossop who served just the one season as coach in 1988.


ALL IN THE FAMILY: SAINTS SIGN SCOTT GOURLEY, MARK COYNE FOR 1989
HISTORY SPOT

1989: THE NEWCASTLE EARTHQUAKE
St George have signed Rugby Union convert, Scott Gourley. Originally from Narribri, the son of former St George prop Robin Gourley. Scott captained the 1986 Australian Rugby Union Schoolboys to New Zealand before touring the United Kingdom with the Wallabies in 1988. Gourley decided in 1989 to switch codes and join his father's former club.
St George first grade also gained the services of Queensland junior and Brothers (Brisbane) centre, Mark Coyne in 1989 after he was originally graded in the St George reserves in 1988. His brother, Peter Coyne was to follow Mark to Saints three years later and partner him in the centres but it was Mark Coyne who would have a long lasting relationship with the Dragons for more than a decade.


Season snapshot
In 1989, St George (10th) again failed to qualify for the NSWRL first grade semi-finals. Illawarra (16th - last) faired worse, picking up the wooden spoon.
SAINTS RETURN TO KOGARAH FOR 1989
Saints have finally returned to Kogarah Jubilee Oval for the '89 season after three years of being without a proper home ground. Unfortunately it didn't help Saints' standings in the premiership as they finished 10th for the second year in a row.

ILLAWARRA WOODEN SPOONERS 1989
For the third time in their short history, the Illawarra Steelers have been lumbered with the wooden spoon. In '89, the Steelers have conceded more points than any other team on their way to last position.

Ricky Walford - St George rugby league historyRICKY WALFORD: COMPETITION'S TOP SCORER FOR 1989 AND COUNTRY REP
Ricky Walford (pic right) became the season's leading point-scorer for 1989 with 146 points consisting of 13 tries and 47 goals. In the same year, Ricky gained rep duties when selected for Country Origin.


GEOFF SELBY DIES IN CAR CRASH
Geoff Selby - St George rugby league historyPromising young St George forward, Geoff Selby (pictured left) was tragically killed in a car accident in February 1989. A St George junior, Selby was graded at Illawarra on the recommendation of James Cook High teacher and Illawarra coach, Brian Smith in 1984. He returned to St George in 1986 under the guidance of Johnny Raper. Playing at lock or second row, Geoff Selby played a total of 39 games for Illawarra scoring nine tries plus a total of 44 games for St George (18 replacement) scoring four tries.
1989
(top 5 in semis

-playoff for 5th)
Souths 37
Penrith 32
Balmain 29
Canberra p 28
Brisbane 28
Cronulla 28
Newcastle 22
Parramatta 22
Canterbury 22
St George 20
Easts 19
Manly 19
Wests 15
Gold Coast 15
Norths 11
Illawarra
5
p = Season Premiers

St George
1989
AFTER 22 ROUNDS
Minor Premiership
Won-Lost-Draw
W
L
D
10
12
0
Points For 330
(8th best attack)
57t 50g 2fg
Points Against 356
(11th best defence)
60t 58g 0fg
MP Standing
10th

(16 teams)

Illawarra
1989
AFTER 22 ROUNDS
Minor Premiership
Won-Lost-Draw
W
L
D
2
19
1
Points For 256
(13th best attack)
42t 44g 0fg
Points Against 503
(16th best defence)
88t 75g 1fg
MP Standing
16th

(16 teams)
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