1995 ARL season

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.

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. Auckland 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,^[8] 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 Sharks 29th season Ground: Endeavour Park Coach: John Lang Captain: Andrew Ettingshausen	Gold Coast Seagulls 8th season Ground: Seagulls Stadium Coach: John Harvey Captain: Craig Coleman
Illawarra Steelers 14th season Ground: Wollongong Stadium Coach: Graham Murray→Allan Fitzgibbon Captain: John Cross	Manly 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 Sargent → Paul Harragon	North Qld Cowboys 1st season Ground: Stockland Stadium Coach: Grant Bell Captain: various	North Syd. 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 Qld Crushers 1st season Ground: Suncorp Stadium Coach: Bill Gardner → Bob Lindner Captain: Mario Fenech → Trevor Gillmeister	South Syd. Rabbitohs 88th season Ground: Sydney Football Stadium Coach: Ken Shine Captain: Lee Jackson → Craig Field	St. George Dragons 75th season Ground: Kogarah Oval Coach: Brian Smith Captain: Mark Coyne
Sydney Bulldogs (Canterbury Bulldogs) 61st season Ground: Parramatta Stadium Coach: Chris Anderson Captain: Terry Lamb	Sydney City Roosters (East. Sub. Roosters) 88th season Ground: Sydney Football Stadium Coach: Phil Gould Captain: Sean Garlick	Sydney Tigers (Balmain 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	West. Sub. Magpies 88th season Ground: Campbelltown Stadium Coach: Tommy Raudonikis Captain: Paul Langmack

Ladder

More information Team, Pld ...

	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	Manly Sea Eagles	22	20	0	2	687	248	+439	40
2	Canberra Raiders	22	20	0	2	634	255	+379	40
3	Brisbane Broncos	22	17	0	5	600	364	+236	34
4	Cronulla Sharks	22	16	0	6	516	287	+229	32
5	Newcastle Knights	22	15	0	7	549	396	+153	30
6	Sydney Bulldogs (P)	22	14	0	8	468	352	+116	28
7	St. George Dragons	22	13	0	9	583	382	+201	26
8	North Sydney Bears	22	11	2	9	542	331	+211	24
9	Sydney City Roosters	22	12	0	10	466	406	+60	24
10	Auckland Warriors	22	13	0	9	544	493	+51	24
11	Western Reds	22	11	0	11	361	549	-188	22
12	Illawarra Steelers	22	10	1	11	519	431	+88	21
13	Western Suburbs Magpies	22	10	0	12	459	534	-75	20
14	Penrith Panthers	22	9	0	13	481	484	-3	18
15	Sydney Tigers	22	7	0	15	309	591	-282	14
16	South Queensland Crushers	22	6	1	15	303	502	-199	13
17	Gold Coast Seagulls	22	4	1	17	350	628	-278	9
18	South Sydney Rabbitohs	22	4	1	17	319	686	-367	9
19	Parramatta Eels	22	3	0	19	310	690	-380	6
20	North Queensland Cowboys	22	2	0	20	269	660	-391	4

Close

• 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

More information Team ...

	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	2	4	6	8	10	12	14	16	18	20	22	24	26	28	30	30	32	32	34	36	38	40
2	Canberra	2	4	6	8	10	12	14	16	18	18	20	22	24	26	26	28	30	32	34	36	38	40
3	Brisbane	2	4	6	8	10	12	14	14	16	18	18	18	20	22	22	22	24	26	28	30	32	34
4	Cronulla	0	2	2	4	6	8	8	10	12	12	14	16	16	16	18	20	22	24	26	28	30	32
5	Newcastle	2	4	6	8	10	12	14	16	18	18	20	22	24	24	26	28	28	28	30	30	30	30
6	Sydney Bulldogs	2	4	6	6	8	8	8	10	10	12	12	14	14	16	18	20	20	22	24	24	26	28
7	St George	0	0	0	2	2	2	4	4	6	8	8	8	10	12	12	14	16	18	20	22	24	26
8	North Sydney	2	4	4	6	6	8	8	8	8	8	10	10	12	14	16	16	16	18	20	22	23	24
9	Sydney City	0	2	2	4	4	6	8	8	10	12	14	14	14	14	14	16	16	18	20	22	22	24
10	Auckland	0	0	0	0	0	2	4	6	6	8	10	10	12	14	16	18	20	22	22	24	24	24
11	Western	2	2	4	4	4	6	6	8	8	8	8	10	10	12	14	14	16	18	18	20	22	22
12	Illawarra	0	2	2	4	6	6	7	7	7	7	7	9	9	9	9	11	13	15	15	17	19	21
13	Western Suburbs	2	2	2	4	6	6	8	10	10	12	14	16	16	18	18	18	20	20	20	20	20	20
14	Penrith	2	2	4	4	4	4	4	4	6	8	10	12	12	14	16	16	16	16	16	16	16	18
15	Sydney Tigers	2	2	4	4	4	4	6	6	6	8	8	10	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	14	14
16	South Qld	0	0	0	0	2	2	3	5	5	7	7	7	9	9	9	11	11	11	13	13	13	13
17	Gold Coast	0	0	2	2	2	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	6	6	6	6	8	8	8	8	8	9
18	South Sydney	0	0	0	0	2	2	2	2	4	4	4	4	4	4	6	8	8	8	8	8	9	9
19	Parramatta	0	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	4	4	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6
20	North Qld	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4

Close

Chart

	Qualifying and elimination finals					Semi-finals					Preliminary finals					Grand final
	3 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium
	1	Manly Sea Eagles	24
	4	Cronulla Sharks	20			9 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium
						Cronulla Sharks		18
	1 Sept, Parramatta Stadium					Newcastle Knights		19			17 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium
	5	Newcastle Knights	20								Manly Sea Eagles		12
	8	North Sydney Bears	10								Newcastle Knights		4			24 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium
																Manly Sea Eagles		4
	2 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium										16 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium					Sydney Bulldogs		17
	6	Sydney Bulldogs	12								Canberra Raiders		6
	7	St. George Dragons	8			10 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium					Sydney Bulldogs		25
						Brisbane Broncos		10
	2 Sept, Suncorp Stadium					Sydney Bulldogs		24
	2	Canberra Raiders	14
	3	Brisbane Broncos	8

Teams

Twelve Bulldogs players remained from the squad that played in the 1994 Grand Final.^[11] Initially selected in the starting line-up, winger Brett Dallas missed the decider due to a hamstring injury sustained in the preliminary final.^[12][13] Des Hasler and Cliff Lyons both had previous Grand Final experience for Manly, playing in the 1987 Grand Final, while Manly prop David Gillespie had played in the Bulldogs’ 1988 premiership win. Manly fullback Matthew Ridge started the match under an injury cloud, having sustained a rib injury during the finals series.^[11]

Entertainment

Julie Anthony performed Advance Australia Fair before the match. The half time entertainment included a surreal commercial presentation from competition sponsor Optus Vision in which a large black television was left swinging above the turf until one side collapsed releasing a shower of balloons to fall to the ground. The mishap delayed the start of the second half of the match.^[15] Optus Vision CEO Geoff Cousins proclaiming "what happened was supposed to happen."^[16]

Match details

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.^[11]

The match kicked off in sunny conditions, with the forecast showers not eventuating.^[17]

An early chance to open the scoring from a penalty goal attempt was missed by Bulldogs goalkicker Daryl Halligan in the fourth minute, his kick falling short from approximately 39 metres from the posts. A few minutes later with Manly on the attack, Bulldogs captain Terry Lamb was sent to the sin bin following a professional foul.^[18] From the resulting penalty, Matthew Ridge converted his attempt at goal to give Manly a 2–0 advantage.^[11]

The Bulldogs scrambled in defence^[19] and were able to keep out Manly while down to 12-men.^[18] Following Lamb's return they were able to level the scores following a penalty against Manly wing John Hopoate. Following an error by Terry Hill that gave the Bulldogs field position, Bulldogs lock forward Jim Dymock sparked an attack with his around-the-corner pass to Simon Gillies not ruled forward by the match officials, Gillies offloaded to Steve Price to score the first try of the Grand Final.^[11][16] Manly were able to cut the margin ten minutes from the break when Ridge converted a penalty goal attempt from 36 metres.^[18]

It had been a frentic and chaotic first half contest dominated by defence, with the Bulldogs ahead at half-time 6–4.^[17][16]

It was an erratic ten minutes to start the second half, with both teams guilty of handling errors.^[11] Then the biggest controversy of the match unfolded. The Bulldogs extended their lead to 10–4 when Glen Hughes scored a try from what appeared to be the seventh tackle in attack. Dymock and Lamb engineering the play for Dean Pay to bounce a looping pass to Hughes to score the try.^[11][16]

Chasing the match, further Manly errors gave the Bulldogs field position, with Lamb slotting a field goal in the 69th minute. They were denied a try a couple of minutes later when Matthew Ryan reached to ground the ball over the line, only for the referee to rule a knock-on. They wouldn't be denied a final try through Rod Silva in the final minutes, the fullback running in support of John Timu to score, again with a suspicion of a forward pass.^[11][16]

The Bulldogs had scored 11 unanswered points in the second half to secure the club's seventh premiership title and their first of the decade. The Bulldogs won despite losing the scrum count 3–5 and the penalty count 9–10. Manly's 22–3 season win–loss record remains the best not to have secured the premiership. Coach Chris Anderson stating "we got away to a good start in the second half, but Manly can pull a try out of anything and I wasn't certain we'd won until Silva put the ball down over the line with a few minutes left."^[16] Manly stalwart Cliff Lyons dubbed the match "our worst performance of the year by far."^[20]

At game's end Lamb enjoyed the rare honour of celebrating as a retiring victorious skipper,^[17] although he surprisingly returned for the 1996 season. Lamb meanwhile had given his premiership winners' medal to injured winger Brett Dallas during the victory lap.^[13]

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.^{[21][22][23][24]} 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.^[25]

Despite the controversy, most pundits agreed that the better team ended up winning.^[19]

Scoreboard

1995 ARL Winfield Cup Grand Final

Sunday, 24 September 15:00 AEST (UTC+10)

More information Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, 4 – 17 ...

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	4 – 17	Sydney Bulldogs
Goals: 2 Ridge  pen 7', pen 29' (2/2)	1st: 4–6 2nd: 0–11 [11]	Tries: 3 Price  21' Hughes  61' Silva  78' Goals: 2 Halligan  pen 17', 78' (2/5) Field goals: 1 Lamb  69' Sin bin: Lamb 6' to 16'

Close

Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 41,127 Referee: Eddie Ward Touch judges: Martin Weekes, Kevin Russell In-goal judges: Tom Peet, John McCormack Clive Churchill Medal: Jim Dymock[26] (Sydney Bulldogs)

Other match

Newcastle Knights won the reserve grade Grand Final 22–10 against Cronulla. The Knights opened the scoring in the 13th minute through John Carlaw, before halfback Brett Kimmorley scored two tries in the second half, including a 90 metre intercept try.^[27] The win was the club's first premiership in any competition.^[14]

Title and the Sydney Bulldogs name

After a Grand Final appearance the previous season in which they lost to the Canberra Raiders, 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.