1987 NSWRL season

Rugby league competition 1987 New South Wales Rugby League 13 Manly 16 Manly-Warringah 5th Manly 16 Manly-Warringah 6th 162 5,294 1,658,354 Balmain 16 Ross Conlon (196) Canterbury 16 Terry Lamb (16) Parramatta 16 Peter Sterling Rothmans Medal 16x16px Western Suburbs Magpies 14th 1986 NSWRL season 1986 1988 NSWRL season 1988 The 1987 NSWRL season was the 80th season of professional rugby league football in Australia. Thirteen clubs competed for the New South Wales Rugby League premiership's J J Giltinan Shield and Winfield Cup during the season, which culminated in the grand final between the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and the Canberra Raiders who were the first club ever from outside Sydney to appear in a premiership decider. This season, NSWRL teams also competed for the 1987 National Panasonic Cup. Season summary This was to be the last season that the moniker "New South Wales Rugby League" would be actually correct, as the following season two teams from Queensland would be introduced, heralding a new era of interstate club participation in the Winfield Cup premiership (although the name would not be changed to the Australian Rugby League until 1995). This would also ultimately lead to the decline of the historic Brisbane Rugby League premiership of Queensland. Twenty-six regular season rounds were played from February through to August, resulting in a top five of Manly, Easts, Canberra, Balmain and Souths who battled it out in the finals. Parramatta's captain and halfback Peter Sterling made a clean sweep of the 1987 season's major awards, winning the Rothmans Medal and Dally M Award as well as being named Rugby League Week's player of the year. Toby Creswell and Samantha Trenoweth 1001 Australians You Should Know Pluto Press 2006 Australia 714 https://books.google.com/books?id=QqtinbjO0oEC&q=rugby 978-1-86403-361-8 Western Suburbs moved their homeground to Campbelltown's Orana Park for the season, moving away from their home at Lidcombe Oval. 1987 would be the last year in which the NSWRL used the Sydney Cricket Ground for regular weekly matches, including all finals and the grand final. From 1988 league headquarters would move next door to the SCG to the new 40,000 seat, A$68 million Sydney Football Stadium. Teams The lineup of clubs remained unchanged from the previous year, with thirteen contesting the premiership, including five Sydney-based foundation teams, another six from Sydney, one from greater New South Wales and one from the Australian Capital Territory, though technically the ACT club, while known as the Canberra Raiders, actually played their home games at the Seiffert Oval in Queanbeyan which is located on the NSW side of the ACT/NSW state border to the south of the city. BalmainTigers100px|center 80th seasonGround: Leichhardt Oval Coach: Bill AndersonCaptain: Wayne PearceCanberraRaiders100px|center 6th seasonGround: Seiffert Oval Coach: Don Furner & Wayne BennettCaptain: Dean LanceCanterbury-BankstownBulldogs100px|center 53rd seasonGround: Belmore Oval Coach: Warren RyanCaptain: Steve MortimerCronulla-SutherlandSharks100px|center 21st seasonGround: Caltex Field Coach: Jack GibsonCaptain: David HatchEastern SuburbsRoosters100px|center 80th seasonGround: Henson Park Coach: Arthur BeetsonCaptain: Hugh McGahanIllawarraSteelers100px|center 6th seasonGround: Wollongong Stadium Coach: Brian SmithCaptain: Perry HaddockManly-WarringahSea Eagles100px|center 41st seasonGround: Brookvale Oval Coach: Bob FultonCaptain: Paul VautinNorth SydneyBears100px|center 80th seasonGround: North Sydney Oval Coach: Frank StantonCaptain: Mark GrahamParramattaEels100px|center 41st seasonGround: Parramatta Stadium Coach: John MonieCaptain: Peter SterlingPenrithPanthers100px|center 21st seasonGround: Penrith Stadium Coach: Tim SheensCaptain: Royce SimmonsSouth SydneyRabbitohs100px|center 80th seasonGround: Redfern Oval Coach: George PigginsCaptain: Mario FenechSt. GeorgeDragons100px|center 67th seasonGround: Sydney Cricket Ground Coach: Roy MastersCaptain: Craig YoungWestern SuburbsMagpies100px|center 80th seasonGround: Orana Park Coach Steve GhosnCaptain: Ian Schubert 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 24 25 26 F1 F2 F3 GF Balmain TigersPAR+24CBY+3SOU+32CRO+7EAS−13CAN+8ILA+21NOR+20STG+14XPEN−6WES+4MAN−34PAR+19CBY−3SOU−4CRO−6EAS0CAN+28ILA+2NOR+14STG−4XPEN+16WES−4MAN−18SOU−3 Canberra RaidersCRO+17XILA+13NOR−2STG+8BAL−8PEN+7WES+35PAR−8MAN−8CBY−19SOU+4EAS−15CRO+26XILA+7NOR+6STG+17BAL−28PEN+18WES+18PAR−16MAN−2CBY+18SOU+24EAS+4EAS−9SOU+34EAS+8MAN−10 Canterbury-Bankstown BulldogsNOR+20BAL−3PEN+6WES+10PAR−12MAN+12XSOU−4CRO+16EAS−2CAN+19ILA−13STG−25NOR−6BAL+3PEN+10WES+16PAR+16MAN−30XSOU+2CRO+12EAS−2CAN−18ILA+12STG−2 Cronulla-Sutherland SharksCAN−17NOR+6STG+8BAL−7PEN+2WES+12PAR+2MAN+5CBY−16SOU+10XEAS−2ILA+20CAN−26NOR−10STG−4BAL+6PEN+20WES0PAR+12MAN−22CBY−12SOU−6XEAS−4ILA−20 Eastern Suburbs RoostersXILA+6NOR+1STG+42BAL+13PEN−11WES−13PAR+12MAN−8CBY+2SOU−10CRO+2CAN+15XILA+14NOR+1STG−7BAL0PEN+1WES+9PAR−30MAN+10CBY+2SOU−14CRO+4CAN−4CAN+9MAN−4CAN−8 Illawarra SteelersSOU+23EAS−6CAN−13XNOR−14STG+4BAL−21PEN−10WES+20PAR+8MAN−10CBY+13CRO−20SOU−15EAS−14CAN−7XNOR+2STG−17BAL−2PEN−2WES+10PAR−3MAN−11CBY−12CRO+20 Manly Warringah Sea EaglesSTG0PEN+24WES+11PAR+22XCBY−12SOU−10CRO−5EAS+8CAN+8ILA+10NOR+8BAL+34STG+14PEN+2WES+1PAR+8XCBY+30SOU+3CRO+22EAS−10CAN+2ILA+11NOR−2BAL+18XEAS+4XCAN+10 North Sydney BearsCBY−20CRO−6EAS−1CAN+2ILA+14XSTG+2BAL−20PEN−9WES−4PAR−7MAN−8SOU−4CBY+6CRO+10EAS−1CAN−6ILA−2XSTG+3BAL−14PEN+3WES+2PAR+17MAN+2SOU+8 Parramatta EelsBAL−24WES−16XMAN−22CBY+12SOU+13CRO−2EAS−12CAN+8ILA−8NOR+7STG+1PEN+13BAL−19WES+19XMAN−8CBY−16SOU−4CRO−12EAS+30CAN+16ILA+3NOR−17STG+18PEN+26 Penrith PanthersWES+10MAN−24CBY−6SOU−7CRO−2EAS+11CAN−7ILA+10NOR+9STG−8BAL+6XPAR−13WES−8MAN−2CBY−10SOU−2CRO−20EAS−1CAN−18ILA+2NOR−3STG0BAL−16XPAR−26 South Sydney RabbitohsILA−23STG−5BAL−32PEN+7WES+3PAR−13MAN+10CBY+4XCRO−10EAS+10CAN−4NOR+4ILA+15STG+9BAL+4PEN+2WES0PAR+4MAN−3CBY−2XCRO+6EAS+14CAN−24NOR−8BAL+3CAN−34 St. George DragonsMAN0SOU+5CRO−8EAS−42CAN−8ILA−4NOR−2XBAL−14PEN+8WES+34PAR−1CBY+25MAN−14SOU−9CRO+4EAS+7CAN−17ILA+17NOR−3XBAL+4PEN0WES+19PAR−18CBY+2 Western Suburbs MagpiesPEN−10PAR+16MAN−11CBY−10SOU−3CRO−12EAS+13CAN−35ILA−20NOR+4STG−34BAL−4XPEN+8PAR−19MAN−1CBY−16SOU0CRO0EAS−9CAN−18ILA−10NOR−2STG−19BAL+4X Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 F1 F2 F3 GFBold – Home game     X – Bye     Opponent for round listed above margin References:Rugby League Tables - Season 1987 https://afltables.com/rl/seas/1987.html 31 March 2023 Ladder Pos PositionTeam Pld Games played W Won D Drawn L Lost B Bye PF Points for (total points scored) PA Points against (total points conceded) PD Points difference (points scored minus points conceded) Pts Competition points1 16x16px Manly (P)2418152553356+19741 2 16x16px Eastern Suburbs2415182390353+37353 16x16px Canberra2415092441325+116344 16x16px Balmain2414192469349+120335 16x16px South Sydney24131102310342-32316 16x16px Canterbury24130112353316+37307 16x16px Parramatta24120122417411+6288 16x16px Cronulla24111122390433-43279 16x16px St.George24102122394409-152610 16x16px North Sydney24110132368401-332611 16x16px Illawarra2480162372449-772012 Old Penrith 16 Penrith2461172274399-1251713 16x16px Western Suburbs2452172339527-18816 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. Underlined numbers indicate that the team had a bye during that round. Team12345678910111213141516171819202122232425261Manly 16 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 1 3 5 7 9 9 9 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 35 37 39 39 412Eastern Suburbs 16 Eastern Suburbs Roosters 2 4 6 8 10 10 10 12 12 14 14 16 18 20 22 24 24 25 27 29 29 31 33 33 35 353Canberra 16 Canberra Raiders 2 4 6 6 8 8 10 12 12 12 12 14 14 16 18 20 22 24 24 26 28 28 28 30 32 344Balmain 16 Balmain Tigers 2 4 6 8 8 10 12 14 16 18 18 20 20 22 22 22 22 23 25 27 29 29 31 33 33 335South Sydney 16 South Sydney Rabbitohs 0 0 0 2 4 4 6 8 10 10 12 12 14 16 18 20 22 23 25 25 25 27 29 31 31 316Canterbury 16 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2 2 4 6 6 8 10 10 12 12 14 14 14 14 16 18 20 22 22 24 26 28 28 28 30 307Parramatta 16 Parramatta Eels 0 0 2 2 4 6 6 6 8 8 10 12 14 14 16 18 18 18 18 18 20 22 24 24 26 288Cronulla 16 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 0 2 4 4 6 8 10 12 12 14 16 16 18 18 18 18 20 22 23 25 25 25 25 27 27 279St. George 16 St. George Dragons 1 3 3 3 3 3 3 5 5 7 9 9 11 11 11 13 15 15 17 17 19 21 22 24 24 2610North Sydney 16 North Sydney Bears 0 0 0 2 4 6 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 10 12 12 12 12 14 16 16 18 20 22 24 2611Illawarra 16 Illawarra Steelers 2 2 2 4 4 6 6 6 8 10 10 12 12 12 12 12 14 16 16 16 16 18 18 18 18 2012Old Penrith 16 Penrith Panthers 2 2 2 2 2 4 4 6 8 8 10 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 14 14 15 15 17 1713Western Suburbs 16 Western Suburbs Magpies 0 2 2 2 2 2 4 4 4 6 6 6 8 10 10 10 10 11 12 12 12 12 12 12 14 16 Finals HomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeCrowd Qualifying Finals Balmain 23 Balmain Tigers12–15 Souths 23 South Sydney Rabbitohs5 September 1987Sydney Cricket GroundGreg McCallum22,134 Easts 23 Eastern Suburbs Roosters25–16 Canberra 23 Canberra Raiders6 September 1987Sydney Cricket GroundMick Stone15,852 Semi-finals Canberra 23 Canberra Raiders46–12 Souths 23 South Sydney Rabbitohs12 September 1987Sydney Cricket GroundMick Stone24,744 Manly 23 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles10–6 Easts 23 Eastern Suburbs Roosters13 September 1987Sydney Cricket GroundGreg McCallum36,399 Preliminary final Easts 23 Eastern Suburbs Roosters24–32 Canberra 23 Canberra Raiders20 September 1987Sydney Cricket GroundMick Stone26,790 Grand final Manly 23 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles18–8 Canberra 23 Canberra Raiders27 September 1987Sydney Cricket GroundMick Stone50,201 References: Chart 150 Qualifying final Major semi-final Grand final Elimination final Minor semi-final Preliminary final 2 Eastern Suburbs 16 Eastern Suburbs 25 3 Canberra 16 Canberra 16 4 Balmain 16 Balmain 12 5 South Sydney 16 South Sydney 15 1 Manly 16 Manly 10 Eastern Suburbs 16 Eastern Suburbs 6 Canberra 16 Canberra 46 South Sydney 16 South Sydney 12 Eastern Suburbs 16 Eastern Suburbs 24 Canberra 16 Canberra 32 Manly 16 Manly 18 Canberra 16 Canberra 8 Grand final 1987 NSWRL Grand Final Manly 50Manly WarringahSea Eagles Canberra 50CanberraRaiders MAN Manly 16 CAN Canberra 16 6 12 18 0 8 8 27 September 1987 Sydney Cricket Ground Moore Park, New South Wales Clive Churchill Medal Cliff Lyons (MAN) National anthem Julie Anthony Mick Stone 50,201 Network 10 ABC Tim Webster (10 Host) Rex Mossop (10) Graeme Hughes (10) David Fordham (10) Peter Sterling (10) Wayne Pearce (10) Bill Anderson (10) David Morrow (ABC Host) Hugh McGahan (ABC) Warren Boland (ABC) Background Manly dominated the 1987 season with a 12-match winning sequence between May and July, with the result that Bob Fulton's elusive goal of coaching a team to grand final victory began to look a possibility. The path to glory had been four years in the making. In 1983, Fulton returned to the Sea Eagles as coach, but Manly lost to Parramatta for the second year running that, so he set about pursuing a stable of players capable of winning a premiership. 50,201 fans were on hand during an unseasonable southeastern Australian heatwave, with the temperature peaking at 31.1 °C 1 or,Stephens Tony A day for heroes as Manly makes history in the heat The Sydney Morning Herald Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited 28 September 1987 Sydney, New South Wales 1 to watch the last NSWRL grand final at the Sydney Cricket Ground, and the first to involve a club from outside the Sydney area. Network 10 televised a memorable pre-match entertainment themed to commence celebrations of New South Wales' 200th birthday. The ceremony involving a symbolic building of a huge model of the Sydney Harbour Bridge by representatives of the Navy's apprentices, while singer John Williamson performed his song "True Blue". There were repeated playing of the Bicentennial jingle "making this State great." Australian soprano Julie Anthony sang Advance Australia Fair before kickoff. Ten's commentary team for the game was Rex Mossop and Graeme Hughes with David Fordham the sideline reporter and special comments from Australian and New South Wales representatives Peter Sterling and Wayne Pearce.1987 Winfield Cup grand final highlights Ten personality Tim Webster was the grand final's Master of Ceremonies, hosting the pre-game coin toss and the post match presentation ceremonies. Balmain's outgoing coach Bill Anderson joined Fordham for the call of both the U/23's grand final (won 34–14 by St George over Souths) and the reserve grade grand final won 11–0 by Penrith over minor premier Manly. The ABC's telecast of the game was hosted by chief caller David Morrow who was joined in the commentary booth for special comments by Easts and NZ Test captain Hugh McGahan with Warren Boland providing sideline commentary. Peter Longman did reports from the Queanbeyan League's Club in Canberra while Peter Wilkins did the reports from the Manly Leagues Club in Brookvale.1987 NSWRL Grand Final - ABC Telecast Part 11987 NSWRL Grand Final - ABC Telecast Part 2 Teams The sole survivors of the Manly's 1983 loss to Parramatta were Noel Cleal and club captain, Paul Vautin. Vautin had been largely overlooked by the Australian selectors (including being surprisingly overlooked for the 1982 Kangaroo tour after representing both Australia and Queensland earlier that year). Vautin's leadership of the Sea-Eagles was an integral factor in the club's success, though there was allegedly tension between Vautin and Cleal in 1987. Despite still recovering from broken arm suffered on the successful 1986 Kangaroo tour, the Manly club board had wanted Fulton to make Cleal the captain to replace Vautin. Fulton however retained Vautin as captain with Cleal as his deputy. In 1984 young halfback Des Hasler, who had spent several seasons warming the bench at Penrith trialed with the club and became a mainstay of the Manly side having achieved Test selection against New Zealand in 1985 as well as being a 1986 Kangaroo Tourist. 1986 Rothmans medallist, winger-turned-hooker, Mal Cochrane, a reliable goalkicker and a deceptive open runner was also an asset to the side. The forwards were Vautin, "Crusher" Cleal, "Rambo" Ron Gibbs, Kangaroo Tour prop Phil Daley and Great Britain international, Castleford's Kevin Ward, who was flown back out to Australia specifically for the grand final. Manly's masterstroke was the signing of former rugby union international centre Michael O'Connor from St. George who was the current NSW Origin and Australian test goal kicker. Their opponents were to be the Canberra Raiders who, after five years of competition, had reached their first grand final. The Raiders were co-coached by Kangaroos coach Don Furner and Queensland coach Wayne Bennett who had jointly won the Dally M Coach of the Year award for their efforts in lifting the Raiders from easy beats to premiership contenders. The team included players such as captain Dean Lance, Queensland and Kangaroo Tour fullback Gary Belcher, centres Mal Meninga (himself a test veteran who had returned after breaking his arm against Manly earlier in the year) and Peter Jackson, hooker Steve Walters and front rowers Sam Backo and New Zealand test player (and former NZ Water Polo international) Brent Todd with a young Kevin Walters also on the bench. Also sitting on the Raiders bench for the game as emergencies were young Glenn Lazarus and Laurie Daley, though neither would be used in the match. n center Manly Warringah Sea Eagles maroon maroon white Canberra Raiders blue #32CD32 white 15 s n Bob Fulton Dale Shearer 1 David Ronson 2 Darrell Williams 3 Michael O'Connor 4 Stuart Davis 5 Cliff Lyons 6 Des Hasler 7 Phil Daley 13 Mal Cochrane 12 Kevin Ward 11 Ron Gibbs 10 Noel Cleal 9 Paul Vautin (c) 8 Paul Shaw 20 Replacement Mark Pocock 24 Replacement Don Furner and Wayne Bennett Gary Belcher 1 Chris Kinna 2 Mal Meninga 3 Peter Jackson 4 Matthew Corkery 5 Chris O'Sullivan 6 Ivan Henjak 7 Brent Todd 13 Steve Walters 12 Sam Backo 11 Gary Coyne 10 Ashley Gilbert 9 Dean Lance (c) 8 Kevin Walters 20 Terry Regan 16 RLP Match summary First half From the outset Manly's Cliff Lyons attempted to find gaps out wide in Canberra's defence and kept the Raiders hemmed in on their own side of half-way with his astute kicking. Lyons stepped inside the Raiders' defence and after a seventy-metre burst found Noel Cleal stampeding on to the ball but Cleal's final pass to Des Hasler was ruled forward. Another promising Manly raid broke down after Lyons had initially dummied to O'Connor, then proceeded to run around Peter Jackson and head 30 metres downfield. It all came to naught however when Lyons' reverse pass to O'Connor was put to ground after O'Connor had thought Lyons would dummy to him again. TV replays showed that Lyons would have had an unimpeded run to the try line by the posts had he looked ahead instead of trying to pass back inside. Manly continued to put pressure on the Raiders defence with both speedsters Michael O'Connor and Dale Shearer trying to catch the Raiders out with long range kicks to their in-goal area in front of the SCG hill, but both were only just beaten to the ball each time by Gary Belcher and Gary Coyne respectively. In the 27th minute Lyons eventually broke through on his third threatening attempt. Scurrying from a scrum win on the Canberra quarter-line, Lyons brushed off the tackle of Chris O'Sullivan and stepped inside Belcher to score. Just before half time, Ron Gibbs was sent to the head bin for a brief period, replaced by Paul Shaw. The Sea Eagles led 6-0 at half-time, with a ball-and-all tackle by Belcher on Dale Shearer just two metres from the Canberra tryline preventing the lead being greater. Second half From the restart kick-off by O'Connor, Sam Backo missed the ball when trying to trap it with his foot just in front and to the left of the posts. Subsequently this forced Belcher to field the ball deep in his in-goal, but he was penalised for shepherding behind first Backo and then Chris O'Sullivan who was standing under the posts as he ran the ball out. And with the Manly line arriving as Belcher was behind O'Sullivan, referee Stone ruled the Canberra fullback had used his team mate as a shepherd with Vautin the player ruled to have been impeded. It was a gift penalty for O'Connor to take Manly out to an 8-0 lead. The Sea Eagles kept the pressure on Canberra by charging down two attempted clearing kicks by a tiring Mal Meninga. Only occasionally did the Raiders break through. After a run by Peter Jackson, Manly's Phil Daley was penalised for a high tackle and Meninga's goal finally put Canberra on the scoreboard. Fatigue and the heat began to take a toll on the players, though one of the more surprising efforts was Manly's English prop Kevin Ward who ran and tackled strongly all day. Meninga, who had only played 60 minutes of football since breaking his arm in a game against Manly almost two months earlier, was replaced by Kevin Walters after 15 minutes of the second half and Manly's Gibbs, Cleal and Cochrane all went down hurt at different stages as the pace of the match slowed (for his part, Cochrane still can't remember the second half). Soon after a successful penalty goal from O'Connor, a Dale Shearer cross field kick from the Raiders 22m line was grounded over the line by O'Connor in the Paddington corner. While Manly winger David Ronson was thought to be offside (though he didn't get involved in the play, he was still within 10 metres of O'Connor), many claim that the Manly centre should have been ruled offside as he got the ball "rather quickly" (television replays would prove inconclusive as there was no footage of where O'Conner was when Shearer kicked). However, referee Mick Stone ruled that Manly's international centre was onside and O'Connor was awarded the try. He converted his own try (giving him 4/4 goals at that point) and Manly had a premiership winning 16-2 lead. A brief hope of a fightback loomed after an ingeniously constructed "trojan horse" move by Canberra. Chris O'Sullivan went down "injured" after being tackled and then miraculously popped up in the next passage of play to take the inside pass from Ivan Henjak and score. With Meninga off the ground, Gary Belcher converted to narrow the scores to 16-8. Ron Gibbs' return from the head-bin helped snap the Sea Eagles out of their complacency. Daley's tackle on Canberra replacement Terry Regan and Dale Shearer's try-saving tackle on Ashley Gilbert three minutes from full-time ended any chance of a Canberra fightback. Paul Vautin led the charge back up-field with Hasler being bundled into the corner post after a run-around movement with O'Connor. The Manly centre also had a try taken off him just minutes after his previous try when Mick Stone ruled a pass from Cliff Lyons had gone forward. Right on full-time, O'Connor landed his fifth goal from five attempts after the Raiders were penalised in front of their own posts for being offside after a tap-kick restart. The 18-8 scoreline was a fair indication of Manly's supremacy on the day and a just result considering the Sea Eagles' consistency throughout the year. Manly captain Paul Vautin said on the presentation dias "Canberra almost produced a fairytale finish, but unfortunately the last couple of pages were ripped out... we were the best team today and we had been all year."The fairytale comes to an abrupt end The Sydney Morning Herald Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited 28 September 1987 Sydney, New South Wales 55 Manly became the first team other than Canterbury-Bankstown or Parramatta to win the premiership during the 1980s (Manly had been beaten grand finalists in 1982 and 1983, losing both times to Parramatta). Manly centre Darrell Williams also became the first ever New Zealander to win the Sydney premiership while Vautin remains 2024 y the only Queenslander to captain the Sea Eagles to a premiership win. Bob Fulton won his first premiership as a coach following a nine-year tenure. The game marked the conclusion of Don Furner's club coaching career, having overseen Canberra's entry into the league. Co-coach Wayne Bennett subsequently departed to coach the Brisbane Broncos while continuing his role with the Queensland State of Origin team. Scoreboard #f1f5fc 1987 NSWRL Winfield Cup Grand Final Sunday, 27 September 15:00 AEST (UTC+10) Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Manly 16 Canberra 16 Canberra Raiders 2Lyons 27O'Connor 54 5O'Connor 27 pen 41 pen 51 55 pen 78 (5/5) 18 – 8 6–0 12–8 ReportThe minutes that counted The Sydney Morning Herald Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited 28 September 1987 Sydney, New South Wales 55 1O'Sullivan 69 2Meninga pen 46 (1/1)Belcher 70 (1/1) Sydney Cricket Ground 50,201Middleton David Rugby League 1987-88 Lester-Townsend Publishing Sydney 0949853119 Mick StoneStone survives public trial The Sydney Morning Herald Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited 28 September 1987 Sydney, New South Wales 55 Clive Churchill Medal Cliff Lyons (Manly)D'Souza Miguel Grand Final History http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/league/2009-grand-final/grandFinal_History.swf https://web.archive.org/web/20140819082626/http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/league/2009-grand-final/grandFinal_History.swf dead 19 August 2014 wwos.ninemsn.com.au AAP 8 September 2013 World Club Challenge 1987 World Club Challenge Having won the premiership, the Manly side travelled to England to play British Champions Wigan on 7 October. This was only the second match of its kind, being the first time the Australian and British premiers faced off since 1976. 36,895 spectators turned out at Central Park in Wigan, to see the Sea Eagles go down 8–2 in a tryless game which saw Ron Gibbs sent off in his last game for Manly following a high tackle on Wigan centre Joe Lydon. Player statistics The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 26. Top 5 point scorers PointsPlayerTriesGoalsField goals184Balmain Ross Conlon5820179Canterbury Terry Lamb16571162Illawarra Dean Carney8642138Manly Mal Cochrane5590108Parramatta John Muggleton4452 Top 5 try scorers TriesPlayer16Canterbury Terry Lamb13Manly Dale Shearer13Canberra Matthew Corkery13St. George Brian Johnston11Balmain Scott Gale Top 5 goal scorers GoalsPlayer82Balmain Ross Conlon64Illawarra Dean Carney59Manly Mal Cochrane57Canterbury Terry Lamb45Parramatta John Muggleton45Western Suburbs Ian Schubert References External links Rugby League Tables - Season 1987 The World of Rugby League. Pace, Class and Lots of Guts Soaring Sea Eagles. Results:1981-90 at rabbitohs.com.au 1987 J J Giltinan Shield and Winfield Cup at rleague.comJanuary 2025 medicmedic NSWRL season 1987 at rugbyleagueproject.org 1987 Grand Final replay at NRL.com Category:New South Wales Rugby League premiership NSWRL season