1997 ARL season

Rugby league competition the Australian Rugby League's 1997 competition the Super League-operated rival competition 1997 Super League (Australia) season September 2020 April 2015 1997 Australian Rugby League ARL_Optus_Cup_Logo_1997.png 200px 7 March – 28 September 1997 12 Newcastle 16 Newcastle 1st Manly 16 Manly 9th 141 5,370 1,496,040 10,610 North Sydney 16 Jason Taylor (242) Manly 16 Terry Hill (22) Eastern Suburbs 16 Brad Fittler (Provan-Summons Medal) South Queensland Crushers 16 South Qld Crushers 2nd 1996 1998 (NRL) The 1997 Australian Rugby League season was the 90th season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the third season run by the Australian Rugby League. While several clubs had left the League to compete in the 1997 Super League season, twelve ARL-loyal teams – eight from across Sydney, two from greater New South Wales and two from Queensland (Gold Coast and South Queensland) – competed for the Optus Cup Trophy. The top seven teams then played a series of knock-out finals which culminated in a September grand final played in Sydney between the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and the Newcastle Knights. Newcastle won its first ever premiership, staging a comeback from 8–16 behind to defeat Manly 22–16. Preseason The season is most notable for being run parallel to the rival Super League competition. This was the only season when the two competitions actually ran, notwithstanding that 1995 and 1996 had been disrupted by the Super League war. ARL chairman Ken Arthurson resigned in February 1997 in an effort to enable re-unification negotiations held during the season to succeed. It would not be until after the season's end in December that the boards of every ARL club would gather at the SCG in an unprecedented meeting to consider the proposed peace deal following five months of secret negotiations between Ian Frykberg and Neil Whittaker. Regular season In 1997 the official player of the year award, the Provan-Summons Medal was won by Brad Fittler. This award was replaced by the Dally M Medal from the following year. The Illawarra Steelers' Scott Cram was named the 1997 season's rookie of the year.Illawarra History http://www.dragons.com.au/illawarra-history dragons.com.au St. George Illawarra Dragons 11 August 2012 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20120528165554/http://www.dragons.com.au/illawarra-history 28 May 2012 The grand finals (winners in bold): ARL Optus Cup: Manly Warringah Sea Eagles vs Newcastle Knights Reserve grade: Balmain Tigers vs Parramatta Eels Under-20s: Balmain Tigers vs Sydney City Roosters The ARL organised one test match with Australia defeating a Rest Of The World squad 28–8 at Suncorp Stadium in July. The 1997 State of Origin series was won by New South Wales two games to one after the Blues won the opening two matches of series. 1997 State of Origin series In the annual City vs Country Origin match, Country won 17–4 at Marathon Stadium in April. The first time Country has won back-to-back matches in 35 years.Middleton David Rugby League 1998 HarperSports Pymble, New South Wales 9780732264246 Teams The eight ARL teams that had aligned themselves with Super League were absent from this year's ARL premiership, instead spending the year competing in the new Telstra Cup competition. The Balmain Tigers changed their name back from the Sydney Tigers this season. Balmain Tigers100px|center 90th seasonGround: Leichhardt Oval Coach: Wayne PearceCaptain: Paul SironenGold Coast Chargers100px|center 10th seasonGround: Carrara Stadium Coach: Phil EconomidisCaptain: Graham MackayIllawarra Steelers100px|center 16th seasonGround: WIN Stadium Coach: Andrew FarrarCaptain: Paul McGregorManly Sea Eagles100px|center 51st seasonGround: Brookvale Oval Coach: Bob FultonCaptain: Geoff TooveyNewcastle Knights100px|center 10th seasonGround: Marathon Stadium Coach: Mal ReillyCaptain: Paul HarragonNorth Sydney Bears100px|center 90th seasonGround: North Sydney Oval Coach: Peter LouisCaptain: Jason TaylorParramatta Eels100px|center 51st seasonGround: Parramatta Stadium Coach: Brian SmithCaptain: Dean PaySouth Qld. Crushers100px|center 3rd & final seasonGround: Suncorp Stadium Coach: Steve BleakleyCaptain: Craig TeevanSouth Sydney Rabbitohs100px|center 90th seasonGround: Sydney Football Stadium Coach: Ken ShineCaptain: Sean GarlickSt. George Dragons100px|center 77th seasonGround: Kogarah Oval Coach: David WaiteCaptain: Mark CoyneSydney City Roosters(East. Suburbs Roosters)100px|center 90th seasonGround: Sydney Football Stadium Coach: Phil GouldCaptain: Brad FittlerWest. Suburbs Magpies100px|center 90th seasonGround: Campbelltown Stadium Coach: Tommy RaudonikisCaptain: Paul Langmack NRL 800 center Locations of the participating clubs NRL -33.868611 151.154722 white 80 Balmain left NRL -28.006389 153.367222 white 80 Gold Coast right NRL -34.427778 150.9025 white 80 0.3em Illawarra Steelers right NRL -33.76 151.273333 white 80 Manly right NRL -32.918889 151.726667 white 80 Newcastle right NRL -33.831944 151.209444 white 80 N. Sydney NRL -33.808056 150.999722 white 80 Parramatta NRL -33.889167 151.225278 white 80 Sydney City NRL -33.889167 151.225278 white 80 S. Sydney left NRL -27.558333 153.062222 white 80 Sth QLD NRL -33.971944 151.129167 white 80 St. George NRL -34.050278 150.833611 white 80 W. Suburbs Ladder thumb|right|130px|The Optus Cup trophy main Custom 8 pld win draw loss pf pa diff_pf_pa pts PF Points for PA Points against PD Points difference Pts Competition points points y 2 1 0 13 230 complete RLP MAN, NEW, PAR, NOR, EAS, ILL, GLD, BAL, WES, STG, SOU, SQL 15 2 5 521 366 14 1 7 512 320 P 14 1 7 431 359 13 1 8 529 341 13 1 8 487 366 10 3 9 423 376 10 1 11 438 466 10 0 12 339 340 10 0 12 355 424 9 1 12 331 392 4 1 17 323 630 4 0 18 321 630 Balmain 16 Balmain Tigers Sydney 16 Sydney City Roosters Gold Coast Chargers 16 Gold Coast Chargers Illawarra 16 Illawarra Steelers Manly 16 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Newcastle 16 Newcastle Knights North Sydney 16 North Sydney Bears Parramatta 16 Parramatta Eels South Sydney 16 South Sydney Rabbitohs South Queensland Crushers 16 South Queensland Crushers St. George 16 St. George Dragons Western Suburbs Magpies 16 Western Suburbs Magpies J. J. Giltinan Shield winners Premiers Qualified for finals series Cannot qualify for finals Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q green1 Advance to finals series Finals Sydney City and North Sydney played out a bizarre qualifying final with the Roosters winning 33–21. The Roosters fought back from 14–2 down with 10 minutes to go to get it back to 14–14, then both sides kicked a field goal to send it to extra time at 15–15. The Roosters went on to play Gold Coast, who were in their first-ever finals campaign (and had experienced their first finals win against Illawarra), with the Roosters winning 32–10 to book a preliminary final showdown with Manly. A peculiarity of the finals system saw Manly and Newcastle face off in what was later realised to be a pointless game where both the winner and loser would progress to a Grand Final qualifier the following week. The Roosters mounted another fightback when they came from 16–6 down to get it back to 16–16, but it was a Sea Eagles field goal that proved the difference to book themselves a third straight Grand Final berth with a 17–16 win. Newcastle reached the 1997 Grand Final after defeating Parramatta in week one of the finals series. At one stage, Parramatta led the match 18–0 before a comeback gave Newcastle a 28–20 victory. Newcastle then lost the following week to Manly 27–12 before setting up a preliminary final clash with North Sydney. With the score 12–8 in favour of Newcastle with under 10 minutes to play, Jason Taylor set up Michael Buettner for a try which made the score 12–12. Normally a very reliable kicker and one of the most accurate in the competition, Taylor had already missed two previous conversions in the match, However, if he were to successfully convert this try, it could send North Sydney through to their first Grand Final since 1943, and vie for their first premiership since 1922. Taylor ended up missing the goal. With the scores remaining locked at 12–12, Newcastle player Matthew Johns kicked a field goal with two minutes to play to make it 13–12. With only seconds remaining, North Sydney frantically threw the ball around and lost it; the ball was swooped upon by Newcastle's Owen Craigie and he raced away to score a match-sealing try.http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/seasons/arl-1997/prelim-final/newcastle-vs-north-sydney/summary.html ARL 1997 – Prelim Final – Rugby League Project Shawn Dollin and Andrew Ferguson www.rugbyleagueproject.org live https://web.archive.org/web/20170801114155/http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/seasons/arl-1997/prelim-final/newcastle-vs-north-sydney/summary.html 1 August 2017https://rugbyleagueopinions.com/greatest-goalkickers-australian-rugby-league-nrl-history/ The Greatest Goalkickers in NRL History • Rugby League Opinions 12 February 2017 5 April 2019 live https://web.archive.org/web/20170212221054/http://rugbyleagueopinions.com/greatest-goalkickers-australian-rugby-league-nrl-history/ 12 February 2017 HomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeCrowd Qualifying Finals 16x16px Illawarra Steelers14–25 16x16px Gold Coast Chargers5 September 1997Parramatta StadiumDavid Manson8,197 16x16px North Sydney Bears21–33 16x16px Sydney City Roosters6 September 1997Sydney Football StadiumKelvin Jeffes11,332 16x16px Newcastle Knights28–20 16x16px Parramatta Eels7 September 1997Sydney Football StadiumPaul McBlane17,849 Semi Finals 16x16px Sydney City Roosters32–10 16x16px Gold Coast Chargers12 September 1997Parramatta StadiumPaul McBlane10,466 16x16px Parramatta Eels14–24 16x16px North Sydney Bears13 September 1997Sydney Football StadiumDavid Manson17,025 16x16px Manly Warringah Sea Eagles27–12 16x16px Newcastle Knights14 September 1997Sydney Football StadiumKelvin Jeffes26,531 Preliminary Finals 16x16px Newcastle Knights17–12 16x16px North Sydney Bears20 September 1997Sydney Football StadiumKelvin Jeffes22,540 16x16px Manly Warringah Sea Eagles17–16 16x16px Sydney City Roosters21 September 1997Sydney Football StadiumDavid Manson 30,794 Grand Final 16x16px Manly Warringah Sea Eagles16–22 16x16px Newcastle Knights28 September 1997Sydney Football StadiumDavid Manson42,482NRL Grand Final History https://web.archive.org/web/20101010125831/http://rl1908.com/clubcomps/Grand-Finals.htm 10 October 2010 at rl1908.com Chart main 180 40 4 1 1,7 1 1 6,11,16 4,10,14 6,11 8.5 6-(4,10):red,11-(14,10):red,16-14 4-6:red,4-11,10-6,14-11 6-8.5,11-8.5 9 Qualifying Finals 7 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium 2 Newcastle 16 Newcastle Knights 28 3 Parramatta 16 Parramatta Eels 20 6 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium 4 North Sydney 16 North Sydney Bears 21 5 Sydney 16 Sydney City Roosters 33 5 Sept, Parramatta Stadium 6 Illawarra 16 Illawarra Steelers 14 7 Gold Coast Chargers 16 Gold Coast Chargers 25 Major Semi Final Minor Semi Finals 14 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium 1 Manly 16 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 27 Newcastle 16 Newcastle Knights 12 13 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium Parramatta 16 Parramatta Eels 14 North Sydney 16 North Sydney Bears 24 12 Sept, Parramatta Stadium Sydney 16 Sydney City Roosters 32 Gold Coast Chargers 16 Gold Coast Chargers 10 Preliminary Finals 20 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium Newcastle 16 Newcastle Knights 17 North Sydney 16 North Sydney Bears 12 21 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium Manly 16 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 17 Sydney 16 Sydney City Roosters 16 Grand Final 28 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium Manly 16 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 16 Newcastle 16 Newcastle Knights 22 Grand Final 1997 ARL Grand Final 50px ManlySea Eagles 50pxNewcastleKnights MAN Manly 16 NEW Newcastle 16 16 0 16 8 14 22 28 September 1997 Sydney Football Stadium Sydney Clive Churchill Medal Robbie O'Davis (NEW) Australian National anthem Julie Anthony David Manson 42,482 Nine Network Ken Sutcliffe (host) Ray Warren Peter Sterling Paul Vautin Steve Roach & Gary Belcher (sideline) Teams n center Manly Warringah Sea Eagles maroon white maroon Newcastle Knights red blue white 17 s n Bob Fulton Shannon Nevin 1 Danny Moore 2 Craig Innes 3 Terry Hill 4 John Hopoate 5 Geoff Toovey (c) 6 Craig Field 7 David Gillespie 17 Anthony Colella 15 Mark Carroll 10 Steve Menzies 11 Daniel Gartner 12 Nik Kosef 13 Cliff Lyons 9 Neil Tierney 8 Scott Fulton 14 Andrew Hunter 16 Mal Reilly Robbie O'Davis 1 Darren Albert 2 Adam MacDougall 3 Owen Craigie 4 Mark Hughes 5 Matthew Johns 6 Andrew Johns 7 Tony Butterfield 8 Bill Peden 9 Paul Harragon (c) 10 Wayne Richards 11 Adam Muir 12 Marc Glanville 13 Troy Fletcher 15 Scott Conley 16 Lee Jackson 18 Steve Crowe 19 Match details The Knights won the premiership over Manly, which was aiming for back-to-back wins. It was the first ever premiership for the Knights, and was won after staging a comeback from 8–16 down at halftime. 1st half The long-running duel between opposing front rowers Mark Carroll and Paul Harragon erupted once again in the 2nd minute when Carroll reacted to a Harragon shot on Geoff Toovey. Newcastle applied pressure early when they regained possession inside Manly's 20m and shortly after that Andrew Johns took a penalty attempt, but Manly's defence and luck stood firm and the score stayed nil-all. Manly scored first after rookie hooker Anthony Colella won a scrum against the feed. John Hopoate exploited a weakness in Newcastle's right side defence and got between Darren Albert and Mark Hughes to score. Nevin's sideline conversion gave the Sea Eagles a 6–0 lead. In 13th minute Manly suffered a blow when Toovey was steamrolled. He left the field concussed for Cliff Lyons to come on. Johns went within inches of scoring for Newcastle in the 24th minute when his blindside break on the last tackle was stopped by a desperate Hopoate. Manly responded with a thrilling try in the 25th minute. The movement started 55 metres out – Hopoate making the initial break down the left-hand side with Lyons backing up to enable Craig Innes to crash over for a Manly 10–0 lead. Newcastle's first points came through a Johns' penalty goal. Then in the 34th minute they scored their first ever Grand Final try after a clever kick from Matthew Johns was taken by Hopoate who was bundled into touch. From the scrum win, Robbie O'Davis got outside Terry Hill to score. Andrew Johns' conversion brought Newcastle within two points. Manly hit back in the 38th minute after some magical work from Lyons. He swept onto the ball which had been dropped by Harragon and spun around to find Shannon Nevin on the inside. The Newcastle forwards couldn't get across to cover the overlap and Nevin then converted his own try for a 16–8 half-time scoreline. 2nd half Early in the second half there was more concern for Toovey after he was stomped on by Adam MacDougall. Manly then almost put Newcastle away in the 51st minute when Steven Menzies powered through close to the line only to be stopped by Troy Fletcher scrambling well to effect a try- and match-saving tackle for the Knights. Andrew Johns booted a penalty goal in the 57th minute to claw Newcastle back to within a converted try. In the 61st minute Adam Muir dropped a pass from Andrew Johns a metre from Manly's line but it was a sign that the Knights were back in the game. Manly on the other hand, began to play conservatively to their own ultimate cost. They received a penalty after another Harragon high tackle and elected to kick at goal 32 metres out with a swirling breeze. Nevin missed and Darren Albert returned the kick with a 40-metre run. Manly applied pressure for the next ten minutes but came away empty handed. Colella and then Nik Kosef both dropped balls inside Newcastle's 30m line while trying to off-load. A 69th minute last tackle raid ten metres out by Manly also fell short when a field-goal might have sealed the game. Having withstood the pressure, Newcastle then lifted. Following a long break by Fletcher, Andrew Johns received the ball from his brother. He stood in a tackle, handed to O'Davis, who spun and planted the ball on the line. Johns' conversion levelled the scores 16–16 with five minutes remaining. The match is ultimately best remembered for its classic grandstand finish. With 28 seconds remaining and on their last tackle, the Knights attempted a match-winning field goal. A charge-down by a Manly player foiled the field goal attempt but gave the Knights six more tackles. With 19 seconds left, Darren Albert played the ball on the first tackle of the next set of six, with Andrew Johns at dummy-half. At the play of the ball Johns unexpectedly went down the narrow blind-side, throwing a dummy and engaging several Manly players, before slipping a pass back inside to Albert whose try took the score to 20–16 only seven seconds from full-time.Sydney Football Stadium Magic Moments sydneycricketground.com.au Sydney Cricket Ground Trust http://www.scgt.nsw.gov.au/MM-SFS.html https://web.archive.org/web/20070816081038/http://www.scgt.nsw.gov.au/MM-SFS.html dead 16 August 2007 2 September 2009 The Knights players and their fans broke into celebration at having won their inaugural title, with Ray Warren proclaiming "Newcastle have won the Grand Final!" Great Australian Sporting Moments Roberts Michael 2008 The Miegunyah Press Australia 978-0-522-85547-0 https://books.google.com/books?id=dvWZHv2l7J0C With the after the siren conversion from Andrew Johns, the final score was 22-16. Seventy per cent of the winning squad were Newcastle juniors. The win was a huge morale boost to the blue-collar Newcastle district in the same year that the region's biggest employer, the BHP steelworks, had announced its closure. Scoreboard 1997 ARL Optus Cup Grand Final Sunday, 28 September 15:00 AEST (UTC+10) Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Manly 16 3 Hopoate 9 Innes 24 Nevin 37 2 Nevin 10 39 (2/4) Newcastle 16 Newcastle Knights 3 O'Davis 33 73 Albert 80 5 A Johns pen 29 35 pen 56 75 80 (5/6) 16 – 22 16–8 0–14 Report Sydney Football Stadium 42,482 David Manson Clive Churchill Medal Robbie O'Davis (Newcastle)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 Australian Associated Press 8 September 2013 Post game A Super Bowl style match between the Newcastle Knights and Brisbane Broncos, the 1997 Super League season's premiers was mooted, but did not eventuate. Broncos: Super Bowl no go Illawarra Mercury 85 Fairfax Media 19 September 1997 http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?docID=news970919_0522_9184 28 February 2011 Newcastle only had to wait another four years for its next premiership, while Manly had to wait until 2007 for another grand final appearance, which was unsuccessful. Manly's next premiership would come the following year. Player statistics The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 22. Top 5 point scorers PointsPlayerTriesGoalsField Goals217North Sydney Jason Taylor9893158Eastern Suburbs Ivan Cleary5690109Western Suburbs Andrew Leeds3473106St. George Wayne Bartrim5430102Balmain Michael Withers8350 Top 5 try scorers TriesPlayer20Manly Terry Hill17Newcastle Darren Albert14Illawarra Wayne Clifford12Manly Steve Menzies12Manly John Hopoate12Eastern Suburbs Andrew Walker12Balmain William Kennedy Top 5 goal scorers GoalsPlayer89North Sydney Jason Taylor69Eastern Suburbs Ivan Cleary47Western Suburbs Andrew Leeds43St. George Wayne Bartrim37Gold Coast Chargers Brendan Hurst Postseason National Rugby League With twenty-two teams playing in two competitions in 1997 crowd attendances and corporate sponsorship were spread very thinly, and many teams found themselves in financial difficulty by the end of the season. Despite having the financial backing of Optus, the Australian Rugby League decided that it was not in the best interests of the game to run two competitions and undertook moves to approach News Limited and invite the traditional clubs back into the main competition. As a consequence of the negotiations that followed, on 23 September 1997 the ARL announced that it was forming a new competition in partnership with News Limited. The NRL was formed from the ARL and Super League competitions. It was announced that the 1998 season would have 20 teams competing, 19 of the ARL and Super League teams and the Melbourne Storm, who were owned by News Limited. Some of the clubs on both sides of the war were shut down. News decided to close the Hunter Mariners and the financially ruined Western/Perth Reds, who were 10million in debt at the end of 1997, while the ARL decided to close down the South Queensland Crushers, who were also in financial trouble. Additionally, at the end of the following season News Limited would decide to close down the Adelaide Rams and the ARL would close down the Gold Coast Chargers, even though they were one of the few clubs to make a profit during the Super League war. 1997 Transfers Players Player1996 Club1997 Club Greg Alexander Auckland Auckland Warriors Penrith Penrith Panthers (Super League) Richie Blackmore Auckland Auckland Warriors Leeds Super League: Leeds Rhinos Andy Platt Auckland Auckland Warriors Salford City Super League: Salford Reds Tony Tatupu Auckland Auckland Warriors Warrington Super League: Warrington Wolves Alan Cann Brisbane Brisbane Broncos Adelaide Adelaide Rams (Super League) Willie Carne Brisbane Brisbane Broncos Retirement Brett Galea Brisbane Brisbane Broncos Adelaide Adelaide Rams (Super League) Chris Johns Brisbane Brisbane Broncos Retirement Robbie Ross Brisbane Brisbane Broncos Hunter Hunter Mariners (Super League) Kerrod Walters Brisbane Brisbane Broncos Adelaide Adelaide Rams (Super League) Mark Corvo Canberra Canberra Raiders Adelaide Adelaide Rams (Super League) Steve Stone Canberra Canberra Raiders Adelaide Adelaide Rams (Super League) Steve Walters Canberra Canberra Raiders North Queensland North Queensland Cowboys (Super League) Scott Hill Canterbury Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Hunter Hunter Mariners (Super League) Terry Lamb Canterbury Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Retirement Jason Lidden Canterbury Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Castleford Super League: Castleford Tigers Dave Boughton Cronulla Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Adelaide Adelaide Rams (Super League) Gavin Jones Cronulla Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Retirement Andrew Pierce Cronulla Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Adelaide Adelaide Rams (Super League) Brett Gillard Gold Coast Chargers Gold Coast Chargers South Sydney South Sydney Rabbitohs Shane Kenward Gold Coast Chargers Gold Coast Chargers St. George St. George Dragons Jeff Orford Gold Coast Chargers Gold Coast Chargers South Sydney South Sydney Rabbitohs Dave Watson Gold Coast Chargers Gold Coast Chargers South Queensland South Queensland Crushers Darrien Doherty Illawarra Illawarra Steelers Hunter Hunter Mariners (Super League) Darren Fritz Illawarra Illawarra Steelers North Sydney North Sydney Bears Brendan O'Meara Illawarra Illawarra Steelers South Sydney South Sydney Rabbitohs Neil Piccinelli Illawarra Illawarra Steelers Hunter Hunter Mariners (Super League) Wayne Richards Illawarra Illawarra Steelers Newcastle Newcastle Knights David Riolo Illawarra Illawarra Steelers Parramatta Parramatta Eels Craig Simon Illawarra Illawarra Steelers South Sydney South Sydney Rabbitohs Josh White Illawarra Illawarra Steelers London Super League: London Broncos Owen Cunningham Manly Manly Warringah Sea Eagles North Queensland North Queensland Cowboys (Super League) Matt Dunford Manly Manly Warringah Sea Eagles London Super League: London Broncos Jack Elsegood Manly Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Eastern Suburbs Sydney City Roosters Des Hasler Manly Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Western Suburbs Western Suburbs Magpies Matthew Ridge Manly Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Auckland Auckland Warriors (Super League) Jamie Ainscough Newcastle Newcastle Knights St. George St. George Dragons Keith Beauchamp Newcastle Newcastle Knights Hunter Hunter Mariners (Super League) Brad Godden Newcastle Newcastle Knights Hunter Hunter Mariners (Super League) Paul Marquet Newcastle Newcastle Knights Hunter Hunter Mariners (Super League) Robbie McCormack Newcastle Newcastle Knights Hunter Hunter Mariners (Super League) Darren Treacy Newcastle Newcastle Knights St. George St. George Dragons David Bouveng North Queensland North Queensland Cowboys Halifax Super League: Halifax Blue Sox Steve Edmed North Queensland North Queensland Cowboys Sheffield Super League: Sheffield Eagles Damian Gibson North Queensland North Queensland Cowboys Leeds Super League: Leeds Rhinos Jason Martin North Queensland North Queensland Cowboys PSG Super League: Paris Saint-Germain Dean Schifilliti North Queensland North Queensland Cowboys Adelaide Adelaide Rams (Super League) Wayne Sing North Queensland North Queensland Cowboys PSG Super League: Paris Saint-Germain Adrian Vowles North Queensland North Queensland Cowboys Castleford Super League: Castleford Tigers Mat Toshack North Sydney North Sydney Bears South Queensland South Queensland Crushers Craig Wilson North Sydney North Sydney Bears South Queensland South Queensland Crushers Keith Blackett Parramatta Parramatta Eels Gold Coast Chargers Gold Coast Chargers Michael Erickson Parramatta Parramatta Eels Retirement Gary Freeman Parramatta Parramatta Eels Retirement Rod Maybon Parramatta Parramatta Eels Adelaide Adelaide Rams (Super League) Marty McKenzie Parramatta Parramatta Eels Adelaide Adelaide Rams (Super League) Shane Russell Parramatta Parramatta Eels Gold Coast Chargers Gold Coast Chargers John Cartwright Penrith Penrith Panthers Salford City Super League: Salford Reds Scott Pethybridge Penrith Penrith Panthers North Sydney North Sydney Bears Barry Walker Penrith Penrith Panthers Retirement Wayne Collins South Queensland South Queensland Crushers Leeds Super League: Leeds Rhinos Nigel Gaffey South Queensland South Queensland Crushers Eastern Suburbs Sydney City Roosters Trevor Gillmeister South Queensland South Queensland Crushers Retirement Tony Hearn South Queensland South Queensland Crushers St. George St. George Dragons Brett Horsnell South Queensland South Queensland Crushers Parramatta Parramatta Eels Graham Mackay South Queensland South Queensland Crushers Gold Coast Chargers Gold Coast Chargers Chris McKenna South Queensland South Queensland Crushers Cronulla Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks (Super League) Danny Peacock South Queensland South Queensland Crushers Bradford Super League: Bradford Bulls Dale Shearer South Queensland South Queensland Crushers Eastern Suburbs Sydney City Roosters Jason Bell South Sydney South Sydney Rabbitohs Parramatta Parramatta Eels Craig Field South Sydney South Sydney Manly Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Martin Masella South Sydney South Sydney Rabbitohs Leeds Super League: Leeds Rhinos Will Robinson South Sydney South Sydney Rabbitohs Illawarra Illawarra Steelers Craig Salvatori South Sydney South Sydney Rabbitohs Retirement Jacin Sinclair South Sydney South Sydney Rabbitohs Eastern Suburbs Sydney City Roosters David Barnhill St. George St. George Dragons Eastern Suburbs Sydney City Roosters Kevin Campion St. George St. George Dragons Adelaide Adelaide Rams (Super League) Jason Donnelly St. George St. George Dragons Adelaide Adelaide Rams (Super League) Noel Goldthorpe St. George St. George Dragons Hunter Hunter Mariners (Super League) Scott Gourley St. George St. George Dragons Eastern Suburbs Sydney City Roosters Anthony Mundine St. George St. George Dragons Brisbane Brisbane Broncos (Super League) Scott Murray St. George St. George Dragons South Sydney South Sydney Rabbitohs Chris Quinn St. George St. George Dragons Adelaide Adelaide Rams (Super League) Jason Stevens St. George St. George Dragons Cronulla Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks (Super League) Troy Stone St. George St. George Dragons Hunter Hunter Mariners (Super League) Ricky Walford St. George St. George Dragons Retirement Nick Zisti St. George St. George Dragons Hunter Hunter Mariners (Super League) Greg Bourke Balmain Balmain Tigers Eastern Suburbs Sydney City Roosters Anthony Brann Balmain Balmain Tigers Hunter Hunter Mariners (Super League) Ian Herron Balmain Balmain Tigers Parramatta Parramatta Eels Wes Patten Balmain Balmain Tigers Gold Coast Chargers Gold Coast Chargers Corey Pearson Balmain Balmain Tigers St. George St. George Dragons Dan Stains Balmain Balmain Tigers Retirement Paul Dunn Eastern Suburbs Sydney City Roosters Retirement Tony Iro Eastern Suburbs Sydney City Roosters Hunter Hunter Mariners (Super League) Tim Maddison Eastern Suburbs Sydney City Roosters Hunter Hunter Mariners (Super League) John Simon Eastern Suburbs Sydney City Roosters Parramatta Parramatta Eels James Smith Eastern Suburbs Sydney City Roosters) Western Suburbs Western Suburbs Magpies Shane Whereat Eastern Suburbs Sydney City Roosters Parramatta Parramatta Eels Cameron Blair Perth Reds Perth Reds Adelaide Adelaide Rams (Super League) David Boyd Perth Reds Perth Reds Retirement Brett Goldspink Perth Reds Perth Reds Oldham Super League: Oldham Bears Julian O'Neill Perth Reds Perth Reds South Sydney South Sydney Rabbitohs Mick Potter Perth Reds Perth Reds Retirement Craig Coleman Western Suburbs Western Suburbs Magpies Retirement Justin Dooley Western Suburbs Western Suburbs Magpies Hunter Hunter Mariners (Super League) Andrew Hick Western Suburbs Western Suburbs Magpies Adelaide Adelaide Rams (Super League) Harvey Howard Leeds Super League: Leeds Rhinos Western Suburbs Western Suburbs Magpies Kevin Iro Leeds Super League: Leeds Rhinos Hunter Hunter Mariners (Super League) Leo Dynevor London Super League: London Broncos Newcastle Newcastle Knights Ian Roberts Hiatus North Queensland North Queensland Cowboys (Super League) Gorden Tallis Hiatus Brisbane Brisbane Broncos (Super League) Wayne Simonds N/A Adelaide Adelaide Rams (Super League) Coaches Coach1996 Club1997 Club Tim Sheens Canberra Canberra Raiders North Queensland North Queensland Cowboys (Super League) Brian Smith Bradford Super League: Bradford Bulls Parramatta Parramatta Eels See also 1997 State of Origin series References External links Grand Final replay at NRL.com Rugby League Tables – Notes The World of Rugby League Rugby League Tables – Season 1997 The World of Rugby League Premiership History and Statistics RL1908 Category:National Rugby League seasons ARL season