1978 NSWRFL season

Rugby league competition 1978 New South Wales Rugby Football League 125px March 25 – September 19, 1978 12 16x16px Manly-Warringah 4th 16x16px Western Suburbs 5th 140 4375 1,582,914 16x16px Mick Cronin (282) 16x16px Larry Corowa (24) Parramatta 16 Mick Cronin Rothmans Medal Newtown Jets 8th 1977 NSWRFL season 1977 1979 NSWRFL season 1979 The 1978 NSWRFL season was the 71st season of the NSWRFL Premiership, Sydney's professional rugby league football competition, and Australia's first. Twelve clubs, including six of 1908's foundation teams and another six from around Sydney competed for the J.J. Giltinan Shield and WD & HO Wills Cup during the season, which culminated in a grand final between the Manly-Warringah and Cronulla-Sutherland clubs that was drawn and had to be re-played. NSWRFL teams also competed for the 1978 Amco Cup. Season summary This season video citing was introduced for incidents of foul play that are not detected on the field.Middleton David League of Legends: 100 Years of Rugby League in Australia National Museum of Australia 2008 31 http://www.nma.gov.au/shared/libraries/attachments/league_of_legends/rugby_league_a_work_in_progress/files/22453/F_RL_work_in_progress.pdf 978-1-876944-64-3 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20110317093000/http://www.nma.gov.au/shared/libraries/attachments/league_of_legends/rugby_league_a_work_in_progress/files/22453/F_RL_work_in_progress.pdf 2011-03-17 Twenty-two regular season rounds were played from March till August, resulting in a top five of Western Suburbs, Cronulla-Sutherland, Manly-Warringah, Parramatta and Canterbury-Bankstown who battled it out in the finals. Mick Cronin set a new record for most points scored by an individual in Australian club rugby league history with his tally of 282 points from 25 games in 1978. This record would stand for another twenty years. He also broke Arthur Oxford's 1920 record for consecutive goals with 26 in a row. In a tragic accident during the match between Penrith and Newtown at Henson Park on 28 May, rookie Panther prop John Farragher broke his neck in a scrum and was left a quadriplegic.Lester, Gary and Pritchard, Greg; Bound for Glory: The Story of the Penrith Panthers; pp. 101-103 9780949853486 The 1978 Rothmans Medallist was Parramatta centre Mick Cronin. Rugby League Week gave their player of the year award to Parramatta forward Geoff Gerard. The 1978 season was also the last in the playing career of future Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame inductee, Ron Coote. Logos For the 1978 season, the New South Wales Rugby Football League introduced a series of logos for each of the clubs competing in the premiership. Clubs that previously had not used a mascot were required to select one to represent their club. The new logos were commissioned by the NSWRFL properties division with Gordon Alexander designing them. Further revision of these logos continued over the next few years. The new logos gave the league a professional and consistent look which was used as the core of its promotional material until the arrival of the Super League. Many of the logos that were designed have become iconic with some being used in an updated form far on into the future. Teams TeamLogoJerseySeasonHome GroundCoachCaptainBalmain Tigers100px|center71st seasonLeichhardt OvalRon WilleyTrevor RyanCanterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs100px|center100px|center44th seasonBelmore Sports GroundTed GlossopGeorge PeponisCronulla-Sutherland Sharks100px|center12th seasonEndeavour FieldNorm ProvanGreg PierceEastern Suburbs Roosters100px|center71st seasonSydney Sports GroundArthur BeetsonArthur BeetsonManly-Warringah Sea Eagles100px|center100px|center32nd seasonBrookvale OvalFrank StantonMax KrilichNewtown Jets100px|center71st seasonHenson ParkJohn RaperCol CaseyNorth Sydney Bears100px|center100px|center71st seasonNorth Sydney OvalBill HamiltonBill HamiltonParramatta Eels100px|center100px|center32nd seasonCumberland OvalTerry FearnleyRay PricePenrith Panthers100px|center100px|center12th seasonPenrith ParkDon ParishKen WilsonSouth Sydney Rabbitohs100px|center100px|center71st seasonRedfern OvalJack GibsonPaul SaitDarrell BamptonSt. George Dragons100px|center100px|center58th seasonKogarah OvalHarry BathSteve EdgeWestern Suburbs Magpies100px|center71st seasonLidcombe OvalRoy MastersTom Raudonikis 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 F1 F2 F2R F3 GF GFR Balmain TigersPEN+8NEW+34CBY−9PAR+6WES+10MAN−16SOU+18NOR0CRO−2EAS−7STG−31PEN−6NEW+37CBY+13PAR−15WES−28MAN+12XSOU−4NOR−8CRO−15EAS−12STG+8 Canterbury-Bankstown BulldogsNEW+19PAR−10BAL+9MAN+3SOU+14WES−4NOR+5CRO+3EAS+15STG−10PEN0NEW+7PAR−20BAL−13MAN+3SOU+3WES+2XNOR+20CRO−10EAS−6STG+4PEN0PAR−7 Cronulla-Sutherland SharksSOU+18NOR+26PAR+2EAS+17PEN+26STG+8NEW+12CBY−3BAL+2MAN−19WES−18SOU−11NOR+3PAR+10EAS−13PEN+39STG+12XNEW+44CBY+10BAL+15MAN−22WES−1MAN+5WES+4XXMAN0MAN−16 Eastern Suburbs RoostersWES+5SOU−2NOR+5CRO−17STG+16PAR+6PEN−2NEW+9CBY−15BAL+7MAN−3WES−4SOU−8NOR+10CRO+13STG−14PAR+5XPEN+29NEW+9CBY+6BAL+12MAN−10 Manly Warringah Sea EaglesSTG+14PEN+7NEW+27CBY−3PAR+12BAL+16WES−6SOU−25NOR+1CRO+19EAS+3STG−9PEN+23NEW+7CBY−3PAR−1BAL−12XWES+6SOU+4NOR+28CRO+22EAS+10CRO−5PAR0PAR+6WES+7CRO0CRO+16 Newtown JetsCBY−19BAL−34MAN−27WES−18NOR−11SOU−1CRO−12EAS−9STG0PEN−16PAR−29CBY−7BAL−37MAN−7WES−19NOR+8SOU−23XCRO−44EAS−9STG−31PEN+11PAR−44 North Sydney BearsPAR−33CRO−26EAS−5STG−9NEW+11PEN−1CBY−5BAL0MAN−1WES−10SOU−9PAR−22CRO−3EAS−10XNEW−8PEN+52STG+14CBY−20BAL+8MAN−28WES−1SOU−8 Parramatta EelsNOR+33CBY+10CRO−2BAL−6MAN−12EAS−6STG+8WES−1PEN+9SOU+9NEW+29NOR+22CBY+20CRO−10BAL+15MAN+1EAS−5XSTG+17WES−20PEN+24SOU+40NEW+44CBY+7MAN0MAN−6 Penrith PanthersBAL−8MAN−7WES−14SOU−1CRO−26NOR+1EAS+2STG−17PAR−9NEW+16CBY0BAL+6MAN−23WES−13SOU−8CRO−39NOR−52XEAS−29STG−1PAR−24NEW−11CBY0 South Sydney RabbitohsCRO−18EAS+2STG+8PEN+1CBY−14NEW+1BAL−18MAN+25WES0PAR−9NOR+9CRO+11EAS+8STG−1PEN+8CBY−3NEW+23XBAL+4MAN−4WES−3PAR−40NOR+8 St. George DragonsMAN−14WES−11SOU−8NOR+9EAS−16CRO−8PAR−8PEN+17NEW0CBY+10BAL+31MAN+9WES+10SOU+1XEAS+14CRO−12NOR−14PAR−17PEN+1NEW+31CBY−4BAL−8 Western Suburbs MagpiesEAS−5STG+11PEN+14NEW+18BAL−10CBY+4MAN+6PAR+1SOU0NOR+10CRO+18EAS+4STG−10PEN+13NEW+19BAL+28CBY−2XMAN−6PAR+20SOU+3NOR+1CRO+1XCRO−4XMAN−7 Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 F1 F2 F2R F3 GF GFR Bold – Home game X – Bye Opponent for round listed above margin Ladder TeamPldWDLPFPAPDPts1 16x16px Western Suburbs221615426288+138332 16x16px Cronulla221507418261+157303 16x16px Manly221507427287+140304 16x16px Parramatta221408525306+219285 16x16px Canterbury221327307273+34286 16x16px Eastern Suburbs221309337280+57267 16x16px South Sydney221219298300-2258 16x16px St. George2210111367354+13219 16x16px Balmain229112337344-71910 Old Penrith 16 Penrith224216206463-2571011 16x16px North Sydney224117325439-114912 16x16px Newtown222119199577-3785 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. Team12345678910111213141516171819202122231Western Suburbs 16 Western Suburbs Magpies 0 2 4 6 6 8 10 12 13 15 17 19 19 21 23 25 25 25 25 27 29 31 332Cronulla 16 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 14 16 16 16 16 18 20 20 22 24 24 26 28 30 30 303Manly 16 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 2 4 6 6 8 10 10 10 12 14 16 16 18 20 20 20 20 20 22 24 26 28 304Parramatta 16 Parramatta Eels 2 4 4 4 4 4 6 6 8 10 12 14 16 16 18 20 20 20 22 22 24 26 285Canterbury 16 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2 2 4 6 8 8 10 12 14 14 15 17 17 17 19 21 23 23 25 25 25 27 286Eastern Suburbs 16 Eastern Suburbs Roosters 2 2 4 4 6 8 8 10 10 12 12 12 12 14 16 16 18 18 20 22 24 26 267South Sydney 16 South Sydney Rabbitohs 0 2 4 6 6 8 8 10 11 11 13 15 17 17 19 19 21 21 23 23 23 23 258St. George 16 St. George Dragons 0 0 0 2 2 2 2 4 5 7 9 11 13 15 15 17 17 17 17 19 21 21 219Balmain 16 Balmain Tigers 2 4 4 6 8 8 10 11 11 11 11 11 13 15 15 15 17 17 17 17 17 17 1910Old Penrith 16 Penrith Panthers 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 4 4 6 7 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 1011North Sydney 16 North Sydney Bears 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 5 7 7 9 9 9 912Newtown 16 Newtown Jets 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 3 3 3 3 3 5 5 Finals Manly finished the regular season in the relatively strong position of equal second with Cronulla, three points behind minor premiers Wests. However after Cronulla beat Manly 17-12 in the qualifying final, every game from that point was a sudden-death fixture for the Sea Eagles. The second week of finals saw Manly come from 3-13 behind Parramatta to draw 13-13 in the semi-final requiring a mid-week replay. Again in that match Parramatta led (11-2 this time), before Manly stormed home with three late tries in ten minutes to win 17-11. In the week following the game, Parramatta unsuccessfully attempted to have the match annulled and replayed due to Manly scoring a try on what was discovered to be a seventh tackle, a mistake by referee Greg Hartley. Manly then had to back up a few days later to play a fresh Wests side in the preliminary final. Thus far the Magpies had only played one final to Manly's three. Wests had two tries disallowed by referee Greg Hartley. Manly coach Frank Stanton somehow coaxed a courageous effort out of his exhausted players and on field, five-eighth Alan Thompson was inspirational as they triumphed 14-7 and reached the grand final. HomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeCrowd Qualifying Finals 23x23px Cronulla-Sutherland17-12 23x23px Manly-Warringah26 August 1978Sydney Cricket GroundJack Danzey17,718 23x23px Parramatta22-15 23x23px Canterbury-Bankstown27 August 1978Sydney Cricket GroundGreg Hartley24,967 Semi-finals 23x23px Western Suburbs10-14 23x23px Cronulla-Sutherland2 September 1978Sydney Cricket GroundJack Danzey22,789 23x23px Manly-Warringah13-13 23x23px Parramatta3 September 1978Sydney Cricket GroundGreg Hartley30,850 23x23px Manly-Warringah17-11 23x23px Parramatta6 September 1978Sydney Cricket GroundGreg Hartley42,678 Preliminary final 23x23px Western Suburbs7-14 23x23px Manly-Warringah9 September 1978Sydney Cricket GroundGreg Hartley27,345 Grand final 23x23px Cronulla-Sutherland11-11 23x23px Manly-Warringah16 September 1978Sydney Cricket GroundGreg Hartley51,510 Grand final re-play 23x23px Cronulla-Sutherland0-16 23x23px Manly-Warringah19 September 1978Sydney Cricket GroundGreg Hartley33,552 Chart 150 Qualifying final Major semi-final Grand final Elimination final Minor semi-final Preliminary final 2 Cronulla 16 Cronulla-Sutherland 17 3 Manly 16 Manly 12 4 Parramatta 16 Parramatta 22 5 Canterbury 16 Canterbury 15 1 Western Suburbs 16 Western Suburbs 10 Cronulla 16 Cronulla-Sutherland 14 Manly 16 Manly 17* Parramatta 16 Parramatta 11* Western Suburbs 16 Western Suburbs 7 Manly 16 Manly 14 Cronulla 16 Cronulla-Sutherland 0* Manly 16 Manly 16* * - Indicates only the replay match, and not the match ending in a draw. Grand final Cronulla-SutherlandPositionManly-Warringah Mick Mullane FB Graham Eadie 2. Rick Bourke WG 2. Tom Mooney 3. Steve Rogers (c) CE 3. Russel Gartner 6. Dave Chamberlin CE 4. Stephen Knight 5. Steve Edmonds WG 5. Simon Booth 8. Barry Andrews FE 6. Alan Thompson 7. Steve Hansard HB 7. Steve Martin 13. Gary Stares PR 13. Ian Thomson 12. John McMartin HK 12. Max Krilich (c) 11. Paul Khan PR 11. John Harvey 10Eric Archer SR 10. Bruce Walker 9. Steve Kneen SR 9. Terry Randall 18. John Glossop LK 8. Ian Martin 15. Rowland Beckett Reserve Norm Provan Coach Frank Stanton In the grand final, Cronulla went to a 9-4 lead in the second half before Manly came back to hit the front 11-9. A Steve Rogers penalty goal squared the scores at 11-11 but he then missed a desperate late field-goal attempt and at full-time the scores remained locked. Thus, for the second consecutive season, the weary grand finalists were required to play a rematch. Although, on this occasion, the NSWRFL were forced to hold the replay three days later on the Tuesday instead of the following weekend due to the imminent 1978 Kangaroo tour, with the Australian team due to leave for England that weekend. The drawn grand final also forced the Australian Rugby League to hold off on naming the touring Kangaroos squad until after the replay, with as many as twelve players from Manly and Cronulla in contention to be selected. Manly 11 (Tries: Mooney. Goals: Eadie 4.) Cronulla 11 (Tries: Edmonds. Goals: Rogers 4.) Grand final Replay Cronulla-SutherlandPositionManly-Warringah Rick Bourke FB Graham Eadie 2. Chris Gardner WG 2. Tom Mooney 3. Steve Rogers (c) CE 3. Stephen Knight 4. Dave Chamberlin CE 4. Russel Gartner 5. Steve Edmonds WG 5. Simon Booth 6. Martin Raftery FE 6. Alan Thompson 7. Steve Hansard HB 7. Steve Martin 13. Paul Khan PR 13. Ian Thomson 12. Rowland Beckett HK 12. Max Krilich (c) 11. Peter Ryan PR 11. John Harvey 10. Steve Kneen SR 10. Bruce Walker 9. Eric Archer SR 9. Terry Randall8. John Glossop LK 8. Ian Martin Reserve 14. Wayne Springall Reserve 16. Ray Branighan Norm Provan Coach Frank Stanton The Tuesday rematch in front of 33,552 was Manly's sixth game in twenty-four days. It was the second Grand final in a row to end up going into a mid-week replay with the 1977 Grand final between St George and Parramatta also needing a re-match to decide the Premiers after the original game had been a 9-9 draw. In the first half Cronulla had no answer to Graham Eadie's blind-side bursts. His display completely routed the hapless Sharks and Manly went to the break holding a 15-0 lead thanks to a try by Eadie in the scoreboard corner, one he set up for centre Russel Gartner in the same corner, and another 65 metre effort by Gartner after a sweeping backline movement saw him run into open space and easily outpace the Sharks’ defence to score in front of the Sheridan Stand. The only point in the second half came from a field goal by Eadie. In the replay, as throughout their finals campaign, Manly were inspired by captain Max Krilich and coach Frank Stanton, their iron-man Terry Randall who had required pain killing injections before every game of the finals just to be able take the field in what Frank Stanton called sheer mind over matter, their cool five eighth Alan Thompson and Man of the Match Graham Eadie. As of the 2019 NRL Grand final, no player since Eadie has scored the combination of a try, a goal and a field-goal in a grand final. The refereeing of Greg "Hollywood" Hartley in the replay and throughout the 1978 Finals series attracted criticism from coaches Roy Masters, Jack Gibson and Terry Fearnley, all of whom appealed to the NSWRFL to prohibit Hartley from refereeing their clubs' matches the following season. Coady Ben Grand final dramas WA Today Australia Fairfax Digital 2009-09-28 http://blogs.watoday.com.au/executive-style/sportandstyle/bencoady/2009/09/28/grandfinaldra.html 2010-01-15 https://web.archive.org/web/20181004074123/http://blogs.watoday.com.au/executive-style/sportandstyle/bencoady/2009/09/28/grandfinaldra.html 2018-10-04 dead Manly-Warringah 16 (Tries: Gartner 2, Eadie. Goals: Eadie 3. Field Goal: Eadie.) Cronulla-Sutherland 0 Man of the Match: Graham Eadie Venue: Sydney Cricket Ground Attendance: 33,552 Referee: Greg Hartley Player statistics The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 22. Top 5 point scorers PointsPlayerTriesGoalsField Goals260Parramatta Mick Cronin141090216Western Suburbs Peter Rowles8944133Cronulla Barry Andrews5590130Manly John Gray4590127Eastern Suburbs Kevin Stevens3590127North Sydney Peter Schofield3590 Top 5 try scorers TriesPlayer24Balmain Larry Corowa14Parramatta Mick Cronin14St. George Mitch Brennan14North Sydney Peter Craig12Parramatta Neville Glover12Newtown John Ribot Top 5 goal scorers GoalsPlayer109Parramatta Mick Cronin94Western Suburbs Peter Rowles59Cronulla Barry Andrews59Manly John Gray59Eastern Suburbs Kevin Stevens59North Sydney Peter Schofield References External links Rugby League Tables - Season 1978 Rugby League Tables Results: 1971-80 at rabbitohs.com.au 1978 J J Giltinan Shield and WD & HO Wills Cup at rleague.comJanuary 2025 medicmedic NSWRFL season 1978 at rugbyleagueproject.org Category:New South Wales Rugby League premiership NSWRFL season