1988 New South Wales Rugby League premiership | |
---|---|
Teams | 16 |
Premiers | Canterbury-Bankstown (6th title) |
Minor premiers | Cronulla-Sutherland (1st title) |
Matches played | 183 |
Points scored | 6,559 |
Attendance | 1,966,658 |
Top points scorer(s) | Gary Belcher (218) |
Player of the year | Barry Russell (Rothmans Medal) |
Top try-scorer(s) | John Ferguson (20) |
The 1988 NSWRL season was the 81st season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and saw the first expansion of the New South Wales Rugby League Premiership outside the borders of New South Wales, and another expansion outside of Sydney, with the addition of three new teams: the Brisbane Broncos, Newcastle Knights and Gold Coast-Tweed Giants. The largest NSWRL premiership yet, sixteen clubs competed during the 1988 season, with the J J Giltinan Shield for minor premiers going to Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. The finals culminated in a grand final for the Winfield Cup between the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and Balmain Tigers. This season NSWRL teams also competed for the 1988 Panasonic Cup.
Season summary
1988 was the year of the Australian Bicentenary celebrations, and on 4 March, the season opened with the first game of rugby league played at the newly built Sydney Football Stadium. The St. George Dragons defeated the Eastern Suburbs Roosters 24β14. Easts and South Sydney would use the SFS as their home venue from 1988. This saw the end of both the Sydney Sports Ground (which closed due to the building of the SFS) and Redfern Oval as regular venues.
The brand new Brisbane Broncos club, featuring Australian Kangaroos captain Wally Lewis and starting their first ever season of football, played their first match against the previous season's premiers the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and won 44β10.
Eventual grand finalists the Balmain Tigers had a dreadful start to the season with six wins and five losses by the end of the first full round. But their plight was rescued by a masterstroke from their chief executive Keith Barnes. The Great Britain side was touring Australia that season and in strict secrecy Barnes negotiated to have the English captain and centre Ellery Hanley β judged the best player in the English competition the previous season and an undoubted world-class player β to join the Tigers. Barnes got to the NSWRL to register Hanley at 4:55 pm on 30 June, just five minutes inside the deadline for signing players for that season.
The 1988 season's Rothmans Medallist was Cronulla-Sutherland's Barry Russell. The Dally M Award went to Russell's teammate Gavin Miller, and Rugby League Week gave its player of the year award to Balmian's hooker, Ben Elias.
Twenty-two regular season rounds were played in total from March till August, with Cronulla-Sutherland winning their first ever minor premiership since joining the competition in 1967. Penrith and Balmain finished on equal points in fifth place and played each other for the place in the top five, alongside Cronulla, Canterbury, Canberra and Manly.
The grand finals;
- Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs vs Balmain Tigers (Senior Grade)
- Eastern Suburbs vs Manly Sea Eagles (Reserve Grade)
- Under 21s team vs Under 21s (Under 21s Grade)
The Tests;
The State of Origin;
Teams
This season saw the premiership's first expansion since 1982 with the addition of three newly created teams: the Brisbane Broncos, the Gold Coast-Tweed Giants and the Newcastle Knights. This brought the League another step closer to becoming a national competition as a total of sixteen teams, the largest number in the tournament's history, contested the premiership, including five Sydney-based foundation teams, another six from Sydney, two from greater New South Wales, two from Queensland, and one from the Australian Capital Territory.
Advertising
1988 saw the NSWRL move their advertising account from John Singleton Advertising to Hertz Walpole Advertising. There was initially however no shift in the prior campaign direction. For the second year running a visual and vocal performance by Australian rock journeyman John "Swanee" Swan was used. Swanee recorded a purpose-written jingle entitled "The Greatest Game of All" and a rock-clip style ad was shot on a stage setting with smoke, lights and fireworks. The performance footage was interspersed with game action.
Five years later Swan's younger brother Jimmy Barnes would also feature in an NSWRL season advertisement performing alongside Tina Turner.
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 | F1 | F2 | F3 | F4 | GF |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Balmain Tigers | NOR +20 |
PAR β20 |
NEW β4 |
WES +3 |
MAN +2 |
PEN β10 |
BRI +8 |
STG +8 |
SOU β9 |
CBY +11 |
CRO β2 |
EAS +10 |
GCG +14 |
CAN β24 |
ILA +12 |
NOR +10 |
PAR +16 |
NEW +2 |
WES +6 |
MAN β4 |
PEN +2 |
BRI +10 |
PEN +20 |
MAN +13 |
CAN +8 |
CRO +7 |
CBY β12 |
Brisbane Broncos | MAN +34 |
PEN +2 |
WES +34 |
NOR +12 |
PAR +6 |
NEW +14 |
BAL β8 |
CRO β30 |
EAS +4 |
GCG β3 |
CAN β20 |
ILA +22 |
STG +4 |
SOU β12 |
CBY β15 |
MAN +18 |
PEN +2 |
WES +26 |
NOR +18 |
PAR β8 |
NEW +16 |
BAL β10 |
|||||
Canberra Raiders | ILA +20 |
STG +24 |
SOU +28 |
CBY β5 |
CRO +18 |
EAS +36 |
GCG +44 |
PAR β28 |
WES +14 |
NOR β8 |
BRI +20 |
PEN β6 |
MAN β6 |
BAL +24 |
NEW +18 |
ILA +9 |
STG +16 |
SOU +33 |
CBY β7 |
CRO β22 |
EAS +8 |
GCG +20 |
X | CBY β1 |
BAL β8 |
||
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | GCG +11 |
CRO +4 |
EAS +4 |
CAN +5 |
ILA β6 |
STG +14 |
SOU +4 |
PEN +6 |
MAN β18 |
BAL β11 |
NEW +18 |
PAR +28 |
WES +25 |
NOR β12 |
BRI +15 |
GCG +15 |
CRO β8 |
EAS +15 |
CAN +7 |
ILA +6 |
STG +26 |
SOU β4 |
X | CAN +1 |
CRO +18 |
X | BAL +12 |
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | SOU β1 |
CBY β4 |
GCG +1 |
EAS 0 |
CAN β18 |
ILA +18 |
STG +16 |
BRI +30 |
PEN +22 |
MAN β14 |
BAL +2 |
NEW 0 |
PAR +5 |
WES +36 |
NOR +4 |
SOU +2 |
CBY +8 |
GCG +20 |
EAS +18 |
CAN +22 |
ILA +8 |
STG +2 |
X | X | CBY β18 |
BAL β7 |
|
Eastern Suburbs Roosters | STG β10 |
SOU β2 |
CBY β4 |
CRO 0 |
GCG +18 |
CAN β36 |
ILA β4 |
NOR 0 |
BRI β4 |
PEN +22 |
MAN +4 |
BAL β10 |
NEW +16 |
PAR β4 |
WES 0 |
STG +21 |
SOU β25 |
CBY β15 |
CRO β18 |
GCG +24 |
CAN β8 |
ILA β21 |
|||||
Gold Coast-Tweed Giants | CBY β11 |
ILA 0 |
CRO β1 |
STG β8 |
EAS β18 |
SOU β12 |
CAN β44 |
WES β20 |
NOR β4 |
BRI +3 |
PEN β35 |
MAN β28 |
BAL β14 |
NEW +9 |
PAR +3 |
CBY β15 |
ILA +15 |
CRO β20 |
STG β2 |
EAS β24 |
SOU 0 |
CAN β20 |
|||||
Illawarra Steelers | CAN β20 |
GCG 0 |
STG +16 |
SOU β13 |
CBY +6 |
CRO β18 |
EAS +4 |
NEW +8 |
PAR β22 |
WES +16 |
NOR β29 |
BRI β22 |
PEN β34 |
MAN β16 |
BAL β12 |
CAN β9 |
GCG β15 |
STG β2 |
SOU β2 |
CBY β6 |
CRO β8 |
EAS +21 |
|||||
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | BRI β34 |
NOR +26 |
PAR +52 |
NEW +32 |
BAL β2 |
WES +20 |
PEN β22 |
SOU β14 |
CBY +18 |
CRO +14 |
EAS β4 |
GCG +28 |
CAN +6 |
ILA +16 |
STG +16 |
BRI β18 |
NOR +4 |
PAR +30 |
NEW +8 |
BAL +4 |
WES β3 |
PEN +14 |
X | BAL β13 |
|||
Newcastle Knights | PAR β24 |
WES +4 |
BAL +4 |
MAN β32 |
PEN β6 |
BRI β14 |
NOR β34 |
ILA β8 |
STG β12 |
SOU +7 |
CBY β18 |
CRO 0 |
EAS β16 |
GCG β9 |
CAN β18 |
PAR +1 |
WES β10 |
BAL β2 |
MAN β8 |
PEN β11 |
BRI β16 |
NOR +32 |
|||||
North Sydney Bears | BAL β20 |
MAN β26 |
PEN β27 |
BRI β12 |
WES +7 |
PAR +4 |
NEW +34 |
EAS 0 |
GCG +4 |
CAN +8 |
ILA +29 |
STG β8 |
SOU 0 |
CBY +12 |
CRO β4 |
BAL β10 |
MAN β4 |
PEN β5 |
BRI β18 |
WES +4 |
PAR +6 |
NEW β32 |
|||||
Parramatta Eels | NEW +24 |
BAL +20 |
MAN β52 |
PEN β2 |
BRI β6 |
NOR β4 |
WES β2 |
CAN +28 |
ILA +22 |
STG β12 |
SOU +8 |
CBY β28 |
CRO β5 |
EAS +4 |
GCG β3 |
NEW β1 |
BAL β16 |
MAN β30 |
PEN β4 |
BRI +8 |
NOR β6 |
WES +4 |
|||||
Penrith Panthers | WES +20 |
BRI β2 |
NOR +27 |
PAR +2 |
NEW +6 |
BAL +10 |
MAN +22 |
CBY β6 |
CRO β22 |
EAS β22 |
GCG +35 |
CAN +6 |
ILA +34 |
STG +4 |
SOU +8 |
WES +12 |
BRI β2 |
NOR +5 |
PAR +4 |
NEW +11 |
BAL β2 |
MAN β14 |
BAL β20 |
||||
South Sydney Rabbitohs | CRO +1 |
EAS +2 |
CAN β28 |
ILA +13 |
STG +32 |
GCG +12 |
CBY β4 |
MAN +14 |
BAL +9 |
NEW β7 |
PAR β8 |
WES +8 |
NOR 0 |
BRI +12 |
PEN β8 |
CRO β2 |
EAS +25 |
CAN β33 |
ILA +2 |
STG β2 |
GCG 0 |
CBY +4 |
|||||
St. George Dragons | EAS +10 |
CAN β24 |
ILA β16 |
GCG +8 |
SOU β32 |
CBY β14 |
CRO β16 |
BAL β8 |
NEW +12 |
PAR +12 |
WES +2 |
NOR +8 |
BRI β4 |
PEN β4 |
MAN β16 |
EAS β21 |
CAN β16 |
ILA +2 |
GCG +2 |
SOU +2 |
CBY β26 |
CRO β2 |
|||||
Western Suburbs Magpies | PEN β20 |
NEW β4 |
BRI β34 |
BAL β3 |
NOR β7 |
MAN β20 |
PAR +2 |
GCG +20 |
CAN β14 |
ILA β16 |
STG β2 |
SOU β8 |
CBY β25 |
CRO β36 |
EAS 0 |
PEN β12 |
NEW +10 |
BRI β26 |
BAL β6 |
NOR β4 |
MAN +3 |
PAR β4 |
|||||
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | F1 | F2 | F3 | F4 | GF |
Bold β Home game
X β Bye
Opponent for round listed above margin
Ladder
Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 22 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 507 | 330 | +177 | 34 |
2 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs (P) | 22 | 16 | 0 | 6 | 412 | 268 | +144 | 32 |
3 | Canberra Raiders | 22 | 15 | 0 | 7 | 596 | 346 | +250 | 30 |
4 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 22 | 15 | 0 | 7 | 538 | 347 | +191 | 30 |
5 | Penrith Panthers | 22 | 15 | 0 | 7 | 394 | 258 | +136 | 30 |
6 | Balmain Tigers | 22 | 15 | 0 | 7 | 402 | 341 | +61 | 30 |
7 | Brisbane Broncos | 22 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 474 | 368 | +106 | 28 |
8 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 22 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 425 | 383 | +42 | 24 |
9 | North Sydney Bears | 22 | 9 | 2 | 11 | 366 | 424 | β58 | 20 |
10 | St. George Dragons | 22 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 352 | 493 | β141 | 18 |
11 | Parramatta Eels | 22 | 8 | 0 | 14 | 359 | 412 | β53 | 16 |
12 | Eastern Suburbs Roosters | 22 | 6 | 3 | 13 | 387 | 443 | β56 | 15 |
13 | Illawarra Steelers | 22 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 353 | 510 | β157 | 13 |
14 | Newcastle Knights | 22 | 5 | 1 | 16 | 270 | 460 | β190 | 11 |
15 | Gold Coast-Tweed Giants | 22 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 238 | 484 | β246 | 10 |
16 | Western Suburbs Magpies | 22 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 287 | 493 | β206 | 9 |
- South Sydney were stripped of 2 competition points due to an illegal replacement in one game.
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.
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 34 |
2 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 32 |
3 | Canberra Raiders | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 28 | 30 |
4 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 28 | 30 |
5 | Penrith Panthers | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 30 | 30 |
6 | Balmain Tigers | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 28 | 30 |
7 | Brisbane Broncos | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 28 | 28 |
8 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 22 | 24 |
9 | North Sydney Bears | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 |
10 | St. George Dragons | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
11 | Parramatta Eels | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 |
12 | Eastern Suburbs Roosters | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 15 |
13 | Illawarra Steelers | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 13 |
14 | Newcastle Knights | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 11 |
15 | Gold Coast-Tweed Giants | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 |
16 | Western Suburbs Magpies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 9 |
Finals
Balmain had staged a gripping charge for the final five, winning nine of their last eleven games including five in a row to leave them in equal fifth spot with the Penrith Panthers at the regular season's end. They then won four sudden death finals to make it to the Grand final.
Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
Playoff | ||||||||
Penrith Panthers | 8β28 | Balmain Tigers | 16 August 1988 | Parramatta Stadium | Mick Stone | 14,206 | ||
Qualifying Finals | ||||||||
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 6β19 | Balmain Tigers | 20 August 1988 | Sydney Football Stadium | Mick Stone | 25,327 | ||
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 19β18 | Canberra Raiders | 21 August 1988 | Sydney Football Stadium | Graham Annesley | 19,259 | ||
Semi-finals | ||||||||
Canberra Raiders | 6β14 | Balmain Tigers | 27 August 1988 | Sydney Football Stadium | Mick Stone | 28,879 | ||
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 8β26 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 28 August 1988 | Sydney Football Stadium | Graham Annesley | 31,684 | ||
Preliminary final | ||||||||
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 2β9 | Balmain Tigers | 4 September 1988 | Sydney Football Stadium | Mick Stone | 34,848 | ||
Grand final | ||||||||
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24β12 | Balmain Tigers | 11 September 1988 | Sydney Football Stadium | Mick Stone | 40,000 |
Chart
Grand final
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Position | Balmain Tigers |
---|---|---|
FB | ||
2. Glen Nissen | WG | 2. Russell Gartner |
3. Tony Currie | CE | 3. Ellery Hanley |
4. Andrew Farrar | CE | 4. Michael Pobjie |
5. Robin Thorne | WG | 5. Ross Conlon |
6. Terry Lamb | FE | 6. Mick Neil |
7. Michael Hagan | HB | 7. Gary Freeman |
13. Paul Dunn | PR | 13. Bruce McGuire |
12. Joe Thomas | HK | 12. Benny Elias |
11. Peter Tunks (c) | PR | 11. Kerry Hemsley |
10. David Gillespie | SR | 10. Paul Sironen |
9. Steve Folkes | SR | 9. David Brooks |
8. Paul Langmack | LK | 8. Wayne Pearce (c) |
14. Mark Bugden | Bench | 14. Scott Gale |
15. Brandon Lee | Bench | 18. Kevin Hardwick |
18. Steve Mortimer | Bench | 19. Steve Edmed |
23. Darren McCarthy | Bench | |
Phil Gould | Coach | Warren Ryan |
This was the first grand final not to be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Following Balmain's extraordinary late season run in winning thirteen of fifteen games, the stage was set for a grand final of great appeal. 1980s master coach Warren Ryan of Balmain was up against the club he had coached for four years to three grand finals and two premierships, as well as being matched against the man who had replaced him at Canterbury β Phil Gould. It was master against pupil. At just 30 years of age, Gould was vying not only to become the youngest coach to win a grand final but the first since Balmain's Leo Nosworthy in 1969 to steer a team to premiership victory in his first season coaching the top-grade.
The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs faced the Balmain Tigers on 11 September 1988 in the first grand final played at the Sydney Football Stadium and the last game for Steve Mortimer. The match was played early so that Channel Ten could broadcast the 1988 Seoul Olympics. The Australian national anthem was performed by Glenn Shorrock.
After five minutes Peter Tunks was sent to the sin bin for ten minutes for treading on Ben Elias. The first points of the match were scored shortly after from Terry Lamb's successful penalty kick. Another penalty kick from Lamb put the Bulldogs in front 4 nil. However Balmain grabbed the first try an Elias put up a bomb and was first to the ball ahead of Bulldog Jason Alchin. Conlon's conversion from in front gave the Tigers the lead for first time at 6β4.
A highly controversial tackle by Terry Lamb put Balmain's in form British import Ellery Hanley out of the game before the 30-minute mark had been reached. Hanley staggered off, heavily concussed, with the score at 6β4. Under the rules of the time, Hanley was allowed 10 minutes to recover in the head bin. If he could not return he would need to be replaced. He returned just before half-time and stood, out-of-sorts, on the wing. The Bulldogs then ran in a 70-metre try from broken play and went to the break with a lead of 10β8.
Hanley did not return after half-time and the Bulldogs started to dominate. A great Canterbury team try to Michael Hagan sealed the match. Bruce McGuire scored Balmain's second try late in the match although the outcome was already clear. The match ended on a sentimental note when Gould called the Bulldogs' representative star, former captain and 271-game veteran, Steve Mortimer to the sideline. He was less than fully fit and had his arm heavily padded to protect the wrist he had broken early in the season. However Mortimer had been named as a fresh reserve as tribute to his previous club contributions and the match ended with him moving to dummy half and taking the ball up for the last time.
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 24
Tries: Nissen, Hagan, Gillespie, Lamb
Goals: Lamb 4
Balmain Tigers 12
Tries: Elias, McGuire
Goals: Conlon 2
Clive Churchill Medal: Paul Dunn (Canterbury)
Player statistics
The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 22.
Top 5 point scorers
Top 5 try scorers
|
Top 5 goal scorers
|
1988 Transfers
Players
Coaches
Coach | 1987 Club | 1988 Club |
---|---|---|
Wayne Bennett | Canberra Raiders | Brisbane Broncos |
Warren Ryan | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Balmain Tigers |
Tim Sheens | Penrith Panthers | Canberra Raiders |
References
- "Sydney Football Stadium Magic Moments". sydneycricketground.com.au. Sydney Cricket & Sports Ground Trust. Archived from the original on 16 August 2007. Retrieved 2 September 2009.
- Paul Tait & Heather Smith (1 September 1988). "Cool Russell is ready to shoulder the burden for Sharks". The Sydney Morning Herald. Australia: Fairfax. p. 50. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
- "History of the Premiership". centenaryofrugbyleague.com.au. Australian Rugby League. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
- Weidler, Danny (11 September 1988). "Minutes that mattered". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Digital. p. 3. Retrieved 6 October 2009.
- Coady, Ben (28 September 2009). "Grand final dramas". WA Today. Australia: Fairfax Digital. Archived from the original on 4 October 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2010.
- D'Souza, Miguel. "Grand Final History". wwos.ninemsn.com.au. Australian Associated Press. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2013.