The #WinfieldCup - Making the big game, even bigger... one GIF, Photo & Video at a time. #NRL #RugbyLeague #Origin
1982-1995...
Joined January 2011
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🇳🇿 "The Kiwis are in again!"
An absolute beauty of a try from New Zealand puts them ahead of Australia in the one-off Test Match at Lang Park in '87.
Dean Bell makes the big break (and great pass), and Gary Mercer turns Dale Shearer inside out to score.
Well, what about that!
📺 Australia v New Zealand
🗓 1st Test, 1987 #WinfieldCup #NRL #RugbyLeague
🇳🇿 Kiwi second rower Sam Stewart plays the whistle, weaves through the Australian defence and sends prop Ross Taylor running away for New Zealand's first try!
🗣️ "Well the Australian defence, I think they were all staring at their big toe..." comments from the Super Coach.
Great work from big Sammy, but he got away with a little knock on there.
📺 Australia v New Zealand
🗓 1st Test, 1987 #WinfieldCup #NRL #RugbyLeague
🦘 "Sterling for Australia and he's in!"
"That was a beauty!"
Australia draw first blood in the '87 Test v New Zealand at Lang Park - with Wally Lewis and Peter Sterling handling twice, and Sterlo finishing things off.
📺 Australia v New Zealand
🗓 1st Test, 1987 #WinfieldCup #NRL #RugbyLeague
💥 "Punches being thrown! Here it comes, it's on!"
Kiwi prop Ross Taylor and halfback Clayton Friend take liberties on Australian prop Peter Tunks, and the Australian pack responds in earnest at Lang Park in '87.
New Zealand had a clear tactic in defence to start this one-off Test, and it clearly made an impression on the Australians.
📺 Australia v New Zealand
🗓 1st Test Match, 1987 #WinfieldCup #NRL #RugbyLeague
📺 Australia v New Zealand at Lang Park - the game introduction for the only Test Match Australia would play in '87.
This featured one of the longest pre-game buildups you'll see through to the Haka - and I cut out both anthems as it is! - leads to the game eventually kicking off. But there's some good action to come in the next videos I promise, and there's something about watching Australian players wandering around aimlessly waiting for the Kiwis to come out.
Australia were riding a winning streak of 9 Tests in a row and this game was played in July of '87, turning out to be the final Test for Brett Kenny, Royce Simmons, Greg Dowling, Bryan Niebling, Peter Tunks, Les Davidson and Test debutant Brian Johnston.
The Kiwis debuted 5 players a week earlier v PNG (Kevin Iro, Ross Taylor, Mark Horo, Dean Lonergan and Gary Mercer) in a Test, so they entered this one off Test firmly as underdogs v an Australian team coming off an undefeated '86 Kangaroo Tour.
Australia were expected to win and win well (just listen to Mike Gibson's opening line), but the Kiwis had other ideas...
📺 Australia v New Zealand
🗓 1st Test Match, 1987 #WinfieldCup #NRL #RugbyLeague
THE LONE WINFIELD CUPS 🏆
Across the 14 Winfield Cup Seasons from '82 to '95 - there were 6 clubs that claimed Premierships.
Despite appearing in a combined 6 Grand Finals during this defined era, Manly and Penrith were only able to win a single Premiership.
Manly-Warringah defeated Canberra 18-8 in '87 Grand Final, and then in '91, the Penrith Panthers defeated Canberra 19-12 in the decider.
Manly's 4 Grand Finals ('82-83, '87, '95) put them even with Parramatta ('82-84, '86) and behind only Canterbury ('84-86, '88, '94-95) with 6 Grand Finals and Canberra ('87, '89-91, '94) with 5 on the total GF list.
St George made 3 ('85, '92-93) and Balmain ('88-89), Penrith ('90-91) and Brisbane ('92-93) all played in 2, to round out the Grand Finalists' tally. Meaning St George and Balmain were the two clubs of the Winfield Cup era to make multiple Grand Finals but not win a Premiership.
And for those wondering, the other 4 teams with Winfield Cups were - Canterbury with 4 Winfield Cups, Canberra and Parramatta with 3 and Brisbane with 2.
🗓 1987 & 1991 #WinfieldCup #NRLGF #NRL
🦅v🐶 The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and the Sydney Bulldogs enter the Sydney Football Stadium for the '95 Grand Final.
All you need is Ray Warren doing the buildup to kickoff and you know it's gonna be good... Julie Anthony singing the national anthem is the cherry on the top.
Enjoy your Grand Final day everyone.
📺 Manly v Sydney Bulldogs
🗓 Grand Final, 1995 #WinfieldCup #NRLGF #NRL
🗣️ "The Canberra Raiders' jubilation... and the Balmain Tigers' devastation."
These contrasting reactions to the '89 decider will be painful for some, and enjoyable for others, even 37 years later.
📺 Balmain v Canberra
🗓 Grand Final, 1989 #WinfieldCup #NRLGF #NRL
📸 Cover of Rugby League Week and Big League magazine before the '93 Grand Final... a rematch of Brisbane v St George from the year before.
Th Dragons were the first team into the decider this time around having beaten Canberra and then Canterbury, and they awaited a Broncos' juggernaut that had just run the elimination gauntlet through Manly, Canberra and Canterbury.
🗓 1993 #WinfieldCup #NRLGF #NRL
'On the edge of a dream...'
📸 Mal Meninga and Wayne Pearce pose next to the Winfield Cup before the '89 decider between Canberra and Balmain.
🗓 1989 #WinfieldCup #NRLGF #NRL
Sterlo with the Winfield Cup 🏆
The Parramatta Eels, with halfback Peter Sterling winning the Clive Churchill Medal, snapped Canterbury's three-peat Premiership bid in '86 with a 4-2 victory in the Grand Final.
It would be the third and final Winfield Cup the Eels would win between '82-95, but overall it would be their 4th Premiership in 6 years - '81, '82, '83 and '86.
🗓 1986 #WinfieldCup #NRLGF #NRL
🏆🏆 Canterbury-Bankstown's first two Premierships in the Winfield Cup era came back to back in '84 and '85.
On both occasions Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke presented Bulldogs Captain Steve Mortimer with the Winfield Cup on a stage adorned with Canterbury and Parramatta flags in '84 and Australian flags in '85.
For the record:
🏉 Canterbury defeated Parramatta 6-4 in the '84 Grand Final.
🏉 Canterbury defeated St George 7-6 in the '85 Grand Final.
The Bulldogs would win two more Winfield Cups in '88 and '95. Those images to come.
🗓 1984 & 1985 #WinfieldCup #NRLGF #NRL
📸 The Fatman, Bozo and Crusher.
The Manly-Warringah trio celebrate after the Sea Eagles' 18-8 victory over Canberra in the '87 Grand Final.
Paul Vautin and Noel Cleal had played in Manly's '82 and '83 Grand Final losses to Parramatta under Bob Fulton, so to break through for a Premiership together a few years later would have been sweet.
But Fulton would be gone at the end of '88 and Manly management moved Vautin (30) on at the end of '89 (he joined Easts), and Cleal (31) went to the UK to play with Hull.
🗓 1987 #WinfieldCup #NRLGF #NRL
Ray Price salutes the Parramatta faithful on the SCG hill after the Eels made it three straight Premierships in '83.
Parramatta defeated Manly 18-6 the Grand Final, with a crowd of 40,285 in attendance on Sunday 25 September.
🗓 1983 #WinfieldCup #NRLGF #NRL
