The 1989 Panasonic Cup was the 16th edition of the NSWRL Midweek Cup, a

NSWRL The New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was ...

-organised national club

Rugby League Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

tournament between the leading clubs and representative teams from the

, the

BRL The Brazilian real (plural, pl. '; currency symbol, sign: R$; ISO 4217, code: BRL) is the official currency of Brazil. It is subdivided into 100 centavos. The Central Bank of Brazil is the central bank and the issuing authority. The real repl ...

, the CRL and

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. This was the final season of the competition, which was replaced by the Tooheys Challenge Cup the following year. A total of 19 teams from across Australia and Papua New Guinea played 18 matches in a straight knock-out format, with the matches being held midweek during the premiership season.

Qualified teams

Venues

Preliminary rounds

Qualifying round

Quarter finals

Semi finals

Final

Teams

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

: 1. Shane Duffy, 2. Michael Hancock, 3. Tony Currie, 4. Peter Jackson, 5.

Joe Kilroy "Smokin" Joe Kilroy (born 21 June 1960) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. A Queensland State of Origin representative /, he played club football in the Brisbane Rugby League Premiership with Br ...

, 6.

Wally Lewis Walter James Lewis AM (born 1 December 1959) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 1980s and 1990s. He became a commentator for television coverage of the sp ...

(c), 7.

Allan Langer Allan Jeffrey "Alfie" Langer AM (born 30 July 1966) is an Australian former multi-award-winning rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s and worked as an assistant coach for the Australian national team, the Queensla ...

, 13. Terry Matterson, 12.

Gene Miles Gene Miles (born 21 July 1959) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative , he played his club football in the Brisbane Rugby Lea ...

, 11. Brett Le Man, 10.

Sam Backo Sam Backo (born 1 January 1961) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a in the 1980s and 1990s. Named as one of the greatest Aboriginal players of the 20th century, he represented Australia and Queensland ...

, 9.

Kerrod Walters Kerrod Walters (born 20 October 1967) is an Australian former rugby league footballer. A Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representative , he played most of his club football with the Brisbane Broncos, with whom he won the ...

, 8.

Greg Dowling Greg Dowling (born 15 January 1959) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative prop forward, he played his club foot ...

Reserve James Donnelly. Coach: Wayne Bennett.

Illawarra The Illawarra is a coastal region in the Australian state of New South Wales, nestled between the mountains and the sea. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast region. It encompasses the two cities of Wollongo ...

: 1.

Steve Hampson Stephen Hampson (born 14 August 1961) is a former rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played as a in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and Coach (sports), coached rugby league in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. He played club leve ...

, 2.

Rod Wishart Rod Wishart (born 15 October 1968) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played the 1980s and 1990s. A New South Wales State of Origin and Australian international representative goal-kicking winger, he played club f ...

, 3. Brett Rodwell, 4.

Jeff Hardy Jeffrey Nero Hardy (born August 31, 1977) is an American professional wrestler and musician. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Hardy is widely considered one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all-time and is regarded ...

, 5. Jason Moon, 6. Tony Smith, 7.

Andy Gregory Andrew Gregory (born 10 August 1961) is an English former professional rugby league footballer. A Great Britain international representative , he is an inductee of the Wigan Hall of Fame. He was the first player to win five Challenge Cup Fina ...

, 13. Ian Russell, 12. Les Morrisey, 11. Dean Hanson, 10. Michael Carberry, 9.

Dean Schifilliti Dean Schifilliti (born 30 March 1968) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Primarily a , Schifilliti played for the Illawarra Steelers, South Sydney Rabbitohs, North Queensland C ...

, 8. Chris Walsh (c) Reserves Cavill Heugh, Craig Keen,

Michael Bolt Michael Bolt (born 6 February 1961) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played in the NSWRL Premiership for the Illawarra Steelers, as a . Bolt was the first Illawarra player to ta ...

, Trevor Kissell. Coach: Ron Hilditch. The Broncos raced to a 16-0 lead and it seemed the Steelers' much more fancied opponents would run away with the game. But Illawarra hit back. Illawarra lost the match 22-20, however Brisbane scored a try off what appeared to be a forward pass. The large Illawarra contingent of the 16,968 strong crowd at Parramatta Stadium booed the Broncos after their win, with Brisbane captain

gaining their ire by gesturing back.1989 Panasonic Cup Final at Rugby League Project
/ref> Illawarra's performance inspired Australian folk singer John Williamson to write a song about the match.

Notes

* – advanced having scored the first try + – advanced on penalty countback

Awards

Player of the series

* Terry Matterson (

)

Golden Try

* Glenn Ryan ( Manly-Warringah)

References

Sources

* https://web.archive.org/web/20070929092902/http://users.hunterlink.net.au/~maajjs/aus/nsw/sum/nsw1989.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Panasonic Cup

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

1989 in Australian rugby league