The 1980

New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership The New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the first rugby league football club competition established in Australia and contributor to today's National Rugby League. Run by the New South Wales Rugby League (initially named the New Sout ...

was the 73rd season of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

's professional

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 112 ...

football competition, 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 The J.J. Giltinan Shield is an Australian rugby league trophy, awarded annually to the National Rugby League minor premiers. It was named after James J. Giltinan who was central to the founding of rugby league in Australia. Giltinan died in 195 ...

and

WD & HO Wills W.D. & H.O. Wills was a British tobacco manufacturing company formed in Bristol, England. It was the first British company to mass-produce cigarettes, and one of the founding companies of Imperial Tobacco along with John Player & Sons. The c ...

Cup during the season, which culminated in a

grand final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...

between the

Canterbury-Bankstown Canterbury-Bankstown is a customary region of Sydney, Australia, in the south-western suburbs. The area is located around the Bankstown railway line, to the west of the St George region and to the south of the Inner West region. The suburbs ...

and

Eastern Suburbs Eastern Suburbs may refer to: Places *Eastern Suburbs (Mumbai), India *Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Australia **Eastern Suburbs railway line, Sydney, Australia Sports clubs ;Association football *Eastern Suburbs AFC, Auckland, New Zealand * Eastern ...

clubs. NSWRFL clubs also competed in the 1980 Tooth Cup and players from NSWRFL clubs were selected to represent the New South Wales team.

Season summary

Twenty-two regular season rounds were played from March till August, resulting in a top five of Easts, Canterbury, Wests, St. George and Souths who battled it out in the finals. The 1980 season also saw the retirement from the League of future

Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame The Australian Rugby LeaguHall of Fame'' honours players who have shown exceptional skill at rugby league, all-time great coaches and referees, and other major contributors to the game who are Australian. It was officially established in 2002, ...

inductee, Arthur Beetson. Mid-way through the season, players contracted to NSWRFL clubs were selected to represent the New South Wales team in two games against the Queensland team in 1980. After that the experimental 1980 State of Origin game was played, and NSWRFL clubs' players represented Queensland for the first time. The 1980 season's

Rothmans Medal The Rothmans Medal was the premier individual award in the New South Wales Rugby League and Brisbane Rugby League competitions, and later in the Australian Rugby League, which was given to the player voted by referees as the best and fairest ...

list was Newtown prop Geoff Bugden. The inaugural

Dally M Award The Dally M Awards are the official annual player awards for the National Rugby League competition. As well as honouring the player of the year, who received the Dally M Medal, awards are also given to the premier player in each position, the be ...

, named in honour of rugby league's first "Master"

Dally Messenger Herbert Henry Messenger, nicknamed "Dally" and sometimes "The Master" (12 April 1883 – 24 November 1959) was one of Australasia's first professional rugby footballers, recognised as one of the greatest-ever players in either code. He played f ...

, went to South Sydney's Robert Laurie. ''

Rugby League Week ''Rugby League Week'' (frequently abbreviated to RLW) was the highest selling Australian rugby league magazine, ahead of major competitor ''Big League''. It was published weekly (on Wednesdays) during the Australian rugby league season, which ru ...

'' gave its player of the year award to Eastern Suburbs' halfback

Kevin Hastings Kevin "Horrie" Hastings (born 5 January 1957) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a and during the 1970s and 1980s. Hastings played for the Eastern Suburbs in the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL), ...

Teams

Ladder

Finals

Chart

Grand Final

Canterbury's loss of long serving fullback Stan Cutler with a broken leg suffered in the major semi-final, and the Roosters' form in the preliminary final resulted in Easts being warm favourites. But the Bulldogs, boasting two sets of brothers in the Hughes and Mortimers came ready to play expansive football. The Roosters began well and

Noel Cleal Noel Harvey "Crusher" Cleal (born 16 October 1958) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and coach. A destructive for the Manly Sea Eagles, he also represented New South Wales in the State of Origin Series and the Austra ...

was a constant threat but Canterbury's forwards led by Robinson and Coveney began to get on top. Canterbury's

Chris Anderson Chris Anderson may refer to: Sports * Chris Anderson (baseball) (born 1992), American baseball player * Chris Anderson (cheese roller), 22-time winner of annual cheese rolling * Chris Anderson (footballer, born 1925) (1925–1986), Scottish footb ...

scored the first try of the match after receiving a blatantly forward passHaddan p217 from

Chris Mortimer Chris Mortimer (born 19 August 1959 in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s for the Canterbury-Bankstown, Penrith, New South Wales and for the Aus ...

in the lead up. The Roosters hit back and only desperate cover defence from

Steve Mortimer Stephen Charles Mortimer (born 15 July 1956), also nicknamed "Turvey", is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played as a . Mortimer played a Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs club record 272 first-grade games between 1976–88, winni ...

on Easts' winger Steve McFarlane prevented a Roosters try. Ken Wright kicked two penalty goals for the tricolours, resulting in a 7–4 lead to the Bulldogs at half time. After the break

Steve Gearin Steve Gearin (born 29 March 1958) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who represented , and in the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) during the 1970s and 1980s. A key member of the Bulldogs during the 'entertainers' era, one of ...

edged the Bulldogs clear with three successive goals after aggressive play from the Roosters – led by

John Tobin John Tobin may refer to: People * Sir John Tobin (1763–1851), Liverpool merchant * John Tobin (dramatist) (1770–1804), author of ''The Honey Moon'' * John F. Tobin (1880–1954), American football player and coach * Jack Tobin (1892–1969 ...

's focus on the Hughes brothers – was penalised by referee Greg Hartley. The final Canterbury try by Gearin has been ranked amongst the best of all-time. Five minutes from full-time Greg Brentnall raced downfield and put up a high kick. Gearin followed through at speed and outjumped opposing winger David Michael, catching the ball on the full to score and secure a Bulldogs victory.Haddan pp214-217 It was Canterbury's third premiership and had come after a wait of thirty-eight years. It was the last Grand Final to be played on a Saturday afternoon with the deciders since then being played on a Sunday. Referee: Greg Hartley Canterbury-Bankstown 18 (Tries: Anderson, Gearin. Goals: Gearin 6 from 6) Eastern Suburbs 4 (Goals: Wright 2)

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

References

External links

* Haddan, Steve (2007) ''The Finals – 100 Years of National Rugby League Finals'', Steve Haddan Publishing, Brisbane
Rugby League Tables – Season 1980
''The World of Rugby League''
1980 J J Giltinan Shield and WD & HO Wills Cup at rleague.com
{{National Rugby League seasons New South Wales Rugby League premiership NSWRFL season