1976 NSWRFL season

1976 New South Wales Rugby Football League
Teams12
Premiers Manly-Warringah (3rd title)
Minor premiers Manly-Warringah (4th title)
Matches played138
Points scored4390
Attendance1594183
Top points scorer(s) Graham Eadie (233)
Player of the year Ray Higgs (Rothmans Medal)
Top try-scorer(s) Bob Fulton (24)

The 1976 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the 69th season of Sydney's professional rugby league football competition, Australia's first. Twelve teams, including six of 1908's foundation clubs 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 Parramatta clubs. NSWRFL teams also competed for the 1976 Amco Cup.

Season summary

This season Eastern Suburbs became the first rugby league team, and one of the first in Australian sport, to have a sponsor's name appear on their jersey.

Twenty-two regular season rounds were played from March till August resulting in a top five of Manly-Warringah, Parramatta, St. George, Eastern Suburbs and Canterbury-Bankstown, who battled it out in the finals.

In a one-off match that would form the foundation of the modern World Club Challenge, the previous season's premiers, Eastern Suburbs played British Champions St Helens R.F.C. on the 29th of June at the Sydney Cricket Ground. 26,865 turned out to see the Roosters beat the Saints 25 to 2.

This season Parramatta front-rower and captain Ray Higgs won both the Rothmans Medal and the Rugby League Week player of the year award.

The 1976 season also saw the retirement from the League of future Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame inductee, Graeme Langlands.

Teams

Balmain
Tigers

69th season
Ground: Leichhardt Oval
Coach: Paul Broughton
Captain: Dennis Manteit

Canterbury-Bankstown

42nd season
Ground: Belmore Sports Ground
Coach: Malcolm Clift
Captain: Tim Pickup

Cronulla-Sutherland
Sharks

10th season
Ground: Endeavour Field
Coach: John Raper
Captain: Greg Pierce
Roger Millward

Eastern Suburbs
Roosters

69th season
Ground: Sydney Sports Ground
Coach: Jack Gibson
Captain: Arthur Beetson

Manly-Warringah
Sea Eagles

30th season
Ground: Brookvale Oval
Coach: Frank Stanton
Captain: Bob Fulton

Newtown
Jets

69th season
Ground: Henson Park
Coach: Clarrie Jeffries
Captain: John Floyd

North Sydney
Bears

69th season
Ground: North Sydney Oval
Coach: Noel Kelly
Captain: Bruce Walker

Parramatta
Eels

30th season
Ground: Cumberland Oval
Coach: Terry Fearnley
Captain: Ray Higgs

Penrith
Panthers

10th season
Ground: Penrith Park
Coach: Barry Harris
Captain: Mike Stephenson

South Sydney
Rabbitohs

69th season
Ground: Redfern Oval
Coach: Johnny King
Captain: Gary Stevens

St. George
Dragons

56th season
Ground: Jubilee Oval
Captain-coach: Graeme Langlands
Captain(from May 76): Steve Edge

Western Suburbs
Magpies

69th season
Ground: Lidcombe Oval
Coach: Don Parish
Captain: Tom Raudonikis

Ladder

Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 Manly-Warringah 22 16 0 6 499 252 +247 32
2 Parramatta 22 14 2 6 347 238 +109 30
3 St. George 22 14 0 8 328 298 +30 28
4 Eastern Suburbs 22 13 1 8 399 250 +149 27
5 Canterbury-Bankstown 22 12 3 7 361 337 +24 27
6 Balmain 22 12 1 9 318 287 +31 25
7 Western Suburbs 22 11 2 9 379 313 +66 24
8 Cronulla-Sutherland 22 9 1 12 378 393 -15 19
9 Penrith 22 8 1 13 352 333 +19 17
10 South Sydney 22 8 0 14 297 421 -124 16
11 North Sydney 22 6 1 15 272 526 -254 13
12 Newtown 22 3 0 19 264 546 -282 6

Finals

Parramatta were first into the Grand final, triumphing 23–17 in a bloody and brutal major semi-final against Manly. Manly earned a grand final berth the following week, surviving a Canterbury comeback to win 15–12.

Home Score Away Match information
Date and time Venue Referee Crowd
Qualifying Finals
Parramatta 31–6 St. George 28 August 1976 Sydney Cricket Ground Greg Hartley 28,264
Eastern Suburbs Roosters 13–22 Canterbury-Bankstown 29 August 1976 Sydney Cricket Ground Gary Cook 27,203
Semi-finals
Manly-Warringah 17–23 Parramatta 4 September 1976 Sydney Cricket Ground Greg Hartley 30,999
St. George 9–25 Canterbury-Bankstown 5 September 1976 Sydney Cricket Ground Gary Cook 27,261
Preliminary final
Manly-Warringah 15–12 Canterbury-Bankstown 11 September 1976 Sydney Cricket Ground Gary Cook 31,381
Grand final
Parramatta 10–13 Manly-Warringah 18 September 1976 Sydney Cricket Ground Gary Cook 57,343

Chart

Qualifying finalMajor semi-finalPreliminary finalGrand final
1 Manly17 Parramatta10
Parramatta23 Manly13
2 Parramatta31 Manly15
3 St. George6Minor semi-final Canterbury12
St. George9
4 Eastern Suburbs13 Canterbury25
5 Canterbury22

Grand final

Parramatta Position Manly-Warringah
  1. Mark Levy
FB
  1. Graham Eadie
2. Jim Porter WG 2. Tom Mooney
3. Ed Sulkowicz CE 3. Russel Gartner
4. John Moran CE 4. Bob Fulton (c)
5. Neville Glover WG 5. Rod Jackson
6. John Peard FE 6. Alan Thompson
7. John Kolc HB 7. Gary Stephens
13. Graham Olling PR 13. John Harvey
12. Ron Hilditch HK 12. Max Krilich
11. Denis Fitzgerald PR 11. Terry Randall
10. Geoff Gerard SR 10. Steve Norton
9. Ray Higgs (c) SR 9. Phil Lowe
8. Ray Price LK 8. Ian Martin
14. Graeme Atkinson Reserve 14. Gary Thoroughgood
15. John Baker Reserve 17. Mark Willoughby
Terry Fearnley Coach Frank Stanton

In 1976, after 30 years of competition, Parramatta reached their first grand final since their admission into the NSWRFL premiership in 1947. Their opponents were Manly-Warringah, who had also joined the premiership in 1947, but were playing in their eighth Grand final, having previously won in 1972 and 1973 with captain Bob Fulton, fullback Graham Eadie, forward Terry Randall and lock Ian Martin having played in those two premiership teams.

Jim Porter scored first, getting Parramatta to a 5–0 lead. A penalty goal to Graham Eadie closed the score to 5–2 before Alan Thompson sidestepped through to send Phil Lowe in for Manly's first and only try. Scores were locked 7–7 at half time.

Geoff Gerard scored an unconverted try for the Eels early in the second half, then two penalties gave Manly an 11–10 lead.

Parramatta missed a critical opportunity to win the game and their first ever premiership with ten minutes of the match remaining: 15 metres out from a wide-open tryline, Eels winger Neville Glover dropped the pass from John Moran which would have given the Eels the match-winning try in the Paddington Hill corner.

Another penalty gave Manly a 13–10 lead. In the frantic dying minutes Parramatta threw everything they had at the Manly defence including the infamous "flying wedge" of dubious legality which had Ron Hilditch at the apex of a phalanx of players driving him towards the line. The wedge was somehow stopped by Eadie a foot short of the try line.[citation needed]

The Manly defence held and the Sea Eagles secured their third premiership in five seasons, while the Eels would have to wait five more years for their first.

It was Bob Fulton's 213rd and final match for Manly after a brilliant ten-year career with the club and the grand final victory was largely credited to his experience and brilliance. He was full of emotion as he accepted the J.J. Giltinan Shield and was able to end his playing career at Manly on the highest note. He would later return to the club as a successful coach in the 1980s but first he would finish his playing years and then commence coaching at Eastern Suburbs (Fulton would join Easts in 1977, unable to resist a big-money offer from the club that was backed by one of Australia's richest men and a big supporter of the future rugby league Immortal, Kerry Packer).

Manly's win was a triumph for the powerful triumvirate of Fulton, coach Frank Stanton and Secretary Ken Arthurson who would all go on to higher honours in the game. For Stanton, it was his first success in a coaching career which was to bring two premierships and two Ashes-winning Kangaroo tours. Arthurson had brought to the club players of a calibre to enable five Grand final appearances in the 1970s for four victories. He would go on to become the Chairman of the New South Wales Rugby League and later the Australian Rugby League.

Manly-Warringah 13 (Tries: Lowe. Goals: Eadie 5/6)

Parramatta 10 (Tries: Porter, Gerard. Goals: Peard 2/3)

Referee: Gary Cook
Attendance: 57,343

Player statistics

The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 22.


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