Grand Final
Eels 4 d. Canterbury 2

1986 J J GILTINAN SHIELD AND WINFIELD CUP Index [Table] [Draw]

Location: Australia > New South Wales > First Grade Competition: J J Giltinan Shield and Winfield Cup

Eels v Bulldogs Classic - Grand exit for Pricey and the Crow
Thu September 13, 2007
Ray Price and Michael Cronin are two legends of the game and they couldn't have asked for a better farewell from Rugby League in 1986 when Parramatta edged out Canterbury 4-2 in one of the toughest and most hard fought Grand Finals.

Parramatta finished the minor premiership one point ahead of South Sydney and two points ahead of Canterbury. Even though the Rabbitohs did remarkably well to finish a point either side of the Eels and Bulldogs the for and against differences showcased how far the two dominant sides of the 1980's were above the rest of the pack. Parramatta was +166 and Canterbury +164 with the next best being the 4th placed Manly with +97 and the 8th placed Penrith the only other side over 50 points better in attack with +52.

The 1986 finals rolled around with Balmain defeating North Sydney 14-7 in the play-off for 5th position with the highlight being one of the all-time great individual tries by the late Scott Gale. The Tigers backed up that midweek effort with an impressive 29-22 victory over Manly coming from 12-0 down to claim victory with Manly lock Cliff Lyons sent off early in the second half. Canterbury the next day disposed of a flat South Sydney outfit 16-2 with second half tries to Paul Langmack and Steve O'Brien along with the goal kicking of Terry Lamb being the difference. Lamb landed 4 from 5 whereas the normally reliable Neil Baker missed two kicks from in front early on that affected his form and confidence.

Drama was the order of the day in the first match of week two of the finals when fiery Souths captain Mario Fenech was sent off in the 43rd minute for an alleged eye gouge. The Rabbitohs were right in the match with the scores 8-all and while Souths did move to an 11-8 lead Balmain over powered them to win 36-11. Souths coach George Piggins was scathing of referee Kevin Roberts after the match and didn't hold back in his criticism of him.

Minor premiers Parramatta met Canterbury in the major semi final and the Eels turned on a real treat winning 28-6 with Brett Kenny playing one of his finest matches. The Eels took full advantage of the Bulldogs decision to run against a stiff breeze to lead 20-0 at the break. Canterbury's only try came with 11 minutes to go when the game had been well won by that moment. Parramatta took the game to a new level and it left the Bulldogs to get their season back on track against a resurgent Balmain.

The Bulldogs turned up ready and ruthless to put away the Tigers 28-16 with the score being 28-4 at one stage. Terry Lamb bounced back from a disappointing game the week before to win the man of the match award with Steve Folkes and Peter Kelly making successful returns from injury.

Parramatta and Canterbury had won three premierships each in the 1980's and both sides met in the ultimate match of Sydney Rugby League supremacy. Canterbury had a 'victory' in the lead up to the Grand Final with Mick Stone being appointed as referee ahead of Kevin Roberts. After being heavily penalised in the two previous Grand Finals Canterbury CEO Peter Moore was dead set against Roberts being appointed whereas Parramatta were more keen for Roberts who kept a more open game. In the end Roberts handling of the Souths v Balmain semi final counted against him. Canterbury would later regret pushing for Stone as referee.

It was the ultimate Grand Final played under intense tension with the value of field position and inches so important as both sides seeked to gain the upper hand. Parramatta had the better of the penalty count and therefore dominated field position. Cronin missed two early shots at penalty goal and Kenny had a try narrowly disallowed when he dropped the ball in the contest with Phil Sigsworth for the ball chasing through a Peter Sterling kick. Peter Kelly was binned for ten minutes during the back end of the first half and Cronin eventually booted Parramatta into the lead nearing the break to lead 2-0.

Steve Mortimer who was playing in his 233rd first grade appearance passing the mark of 232 set by Eddie Burns and Chris Anderson inspired his team-mates in the second half. Mortimer first pulled off a great cover tackle on a rampaging Eric Grothe and than Andrew Farrar came from the clouds to hold Kenny up over the line with the Parramatta champion disallowed a second try. A trademark Mortimer dash from dummy half got Canterbury their first points when he was taken out of play by Sterling after chipping ahead. Lamb landed the goal to level up the scores.

Replacement forward David Boyd was penalised in the 60th minute for a high tackle on Price within kicking distance. The cool headed Cronin who missed crucial kicks in the 1977 and 1984 Grand Finals made no mistake to boot the Eels ahead 4-2 in a game of inches.

Canterbury started to get their game into order and a deft Mortimer grubber kick near the line was cleaned up by Kenny only to be collected high by Sigsworth. Stone sent the unlucky Sigsworth from the field in an incident that didn't warrant a send off and was no worse than the tackle by Farrar that flattened lightweight Eels winger Mick Delroy.

The Bulldogs however were coming home stronger despite Sigsworth being off the field and the introduction of Geoff Robinson in the final ten minutes lifted the Bulldogs intensity. Robinson threw himself into the action and Canterbury finally had the spark they needed. Farrar came within a whisker of scoring in the final five minutes with six Parramatta players there in cover to put him into touch only inches short of the line.

Mortimer was than tackled without the ball inside the Eels half with three minutes remaining with Geoff Bugden earning himself five minutes in the sin bin. Lamb who was the seasons leading point scorer with 210 had a pressure cooker kick from 38m out and not far from the sideline. Lamb struck the ball nicely only for it to drift right at the last moment to be wide of the mark. Parramatta rucked it out and cleared deep with Sterling only for Mortimer and O'Brien to mount one last attack to get Canterbury deep on the attack. The Bulldogs looked set to score when Paul Dunn and Boyd split them down the right only for the Eels to knock the ball clear. The Bulldogs regained possession and Mark Bugden took a dash from dummy half to setup for the next play where Mortimer was going to shoot it out to Robinson or Paul Langmack on the blindside only for the full time siren to beat them.

In a complete game of inches and territory it was only a blade of grass that separated two champion teams in one of the most titanic battles. Sterling won the Clive Churchill Medal in a match where one of Sterling, Mortimer, Paul Taylor or Michael Moseley could have won the honour. The battle between Sterling and Mortimer was one from the top shelf with two absolute icons and champions of the game producing all their magic. It was a testimony to the defence of both sides that all the wizardry of Sterling and Mortimer saw no tries scored. Sterling later said that watching this game again on tape makes the hairs on the back of his neck stand such was the intensity and ferocity of the clash with the tension unable to be cut by a knife.

Parramatta in the end played the smarter game and controlled field position better. The Eels were also more positive in attack and it took Canterbury too long to get themselves into the match. Warren Ryan has often been criticised for making unnecessary replacements in Grand Finals, but in this match he erred by not bringing the whole hearted Robinson on earlier when the Bulldogs pack looked flat and Peter Tunks in particular was running on one leg. Farrar's selection on the wing to accommodate Michael Hagan in the centres also attracted criticism as Farrar needed more involvement and played his best football when in the centres.

The day was all about the farewells for Price and Cronin who were two outstanding ambassadors and contributors to the game. Price was in his 258th first grade match for the Eels and Cronin was playing in his 216th with both players featuring in 22 Tests each for Australia. Price joined Parramatta from rugby union in 1976 and Cronin finally made it to Sydney from Gerringong in 1977 despite already being in the Australian side for a few years.

Price captaining Parramatta in the Grand Final was a tower of strength and inspiration to his team-mates as he again put his body on the line and played way above his limits. Price was the master of preparation and effort and maximised all the ability given to him and put every ounce of strength into every match - most notably his last.

Cronin was one of the pure gentlemen to play the game and was this year inducted into the Hall of Fame. Cronin struggled through the 1986 season where he suffered a serious eye injury and his season was disrupted after that. He returned for the major semi final and nearly missed the grand final when he was caught in an accident on the F6 heading from his home in Gerringong to the Sydney Cricket Ground. Police managed to get Cronin through the chaos and to the SCG less than an hour before kick off. Cronin was past his best by 1986, but his presence on the field lifted the Eels for one last effort.

The Grand Final success was Parramatta's last hurrah as a major force in Rugby League as Price and Cronin farewelled the game, injuries would catch up with Grothe and Steve Ella, Kenny's dazzling brilliance was showed signs to fading in 1987 and the reliable workers that helped make the Eels a force began to struggle.

Canterbury coach Warren Ryan in the book Masters of the Game commented on the 1986 Grand Final, "I think referee Mick Stone got swept up in the emotion of the farewell to Mick Cronin and Ray Price. By half time the penalties were three to one against us."

The Bulldogs would bounce back two years to win the premiership defeating Balmain 24-12 coached by Phil Gould and ironically the opposition coach was none other than Ryan.

It's hard to think after nine clashes in finals from 1978-86 that they would only play once on the big stage between 1986 and this Saturday. The 1986 Grand Final may not have produced any tries, but it produced plenty of great football, incredible grand final tension, two champion halfbacks and two champion sides from any era matching it all over the football field. The 4-2 scoreline was a true reflection of how close and competitive these two great teams were in one of the great games of Rugby League. Parramatta on the day played that touch smarter and produced one last hurrah to farewell two legends and ambassadors from the game in the best way possible.

Stay tuned for the 5th and final installment of Eels v Bulldogs classics when we look at a great achievement that occured in a Preliminary Final.

PARRAMATTA EELS 4
Goals: Cronin 2 from 4
Team: Paul Taylor, Mick Delroy, Michael Cronin, Steve Ella, Eric Grothe, Brett Kenny, Peter Sterling, Ray Price (c), John Muggleton, Mark Laurie, Terry Leabeater, Michael Moseley, Geoff Bugden. Rep: Tony Chalmers for Delroy, Peter Wynn for Muggleton.

defeated CANTERBURY-BANKSTOWN BULLDOGS 2
Goals: Lamb 1 from 2
Team: Phil Sigsworth, Andrew Farrar, Michael Hagan, Chris Mortimer, Steve O'Brien, Terry Lamb, Steve Mortimer (c), Paul Langmack, Steve Folkes, Paul Dunn, Peter Kelly, Mark Bugden, Peter Tunks. Rep: David Boyd for Folkes, Geoff Robinson for Tunks.

Venue: Sydney Cricket Ground.
Crowd: 45,843 (capacity).
Date: Sunday September 28, 1986
Referee: Michael Stone
Sent Off: Sigsworth (Canterbury)
Sin Bin: Kelly (Canterbury), G.Bugden (Parramatta).
Clive Churchill Medal: Sterling (Parramatta)

Eels v Bulldogs Classic Finals:
1984 - Bugden Will Score (Monday)
1983 - Grothe Beats Five (Tuesday)
1998 - Polly's Finest Hour (Wednesday)
1986 - Grand exit for Pricey and the Crow (Thursday)
1979 - Triple Mortimer Magic (Friday)

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