# 1995 ARL season

The 1995 ARL premiership was the 88th season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the first to be run by the Australian Rugby League following the hand-over of the Premiership's administration by the New South Wales Rugby League. For the first time since 1988, the Premiership expanded again, with the addition of two new clubs from Queensland:
* North Queensland Cowboys, based in Townsville
* South Queensland Crushers, based in Brisbane.
For the first time ever, clubs were also added from outside the borders of New South Wales and Queensland, and indeed, Australia:
* Western Reds (later called Perth Reds), based in Perth
* Auckland Warriors, based in Auckland.
This saw a total of twenty teams, the largest number in the League's history, compete during the regular season for the J J Giltinan Shield, which was followed by a series of play-off finals between the top eight teams that culminated in a grand final for the Winfield Cup between the re-branded Sydney Bulldogs and Manly.
The 1995 season also saw the first major consequences of the Super League war, with the ARL's refusal to select almost all players from the eight clubs who had aligned with News Ltd's proposed Super League for State of Origin or Test matches, including the 1995 Rugby League World Cup.

## Season summary

1995 would prove to be a year of massive change for the League. In addition to the introduction of four new teams, it was the last year of the premiership's association with Rothmans and the Winfield brand and consequently the final year that clubs competed for the Winfield Cup.
There had been a cloud over the league for some time in the form of rumours and speculation about the Super League, but the ensuing dispute was more extensive than almost any commenters and analysts had predicted. The subsequent Super League war would have massive impacts on the sport in Australia and would substantially harm the league's popular support and grassroots structures.
The 1995 season was played in front of a background of legal actions which did large damage to interpersonal relations within the league, with players and managers jockeying for position. Players who had signed with the new Super League venture were forbidden by the ARL from participating in the 1995 State of Origin. Queensland and New South Wales selectors were limited to selecting players only from ARL-aligned clubs, plus certain defectors from Super League.
The usual twenty-two regular season rounds were played from March till August. However the large number of teams meant a resulting top eight would battle it out in the finals rather than the usual five. These were Manly, Canberra, Brisbane, Cronulla, Newcastle, Sydney Bulldogs, St. George and North Sydney (who made it in due to Auckland being penalised for an interchange infringement).
Cronulla-Sutherland's halfback Paul Green was awarded the 1995 Rothmans Medal. The Dally M Award was given to Canberra's five-eighth, Laurie Daley who was also named Rugby League Week's player of the year. Manly-Warringah's Steve Menzies became the first forward for 50 years to top the season's try-scoring list, while his teammate Matthew Ridge set a club point scoring record of 257 points to be the league's leading point scorer for the year.
By the end of the regular season, the ARL's inaugural 20-team competition had set a new record for aggregate match attendances of 3,061,338.

### Advertising

1995 marked the final year of the New South Wales Rugby League's sponsorship arrangement with Rothmans and Winfield due to the federal government's blanket ban on cigarette advertising in Australia effective from 1 January 1996. It was consequently the final year of a seven-year association with Tina Turner and the end of an era in Australian sports marketing.
   With a lock-up-your-daughters, kick-off your suspenders, red-blooded Tina Turner marketing blitz, the ARL had stuck it right up the other footy codes.
As in 1994 the New South Wales Rugby League and its advertising agency Hertz Walpole returned to the original 1989 recording of The Best by Turner to underscore the season launch advertisement. Footage from the studio bluescreen shoot taken during Turner's 1993 Sydney visit was used in the final advertisements. The enduring images are of Turner performing the song on an elevated stage in front of the fluttering banners of the 20 clubs that would participate in 1995's expanded competition.

### Teams

When the Australian Rugby League began taking bids for additional teams to begin playing in 1995, it was expected that only two teams would enter. Auckland were the first club to be accepted, with the final place being fought for by South Queensland, North Queensland and Perth. The Australian Rugby League later announced that all three clubs had been accepted, taking the number of teams from 16 in 1994 to 20 in 1995, the highest it had ever been and would ever be.
With the addition of the Auckland Warriors, North Queensland Cowboys, South Queensland Crushers and Western Reds the 1995 season involved an unprecedented twenty clubs, including five Sydney-based foundation teams, another six from Sydney, one from Newcastle, one from Wollongong, two from Brisbane, one from Gold Coast, one from Townsville, one from Auckland, one from Canberra and one from Perth, who all contested the premiership, making it the largest competition in terms of participation in Australia's history.
   We haven't brought these teams into the Winfield Cup just to see them dropped after one season
With the storm that would be the Super League war already brewing in the background, three clubs based in Sydney suburbs, in an effort to position themselves favourably as battle lines were being drawn up, re-branded themselves for the 1995 season with less geographically distinct names: the Balmain Tigers became the 'Sydney Tigers', the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs became the 'Sydney Bulldogs', and the Eastern Suburbs Roosters became the 'Sydney City Roosters'.

### Ladder

| | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Manly Sea Eagles | 22 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 687 | 248 | +439 | 40 |
| 2 | Canberra Raiders | 22 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 634 | 255 | +379 | 40 |
| 3 | Brisbane Broncos | 22 | 17 | 0 | 5 | 600 | 364 | +236 | 34 |
| 4 | Cronulla Sharks | 22 | 16 | 0 | 6 | 516 | 287 | +229 | 32 |
| 5 | Newcastle Knights | 22 | 15 | 0 | 7 | 549 | 396 | +153 | 30 |
| 6 | Sydney Bulldogs (Canterbury Bulldogs) (P) | 22 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 468 | 352 | +116 | 28 |
| 7 | St. George Dragons | 22 | 13 | 0 | 9 | 583 | 382 | +201 | 26 |
| 8 | North Sydney Bears | 22 | 11 | 2 | 9 | 542 | 331 | +211 | 24 |
| 9 | Sydney City Roosters (Eastern Suburbs Roosters) | 22 | 12 | 0 | 10 | 466 | 406 | +60 | 24 |
| 10 | Auckland Warriors | 22 | 13 | 0 | 9 | 544 | 493 | +51 | 24 |
| 11 | Western Reds | 22 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 361 | 549 | -188 | 22 |
| 12 | Illawarra Steelers | 22 | 10 | 1 | 11 | 519 | 431 | +88 | 21 |
| 13 | Western Suburbs Magpies | 22 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 459 | 534 | -75 | 20 |
| 14 | Penrith Panthers | 22 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 481 | 484 | -3 | 18 |
| 15 | Sydney Tigers (Balmain Tigers) | 22 | 7 | 0 | 15 | 309 | 591 | -282 | 14 |
| 16 | South Queensland Crushers | 22 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 303 | 502 | -199 | 13 |
| 17 | Gold Coast Seagulls | 22 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 350 | 628 | -278 | 9 |
| 18 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 22 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 319 | 686 | -367 | 9 |
| 19 | Parramatta Eels | 22 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 310 | 690 | -380 | 6 |
| 20 | North Queensland Cowboys | 22 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 269 | 660 | -391 | 4 |
* Auckland Warriors were stripped of 2 competition points due to exceeding the replacement limit in round 3.

### Ladder progression

* Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top 8.
* Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished first on the ladder in that round.
* Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished in last place on the ladder in that round
| | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| 1 | Manly-Warringah | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 30 | 32 | 32 | 34 | 36 | 38 | 40 |
| 2 | Canberra | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 34 | 36 | 38 | 40 |
| 3 | Brisbane | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 34 |
| 4 | Cronulla-Sutherland | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 32 |
| 5 | Newcastle | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 |
| 6 | Sydney Bulldogs | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 28 |
| 7 | St George | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 |
| 8 | North Sydney | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| 9 | Sydney City | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 24 |
| 10 | Auckland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 24 |
| 11 | Western Reds | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 22 |
| 12 | Illawarra | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 21 |
| 13 | Western Suburbs | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| 14 | Penrith | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 |
| 15 | Sydney Tigers | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 |
| 16 | South Queensland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
| 17 | Gold Coast | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 |
| 18 | South Sydney | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 |
| 19 | Parramatta | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| 20 | North Queensland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |

## Finals

A new finals system involving eight teams instead of the previous five was introduced for the expanded 1995 competition. The final eight was to be made of four clubs who would ultimately prove loyal to the Australian Rugby League (Manly, St. George, North Sydney and Newcastle) and four clubs who would join Super League's rebel ranks (Sydney Bulldogs, Canberra, Brisbane and Cronulla Sharks). The Grand Final was played out by a team from each faction, being the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and the Sydney Bulldogs.
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | Match Information | Match Information | Match Information |
| Home | Score | Away | Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd |
| Quarter-finals |||||||
| Newcastle Knights | 20–10 | North Sydney Bears | 1 September 1995 | Parramatta Stadium | David Manson | 14,174 |
| Canberra Raiders | 14–8 | Brisbane Broncos | 2 September 1995 | Suncorp Stadium | Kelvin Jeffes | 40,187 |
| Sydney Bulldogs | 12–8 | St. George Dragons | 2 September 1995 | Sydney Football Stadium | Eddie Ward | 26,835 |
| Manly Sea Eagles | 24–20 | Cronulla Sharks | 3 September 1995 | Sydney Football Stadium | Paul McBlane | 32,795 |
| Semi-finals |||||||
| Cronulla Sharks | 18–19 | Newcastle Knights | 9 September 1995 | Sydney Football Stadium | Eddie Ward | 26,061 |
| Brisbane Broncos | 10–24 | Sydney Bulldogs | 10 September 1995 | Sydney Football Stadium | David Manson | 34,087 |
| Preliminary finals |||||||
| Canberra Raiders | 6–25 | Sydney Bulldogs | 16 September 1995 | Sydney Football Stadium | Eddie Ward | 36,894 |
| Manly Sea Eagles | 12–4 | Newcastle Knights | 17 September 1995 | Sydney Football Stadium | David Manson | 38,874 |
| Grand final |||||||
| Manly Sea Eagles | 4–17 | Sydney Bulldogs | 24 September 1995 | Sydney Football Stadium | Eddie Ward | 41,127 |

### Chart

| Qualifying and elimination finals | Qualifying and elimination finals | Qualifying and elimination finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Preliminary finals | Preliminary finals | Preliminary finals | Grand final | Grand final | Grand final |
| 3 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium | 3 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium | 3 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium | | | | | | | | | |
| 1 | Manly Sea Eagles | 24 | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Cronulla Sharks | 20 | 9 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium | 9 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium | 9 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium | | | | | | |
| | | | Cronulla Sharks | Cronulla Sharks | 18 | | | | | | |
| 1 Sept, Parramatta Stadium | 1 Sept, Parramatta Stadium | 1 Sept, Parramatta Stadium | Newcastle Knights | Newcastle Knights | 19 | 17 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium | 17 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium | 17 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium | | | |
| 5 | Newcastle Knights | 20 | | | | Manly Sea Eagles | Manly Sea Eagles | 12 | | | |
| 8 | North Sydney Bears | 10 | | | | Newcastle Knights | Newcastle Knights | 4 | 24 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium | 24 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium | 24 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium |
| | | | | | | | | | Manly Sea Eagles | Manly Sea Eagles | 4 |
| 2 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium | 2 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium | 2 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium | | | | 16 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium | 16 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium | 16 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium | Sydney Bulldogs | 17 |
| 6 | Sydney Bulldogs | 12 | | | | Canberra Raiders | Canberra Raiders | 6 | |
| 7 | St. George Dragons | 8 | 10 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium | 10 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium | 10 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium | Sydney Bulldogs | Sydney Bulldogs | 25 | |
| | | | Brisbane Broncos | Brisbane Broncos | 10 | | | | | | |
| 2 Sept, Suncorp Stadium | 2 Sept, Suncorp Stadium | 2 Sept, Suncorp Stadium | Sydney Bulldogs | Sydney Bulldogs | 24 | | | | |
| 2 | Canberra Raiders | 14 | | | | | | | | | |
| 3 | Brisbane Broncos | 8 | | | | | | | |

### Grand final

Having finished in sixth place at the end of the regular season, the Bulldogs managed a history-making finals surge, winning three sudden death matches to make the grand final. Canterbury were ahead at half-time 6–4 after a tight contest dominated by defence in the opening half.
The Bulldogs scored 11 unanswered points in the second half to secure the club's seventh NSWRL/ARL title and their first of the decade. The Bulldogs won despite losing the scrum count 3–5 and the penalty count 9–10. Manly's 22–3 season win–loss record remains the best not to have secured the premiership.
At game's end Lamb enjoyed the rare honour of celebrating as a retiring victorious skipper, although he surprisingly returned for the 1996 season.
The performance of Eddie Ward, refereeing his NSWRL/ARL first grand final (Ward had previously officiated in Brisbane Rugby League grand finals including the infamous 1990 decider), was subject to some post match controversy. Rugby League Week commented:
   Two of Canterbury's three tries appeared to have resulted from borderline passes, another came on the seventh tackle, and a fourth – which in fact was a fair try – was disallowed
Sydney Bulldogs 17 (Tries: Price, Hughes, Silva. Goals: Halligan 2/5. Field Goal: Lamb.)
Manly-Warringah 4 (Goals: Ridge 2/2.)
Clive Churchill Medallist: Jim Dymock
| Manly Sea Eagles | Position | Sydney Bulldogs |
| Matthew Ridge | FB | Rod Silva |
| 2. Craig Hancock | WG | 18. Jason Williams |
| 3. Danny Moore | CE | 3. John Timu |
| 4. Terry Hill | CE | 4. Matthew Ryan |
| 5. John Hopoate | WG | 5. Daryl Halligan |
| 6. Cliff Lyons | FE | 6. Terry Lamb (c) |
| 7. Geoff Toovey (c) | HB | 7. Craig Polla-Mounter |
| 8. David Gillespie | PR | 8. Darren Britt |
| 9. Des Hasler | HK | 9. Jason Hetherington |
| 10. Mark Carroll | PR | 10. Dean Pay |
| 11. Steve Menzies | SR | 11. Steve Price |
| 12. Ian Roberts | SR | 12. Simon Gillies |
| 13 Nik Kosef | LK | 13. Jim Dymock |
| 14. Owen Cunningham | Res. | 25. Jason Smith |
| 15. Daniel Gartner | Res. | 27. Glen Hughes |
| 16. Solomon Haumono | Res. | 28. Mitch Newton |
| Bob Fulton | Coach | Chris Anderson |

#### Title and the Sydney Bulldogs name

After a grand final appearance the previous season in which they lost to Canberra, the Bulldogs rebranded from the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs to the Sydney Bulldogs in 1995. This short-lived rebrand saw the club capture its seventh title in its first season under the new name, before it was altered to Canterbury Bulldogs in 1997 by Super League, changed again to Bulldogs RLFC in the 2000s and eventually reverted back to its original name in 2010.

## Player statistics

The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 22.
Top 5 point scorers
| Points | Player | Tries | Goals | Field Goals |
| 239 | Matthew Ridge | 10 | 99 | 1 |
| 192 | David Furner | 10 | 76 | 0 |
| 190 | Daryl Halligan | 12 | 71 | 0 |
| 186 | Julian O'Neill | 8 | 76 | 2 |
| 184 | Mat Rogers | 13 | 66 | 0 |
Top 5 try scorers
| Tries | Player |
| 21 | Steve Menzies |
| 20 | John Hopoate |
| 19 | Sean Hoppe |
| 16 | Jamie Ainscough |
| 15 | Jason Croker |
| 15 | Steve Renouf |
Top 5 goal scorers
| Goals | Player |
| 99 | Matthew Ridge |
| 83 | Jason Taylor |
| 78 | Andrew Johns |
| 76 | David Furner |
| 76 | Julian O'Neill |