# 1998 Adelaide Rams season

The 1998 Adelaide Rams season was the Adelaide Rams' second and final season as a rugby league club. They competed in the first season of the National Rugby League.
The club was again coached by Rod Reddy and captained by Kerrod Walters. However, after the Rams lost nine of their first ten games, coach Reddy and the entire coaching staff were sacked by the Rams' administration. Reddy was replaced by former Perth Reds coach Dean Lance.

## Results

In June after numerous financial disagreements with the South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) who at the time owned the Adelaide Oval, the club changed home grounds to the smaller, 16,000 capacity Hindmarsh Stadium, a soccer specific venue which was better suited to a rugby league field than the Adelaide Oval was. The Rams celebrated the move with a record 52–0 win over the Balmain Tigers.
The club went on to win six of their last fourteen games after the arrival of Dean Lance's, enough to avoid the wooden spoon awarded to the team finishing lowest on the competition ladder. Their overall results were comparable to those of their first season, coming fourth last in the 20–team competition. Appo broke several team records in his 14 games with the Rams.
The Adelaide Rams last home game in the penultimate round of the season saw a 36–0 thrashing at the hands of the finals bound North Sydney Bears in front of 7,035 fans on 15 August 1998.
Throughout the 1998 season, the Rams attempted to build a stronger supporter base in order to avoid removal from the competition in 1999 or 2000. However, with the team's lack of on-field success, plus the success of other Adelaide-based sports teams who won national championships in 1997 and/or 1998 including the Adelaide Crows (AFL), Adelaide 36ers (NBL) and Adelaide Thunderbirds (netball), saw average home attendances dropped by more than half (51.3%) from the previous years 15,330 to just 7,472 over the course of the season.
Adelaide Rams 1998 NRL season results :
| Round | Home | Scoreline | Away | Date | Venue | Crowd |
| 1 | Adelaide Rams | 8 – 18 | North Queensland Cowboys | 13 March | Adelaide Oval | 11,289 |
| 2 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 22 – 6 | Adelaide Rams | 22 March | Brookvale Oval | 6,434 |
| 3 | Adelaide Rams | 22 – 20 | Canterbury Bulldogs | 27 March | Adelaide Oval | 8,390 |
| 4 | Penrith Panthers | 54 – 12 | Adelaide Rams | 5 April | Penrith Football Stadium | 6,637 |
| 5 | Adelaide Rams | 8 – 16 | Gold Coast Chargers | 9 April | Adelaide Oval | 7,058 |
| 6 | Sydney City Roosters | 50 – 12 | Adelaide Rams | 17 April | Sydney Football Stadium | 6,200 |
| 7 | Adelaide Rams | 12 – 22 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 25 April | Adelaide Oval | 8,472 |
| 8 | Canterbury Bulldogs | 30 – 4 | Adelaide Rams | 3 May | Belmore Sports Ground | 5,041 |
| 9 | Adelaide Rams | 18 – 24 | Canberra Raiders | 8 May | Adelaide Oval | 6,500 |
| 10 | Parramatta Eels | 18 – 2 | Adelaide Rams | 16 May | Pioneer Oval | 7,514 |
| 11 | Adelaide Rams | 35 – 18 | Penrith Panthers | 23 May | Adelaide Oval | 5,000 |
| 12 | Western Suburbs Magpies | 36 – 24 | Adelaide Rams | 31 May | Campbelltown Stadium | 6,392 |
| 13 | Adelaide Rams | 22 – 20 | St George Dragons | 6 June | Adelaide Oval | 8,506 |
| 14 | Melbourne Storm | 24 – 4 | Adelaide Rams | 13 June | Olympic Park | 8,293 |
| 15 | Adelaide Rams | 4 – 39 | Illawarra Steelers | 20 June | Bennett Oval | 5,153 |
| 16 | Gold Coast Chargers | 12 – 40 | Adelaide Rams | 27 June | Carrara Stadium | 3,897 |
| 17 | Adelaide Rams | 52 – 0 | Balmain Tigers | 3 July | Hindmarsh Stadium | 7,351 |
| 18 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 18 – 34 | Adelaide Rams | 12 July | Sydney Football Stadium | 4,060 |
| 19 | North Queensland Cowboys | 14 – 10 | Adelaide Rams | 18 July | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 11,340 |
| 20 | Adelaide Rams | 22 – 20 | Auckland Warriors | 26 July | Hindmarsh Stadium | 7,445 |
| 21 | Brisbane Broncos | 46 – 12 | Adelaide Rams | 1 August | ANZ Stadium | 13,858 |
| 22 | Adelaide Rams | 10 – 32 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 7 August | Hindmarsh Stadium | 7,459 |
| 23 | Adelaide Rams | 0 – 36 | North Sydney Bears | 15 August | Hindmarsh Stadium | 7,035 |
| 24 | Newcastle Knights | 34 – 20 | Adelaide Rams | 22 August | Marathon Stadium | 17,281 |

### Ladder

1998 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Brisbane Broncos (P) | 24 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 688 | 310 | +378 | 37 |
| 2 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 562 | 381 | +181 | 37 |
| 3 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 546 | 372 | +174 | 35 |
| 4 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 468 | 349 | +119 | 35 |
| 5 | North Sydney Bears | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 663 | 367 | +296 | 34 |
| 6 | Sydney City Roosters | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 680 | 383 | +297 | 32 |
| 7 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 564 | 429 | +135 | 30 |
| 8 | St. George Dragons | 24 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 486 | 490 | -4 | 27 |
| 9 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 489 | 411 | +78 | 26 |
| 10 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 503 | 473 | +30 | 26 |
| 11 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 12 | 1 | 11 | 438 | 387 | +51 | 25 |
| 12 | Illawarra Steelers | 24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 476 | 539 | -63 | 23 |
| 13 | Balmain Tigers | 24 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 381 | 463 | -82 | 19 |
| 14 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 8 | 2 | 14 | 525 | 580 | -55 | 18 |
| 15 | Auckland Warriors | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 417 | 518 | -101 | 18 |
| 16 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 361 | 556 | -195 | 18 |
| 17 | Adelaide Rams | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 393 | 615 | -222 | 14 |
| 18 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 339 | 560 | -221 | 10 |
| 19 | Gold Coast Chargers | 24 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 289 | 654 | -365 | 8 |
| 20 | Western Suburbs Magpies | 24 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 371 | 802 | -431 | 8 |

### Ladder progression

* Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top 10.
* 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 | 23 | 24 |
| 1 | Brisbane Broncos | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 29 | 31 | 33 | 35 | 37 |
| 2 | Newcastle Knights | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 27 | 29 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 33 | 35 | 37 |
| 3 | Melbourne Storm | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 29 | 31 | 33 | 33 | 35 |
| 4 | Parramatta Eels | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 34 | 35 |
| 5 | North Sydney Bears | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 34 |
| 6 | Sydney City Roosters | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 32 |
| 7 | Canberra Raiders | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 30 |
| 8 | St George Dragons | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 |
| 9 | Canterbury Bulldogs | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 |
| 10 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 |
| 11 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 25 |
| 12 | Illawarra Steelers | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 21 | 21 | 23 | 23 |
| 13 | Balmain Tigers | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 |
| 14 | Penrith Panthers | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 |
| 15 | Auckland Warriors | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
| 16 | North Queensland Cowboys | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
| 17 | Adelaide Rams | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
| 18 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 19 | Gold Coast Chargers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| 20 | Western Suburbs Magpies | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |

## Players

The demise of three clubs from the Super League and ARL (Western Reds and Hunter Mariners (SL), and South Queensland Crushers (ARL)) saw some player re-shuffling, and brought Noel Goldthorpe, Tony Iro and Matt Daylight to the Adelaide club.
| No. | Name | Pos. | Debut | App | T | G | FG | Pts |
| 2 | Wayne Simonds | WG | 1 March 1997 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 5 | Joe Tamani | WG | 1 March 1997 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 8 | Andrew Hick | PR | 1 March 1997 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 9 | Kerrod Walters | HK | 1 March 1997 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 10 | Marty McKenzie | PR | 1 March 1997 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 11 | Dave Boughton | SR | 1 March 1997 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Brett Galea | SR | 1 March 1997 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 15 | Chris Quinn | FB/CE/FE | 1 March 1997 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 17 | Bruce Mamando | SR | 1 March 1997 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 18 | Rod Maybon | FB | 9 March 1997 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 19 | Andrew Pierce | PR/SR | 9 March 1997 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 20 | Dean Schifilliti | FE/HB/LK | 9 March 1997 | 21 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| 21 | Mark Corvo | PR | 14 March 1997 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 22 | Luke Williamson | CE/FE | 21 March 1997 | 17 | 3 | 16 | 0 | 44 |
| 23 | Alan Cann | PR/SR | 27 March 1997 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 24 | Danny Grimley | CE | 19 April 1997 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 26 | David Kidwell | CE | 17 August 1997 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 27 | Adam Peek | PR/LK | 22 August 1997 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 28 | Peter Clarke | CE | 13 March 1998 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 29 | Noel Goldthorpe | HB | 13 March 1998 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| 30 | Tony Iro | SR | 13 March 1998 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 31 | Darrien Doherty | PR/SR | 13 March 1998 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | Matthew Daylight | WG | 22 March 1998 | 20 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| 33 | Craig Kimmorley | HB | 27 March 1998 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| 34 | Meti Noovao | FE | 17 April 1998 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | Rod Jensen | WG | 25 April 1998 | 17 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
| 36 | Graham Appo | FB/CE | 8 May 1998 | 14 | 12 | 34 | 0 | 116 |
| 37 | Craig Bowen | FE | 8 May 1998 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 38 | Deon Bird | FB/FE | 23 May 1998 | 14 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 24 |
| 39 | Sam Faalafi | PR | 6 June 1998 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Alan Wieland | SR | 27 June 1998 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 41 | Jamie McDonald | PR | 1 August 1998 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |