1985 National Panasonic Cup

The 1985 National Panasonic Cup was the 12th edition of the NSWRL Midweek Cup, a NSWRL-organised national club Rugby League tournament between the leading clubs and representative teams from the NSWRL, the BRL, the CRL and the NZRL.

1985 NSWRL Midweek Cup
NSWRL National Panasonic Cup
Tournament details
Dates6 March - 5 June 1985
Teams16
Venue(s)6 (in 5 host cities)
Final positions
ChampionsBalmain (2nd title)
Runners-upCronulla-Sutherland
Tournament statistics
Matches played15
1984
1986

A total of 16 teams from across Australia and New Zealand played 15 matches in a straight knock-out format, with the matches being held midweek during the premiership season.

Qualified Teams

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Team Nickname League Qualification Participation (bold indicates winners)
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs NSWRL Winners of the 1984 New South Wales Rugby League Premiership 12th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984)
Parramatta Eels NSWRL Runners-Up in the 1984 New South Wales Rugby League Premiership 12th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984)
St. George Dragons NSWRL Third Place in the 1984 New South Wales Rugby League Premiership 12th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984)
South Sydney Rabbitohs NSWRL Fourth Place in the 1984 New South Wales Rugby League Premiership 12th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984)
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles NSWRL Fifth Place in the 1984 New South Wales Rugby League Premiership 12th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984)
Canberra Raiders NSWRL Sixth Place in the 1984 New South Wales Rugby League Premiership 4th (Previous: 1982, 1983, 1984)
Penrith Panthers NSWRL Seventh Place in the 1984 New South Wales Rugby League Premiership 12th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984)
Illawarra Steelers NSWRL Eighth Place in the 1984 New South Wales Rugby League Premiership 4th (Previous: 1982, 1983, 1984)
Balmain Tigers NSWRL Ninth Place in the 1984 New South Wales Rugby League Premiership 12th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984)
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks NSWRL Tenth Place in the 1984 New South Wales Rugby League Premiership 12th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984)
North Sydney Bears NSWRL Eleventh Place in the 1984 New South Wales Rugby League Premiership 12th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984)
Eastern Suburbs Roosters NSWRL Twelfth Place in the 1984 New South Wales Rugby League Premiership 12th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984)
Western Suburbs Magpies NSWRL Thirteenth Place in the 1984 New South Wales Rugby League Premiership 12th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984)
Brisbane Poinsettias BRL League Representative Team 7th (Previous: 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984)
NSW Country Kangaroos CRL Country League Representative Team 7th (Previous: 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984)
Auckland Falcons NZRL Winners of the 1984 New Zealand Rugby League Inter-District Premiership 9th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1984)

Venues

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Sydney Lismore Tamworth Bathurst Wagga Wagga
Leichhardt Oval Redfern Oval Oakes Oval Scully Park Carrington Park Eric Weissel Oval
Capacity: 23,000 Capacity: 20,000 Capacity: 12,000 Capacity: 13,000 Capacity: 12,000 Capacity: 10,000
     

Round 1

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Date Winner Score Loser Score Venue Man of the Match
6/03/85   Manly-Warringah (Shearer, Cleal, Brown, Close tries, Elwin 3 goals) 22  North Sydney (Teasdell, McKinnon tries, Dennis 3 goals) 12 Leichhardt Oval Glenn Ryan - Manly-Warringah
10/03/85   St George * (Wynn, Johnston tries, P.Morris goal) 10   South Sydney (Murphy try, Baker 2 goals) 8 Redfern Oval Craig Young - St George
13/03/85   Penrith (Alexander, Fenton, Gonzales tries, Levy 3 goals) 18   Parramatta (D.Price try, Cronin 3 goals) 10 Carrington Park Greg Alexander - Penrith
20/03/85   Illawarra (D.Moon, Hetherington, Greenland, Mackey tries, Dorahy 3 goals) 22   Eastern Suburbs (Leggett try, Portlock 3 goals) 10 Leichhardt Oval John Dorahy - Illawarra
27/03/85  Canterbury-Bankstown (C.Mortimer, P.Mortimer tries, C.Mortimer 3 goals, Lamb 2 field goals) 16   Canberra (Giteau 3 goals) 6 Eric Weissel Oval Steve Mortimer - Canterbury-Bankstown
3/04/85   Western Suburbs 32   Auckland (NZ) 10 Leichhardt Oval Leo Epifania - Western Suburbs
10/04/85   Cronulla-Sutherland (See 2, Merlo tries, Carney 6 goals) 24   NSW Country (Randall 2 goals) 4 Scully Park
17/04/85   Balmain (Brooks 2, Gale, Elias, Marketo tries, Conlon 6 goals, Gale field goal) 33   Combined Brisbane (Boys, Dwyer tries, Ribot 4 goals) 16 Leichhardt Oval Ben Elias - Balmain
* The St George V South Sydney game also functioned as the Charity Shield for this season.

Quarter finals

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Date Winner Score Loser Score Venue Man of the Match
17/04/85   Western Suburbs (Harrigan, T.Cogger tries, Pearce goal) 10   Penrith (Howell try, Alexander goal) 6 Leichhardt Oval Mark Harrigan - Western Suburbs
1/05/85   Cronulla-Sutherland (Carney, D.Sorensen tries, Carney goal) 10   Canterbury-Bankstown 0 Leichhardt Oval Mark Wakefield - Cronulla-Sutherland
8/05/85   Balmain (Elias, Gale, John Davidson tries, Conlon 4 goals) 20   St George (Linnane, O’Connor, Cannon tries, O’Connor 3 goals) 18 Leichhardt Oval Wayne Pearce - Balmain
15/05/85   Manly-Warringah (Hegarty, Blake, Close, Hasler, Barkley tries, Melrose 5 goals) 30   Illawarra (Selby try, Dorahy goal) 6 Leichhardt Oval Tony Melrose - Manly-Warringah

Semi finals

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Date Winner Score Loser Score Venue Man of the Match
22/05/85   Cronulla-Sutherland (Docking, Porter, K.Sorensen tries, Carney 2 goals) 16   Manly-Warringah 0 Oakes Oval Michael Porter - Cronulla-Sutherland
29/05/85   Balmain (Gale, Schofield tries, Conlon 2 goals) 12   Western Suburbs (Wigham, Fyvie tries, Crooks goal) 10 Leichhardt Oval Kevin Hardwick - Balmain

Final

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Date Winner Score Loser Score Venue Man of the Match
5 June 1985   Balmain (Bridge, Gartner tries, Conlon 3 goals) 14   Cronulla-Sutherland (Carney, Wakefield tries, Carney 2 goals) 12 Leichhardt Oval Scott Gale - Balmain

Player of the Series

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Golden Try

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Sources

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