Winfield Cup

🔴⚪️ A wonderful team try from St George in '82. This was Col Fraser's 1st try for the Dragons, and it came on the end of magnificent support play by Saints to extend their lead over Souths in this Round 25 clash at Redfern Oval. It's Fraser's 63rd Birthday today and he was just 19 in this game, which was only his 3rd First Grade game. HB Hollywood! 📺 Souths v St George 🗓 Round 25, 1982 #WinfieldCup #NRL

🥊 CEMENT v STERLO 🥊 🗣 "Gillespie is really working overtime on Sterling!" Peter Sterling takes offence to David Gillespie's tap to the back of the head as he passes the ball, and then it's on like donkey kong! Parramatta's Paul Taylor had copped a big hit by Cement moments before, and this Eels v Bulldogs clash was bound to erupt at some point in Round 10, 1986. Today is Gillespie's 62nd Birthday - HB Cement! 📺 Parramatta v Canterbury 🗓 Round 10, 1986 #WinfieldCup #NRL

🏰 KNIGHTS STRIKE FIRST "Jamie Ainscough, Johnny on the spot!" Jamie Ainscough scores the first try of the match after Auckland's Sean Hoppe can't handle a huge bomb by Andrew Johns just 2 minutes into the game... clever work by Newcastle winger Ashley Gordon too. Stick around for a trysaver by Robbie O'Davis on Hoppe after Newcastle make a meal of the set after points. 📺 Newcastle v Auckland 🗓 Round 9, 1995 #WinfieldCup #NRL

💥 "Woah! Stuart is taken high... by Jason Smith!" Certainly didn't miss. The Canterbury second rower might have been a touch fortunate to avoid further punishment for this high shot on Ricky Stuart, but referee Greg McCallum deemed this coathanger only reportable. Stuart got back up pretty quickly, and @PhilGould15 points out "the value of a good captain" in regards to Terry Lamb's discussion with McCallum after the hit. 📺 Canberra v Canterbury 🗓 Round 19, 1994 #WinfieldCup #NRL

🐰 BUNNIES STEAL IT 🗣️ "Phil Blake, the boy wonder will score!" Phil Blake and South Sydney conjure up a try in the final minutes to beat Balmain 10-8 at Leichhardt Oval - extending their winning streak to 11 games midway through the '89 Season. Great hands and backing up by the Rabbitohs, and the Tigers (and their fans) are stunned. Then Warren Ryan replaces Steve Roach with the Tigers chasing the game... with Kevin Hardwick. Mmmmm. 📺 Balmain v Souths 🗓 Round 12, 1989 #WinfieldCup #NRL

⚫️🟠 Timmy Brasher's 1st Try in First Grade. A brilliant run by Benny Elias gives Balmain field position, then teenager Tim Brasher throws up a chip kick and collects the rebound to score his 1st try for the Tigers. The Leichhardt Oval faithful erupt, and South Sydney's impressive 10 match winning streak in '89 is in danger of being ended in Round 12. Balmain lead 8-4 in the 2nd Half. 📺 Balmain v Souths 🗓 Round 12, 1989 #WinfieldCup #NRL

🥊 BRASHER V BLAKE 🥊 It is Round 12, 1989 and Balmain's Tim Brasher and South Sydney's Phil Blake exchange a number of right hands in a tidy little fight at Leichhardt. Mario Fenech may or may not have got Timmy a little riled up, welcome to First Grade son. Today is Brasher's 55th Birthday, but he was only 18 at the time and in just his 7th First Grade game. Happy Birthday Tim... might have to give the points to Blake for this stoush however. There's a good Brasher try from later in the game coming. 📺 Balmain v Souths 🗓 Round 12, 1989 #WinfieldCup #NRL

🔵🟡 BRETT KENNY HAT-TRICK Today is the great Brett Kenny's 65th Birthday, so to celebrate we've put together his 3 try effort in Parramatta's 25-7 victory over Brisbane Firsts in the '82 KB Cup Quarter Final at Lang Park. in All 3 tries show off Bert's instincts to be in the right place at the right time, combined with his sheer acceleration. What a player. No wonder Rabs was pining for him getting a spot on the '82 Kangaroo Tour, and it was only July. Happy Birthday Bert! 📺 Brisbane Firsts v Parramatta 🗓 KB Cup Quarter Final, 1982 #WinfieldCup #NRL

@VivaGazVegas yep.

@WinfieldCup Is this the same guy who had a stint with Wakefield Trinity?

💥 "The big fella Fritz! Look at him go!" Darren Fritz runs right through the Canterbury defence and then steamrolls Ewen McGrady to score for the Raiders in their 39-14 romp over the Bulldogs in Round 15, 1992. Fritz had to wait until his 3rd season in First Grade for his 1st try, but it was worth the wait. And yesterday was Fritz's 57th birthday - HB Darren! Bonus Phil Blake chip kick and regather to score at the end too. 📺 Canberra v Canterbury 🗓 Round 15, 1992 #WinfieldCup #NRL

Wood debuted in '89 as a 20 year old, and went onto scored a try in each of Canberra's semi-final wins over Cronulla and Penrith, before starting on the wing in Canberra's maiden Premiership victory over Balmain. He then scored a try off the bench in the '90 GF win over Penrith, and had a double starting on the wing in '91 decider v Penrith. In all, he scored 6 tries in 11 Finals matches, including 3 tries across 3 Grand Finals. He was a regular in First Grade for Canberra from '89-92 but with the arrival of Sean Hoppe and Noa Nadruku in '93, Wood's opportunities were limited. So he signed with Western Suburbs to play under Warren Ryan in '94 and that didn't work out with Wood not appearing in First Grade and Ryan resigning mid-season, so he returned to the Raiders and played one regular season game late in '94. He only made 5 appearances across the '95 and '96 seasons. Wood finished with 23 tries in 74 games - all with Canberra, kicked 38 goals, and won 2 Premierships. Wood's profile on RLP: rugbyleagueproject.org/players/matthe…

😍 "What a beautiful pass by Ricky Stuart! If that pass didn't go 27 metres, I'll shout the bar tonight." We only got asked for a Matthew Wood highlight yesterday, and it turns out today is Wood's 57th Birthday, so we've found this try he scored via Stuart's majestic long cut out pass against Illawarra in Round 21, '89. HB Matthew. PS. That pass from Stuart 😍 📺 Canberra v Illawarra 🗓 Round 21, 1989 #WinfieldCup #NRL

⚫️🟠 "Davis is going to do it himself!" After Benny Elias expertly milks a penalty (Sterlo's not impressed 😂), Balmain rookie five-eighth Paul Davis takes the Newcastle line on by himself and scores a great try next to the posts in Round 8, 1992. Davis turns 55 today - and his foray into First Grade began in '92 at Balmain, and although he played 40 games across two seasons under Coach Alan Jones in '92-93, he didn't make another Premiership appearance at the Tigers in '94 or '95 - despite playing in the '95 Tooheys Challenge Cup. HB Paul. Stick around for David Bayssari's shocker of a conversion attempt 🫣 📺 Newcastle v Balmain 🗓 Round 8, 1992 #WinfieldCup #NRL

"Well, if that's not forward... I'm not here." Ian Russell puts Dean Schifilliti over - off a dubious short ball - to bring the Illawarra Steelers level at 14-all with the Newcastle Knights late in this Round 1 clash from '92. Newcastle do a wonderful job to hold out the Steelers for as many tackles as they do, but they break eventually. Tense finish at Marathon. 📺 Newcastle v Illawarra 🗓 Round 1, 1992 #WinfieldCup #NRL

Canberra and St George dishing up another smorgasboard of end to end #RugbyLeague ❤️ The footy on display here is gravy. This 4 minutes of footy finishes with today's birthday boy - Jason Croker - scoring the final try of this Round 10 clash between the Raiders and Dragons at Bruce Stadium in '94, and Laurie Daley is right in the thick of it. Happy 53rd Birthday Jason. 📺 Canberra v St George 🗓 Round 10, 1994 #WinfieldCup #NRL

Johnny Schuster's right foot step on Paul McGregor 🔥 Newcastle skipper Michael Hagan takes the final pass (after Adrian Brunker and Matthew Rodwell get involved following Schuster's break) to score from a quality short side raid by the Knights. Schuster converts, and Newcastle take the lead 14-8 over Illawarra in the 2nd Half at Marathon. 📺 Newcastle v Illawarra 🗓 Round 1, 1992 #WinfieldCup #NRL

MANLY & CANBERRA TURN IT ON 🔥 🗣️ "Ohhh this is fantastic." 7 minutes of magnificent #RugbyLeague between the Sea Eagles and Raiders in '93 at Brookvale Oval - culminating in Mal Meninga's try from a Bradley Clyde line break. Enjoy every second of this - it is glorious end to end footy, from a time when the game was absolutley flying. 📺 Manly v Canberra 🗓 Round 10, 1993 #WinfieldCup #NRL

🏉 "Interception!" Dale Fritz grabs the interception but Newcastle wingers Ashley Gordon and Adrian Brunker track him down... then Rod Wishart puts John Cross over for the Illawarra Steelers try. Great chase, but where were the rest of the Newcastle defenders after their wingers bailed them out? Newcastle lead 8-6 in the 1st Half. 📺 Newcastle v Illawarra 🗓 Round 1, 1992 #WinfieldCup #NRL

🔴🔵 "They won't catch Flash from there!" Ashley Gordon gets Newcastle's opening try of the '92 Season v Illawarra in front of the Novocastrian faithful. Gordon - who celebrated his 57th birthday today - was a player synonymous for scoring tries on the wing for the Knights during their early seasons. He was a foundation squad member but didn't debut for the Knights until '89, and then won the Dally M Winger of the Year Award in '90 - scoring 15 tries in 22 games to finish equal top tryscorer with Mal Meninga and Willie Carne. But after playing 19 games in '91, he only appeared in 11 during Newcastle's best year to date in '92 - with 10 appearances in the first half of the season, but only making one more in Round 21. He scored 9 tries in those 11 games. He joined Penrith in '93, before returning to First Grade with the Knights in '95, which was his final year in the top grade. Happy Birthday Ashley. And great work John Schuster and Tony Kemp in the leadup. 📺 Newcastle v Illawarra 🗓 Round 1, 1992 #WinfieldCup #NRL