1996 Illawarra Steelers season

Illawarra Steelers
Season 1996
CEO	Bob Millward
Head Coach	Allan McMahon
Captain	John Cross
ARL	14 (out of 20)
Top Try scorer	Rod Wishart (14)
Top Points scorer	Rod Wishart (160)
Reserve Grade	8 (of 20), Preliminary Final
President's Cup	3 (of 20), Preliminary Final
Highest home attendance	9,744 (vs. Western Suburbs Magpies, 22 March 1996, at WIN Stadium)
Lowest home attendance	4,883 (vs. South Queensland Crushers, 5 May 1996, at WIN Stadium)
Average home attendance	7,434 (Total 81,778)
← Previous season 1995	Next season → 1997

The 1996 Illawarra Steelers season was the fifteenth in the club's history. They competed in the Australian Rugby League's 1996 Optus Cup season, finishing in 14th place on the ladder, missing out on the finals for the fourth year in a row. The Reserve Grade and President's Cup teams both missed out on their respective Grand Finals by one game, whilst the junior Steelers - the S.G. Ball and Harold Matthew's sides both won their competitions.

Player Movements

Gains

Player	Previous Club

Losses

Player	Joined Club

Squad

No. Position Player HB Glen Air LK Adam Bristow HK Dean Callaway FB Paul Carige WG Wayne Clifford PR David Cox LK John Cross (c) PR Maea David PR Darrien Doherty PR Scott England PR Darren Fritz HK Brad Hepi LK Brad Mackay CE Paul McGregor FB Brendan O'Meara

No. Position Player SR Neil Piccinelli HK Andrew Purcell FB Brendon Reeves SR Wayne Richards FB David Riolo CE Brett Rodwell WG Fili Seru CE Craig Simon PR Craig Smith CE Shaun Timmins PR David Walsh HB Josh White PR Kyle White WG Rod Wishart

Draw and Results

Quick Summary

1997 Illawarra Steelers season summary
Round Home Score Away 1 Steelers 8-17 Wests 2 Auckland 18-10 Steelers 3 Brisbane 54-4 Steelers 4 Steelers 56-14 Souths 5 Chargers 28-20 Steelers 6 Steelers 20-30 Auckland	Round Home Score Away 7 Steelers 18-14 Sth Qld 8 Nth Qld 24-8 Steelers 9 Steelers 18-12 Dragons 10 Canterbury 12-0 Steelers 11 Canberra 16-14 Steelers 12 Steelers 14-6 Brisbane	Round Home Score Away 13 Nth Syd 48-18 Steelers 14 Steelers 8-16 Manly 15 Steelers 18-19 Reds 16 Eels 34-18 Steelers 17 Steelers 16-32 Sydney 18 Newcastle 22-34 Steelers	Round Home Score Away 19 Steelers 21-14 Sharks 20 Balmain 16-14 Steelers 21 Steelers 42-2 Penrith 22 Wests 12-8 Steelers

Regular Season

March

Round 1: Illawarra Steelers vs. Western Suburbs Magpies

22 March 1996 Competition: Optus Cup Referee (F): Kelvin Jeffes Venue: WIN Stadium Location: Wollongong, New South Wales Attendance: 9,744 Illawarra Steelers (0) 8 - 17 (6) Western Suburbs Magpies   Tries: Fili Seru 2 Tries: Craig Coleman Ciriaco Mescia Damian Kennedy Goals: Rod Wishart 0/2 Goals: Andrew Leeds 2/3, field goal O'Meara; Wishart, Rodwell, McGregor, Seru; C.Simon, J.White; Fritz, Callaway, England, Cross (c), Richards, Timmins. Cox, Hepi, Bristow. Round 2: Auckland Warriors vs. Illawarra Steelers 31 March 1996 Competition: Optus Cup Referee (F): David Manson Venue: Ericsson Stadium Location: Auckland, New Zealand Attendance: 17,246 Auckland Warriors (6) 18 - 10 (0) Illawarra Steelers   Tries: Tea Roparti 2 Richie Blackmore Tries: Paul McGregor Rod Wishart Goals: Greg Alexander 2/2 Gavin Hill 1/2 Goals: Rod Wishart 1/2 O'Meara; Wishart, Rodwell, McGregor, Seru; C.Simon, J.White; Fritz, Callaway, Richards, Mackay, Cross (c), Timmins. D.Walsh, Piccinelli, England, Carige. Reserve Grade: Illawarra Steelers defeated Auckland Warriors 18-12. April Round 3: Brisbane Broncos vs. Illawarra Steelers Saturday 6 April 1996 Competition: Optus Cup Referee (F): Kelvin Jeffes Venue: ANZ Stadium Location: Brisbane, Queensland Attendance: 24,577 Brisbane Broncos (26) 54 - 4 (4) Illawarra Steelers   Tries: Darren Lockyer 2 Willie Carne Glenn Lazarus Michael Hancock Wendell Sailor Darren Smith Steve Renouf Peter Ryan John Plath Tries: Rod Wishart Goals: Willie Carne 6/9 Darren Lockyer 1/1 Goals: Rod Wishart 0/1 O'Meara; Wishart, Rodwell, McGregor, Seru; C.Simon, J.White; Fritz, Callaway, Richards, Mackay, Timmins, Cross (c). Carige, Walsh, Doherty, Hepi. Reserve Grade: Brisbane defeated Illawarra 24-14 Round 4: Illawarra Steelers vs. South Sydney Rabbitohs Sunday 14 April 1996 Competition: Optus Cup Referee (F): Rob Alexander Venue: Steelers Stadium Location: Wollongong, New South Wales Attendance: 7,083 Illawarra Steelers (20) 56 - 14 (10) South Sydney Rabbitohs   Tries: Glen Air 3 Brad Mackay 2 Brett Rodwell 2 Brad Hepi David Riolo Rod Wishart Tries: Darrell Trindall Paul Mellor Goals: Rod Wishart 8/11 Goals: Craig Field 3/4 Riolo; Wishart, Timmins, McGregor, Seru; Mackay, Air; Fritz, Hepi, Walsh, Cross (c), Doherty, Rodwell. Richards, England, Cox, J.White. Souths forward Martin Masella was sent-off after 35 minutes for an illegal use of the elbow. Steelers hooker Brad Hepi was cited for a high tackle, but later exonerated. Reserve Grade: Illawarra defeated Souths 18-2. Round 5: Gold Coast Chargers vs. Illawarra Steelers 20 April 1996 Competition: Optus Cup Referee (F): Graeme West Venue: Carrara Stadium Location: Gold Coast, Queensland Attendance: 7,251 Gold Coast Chargers (16) 28 - 20 (10) Illawarra Steelers   Tries: Dave Watson 2 Shane Kenward David Baildon Lee Oudenryn Tries: Rod Wishart Glen Air Darren Fritz Brendan O'Meara Goals: Lee Oudenryn 2/3 Brad Hurst 2/3 Goals: Rod Wishart 2/4 Riolo; Wishart, Timmins, Simon, Seru; Mackay, Air; Fritz, Hepi, Walsh, Doherty, Cross (c), Rodwell. Cox, Richards, O'Meara, J.White. Gold Coast Chargers winger David Baildon was sent-off after 39 minutes for striking and was later sentenced to six weeks on the sideline. The Steelers, however, could not use the extra man advantage in the second-half to win the game. They were able to peg the score back to 16-all early in the second-half, but were unable go on with it. Two tries to the Chargers assured victory for the home team. Reserve Grade: Illwarra defeated Gold Coast 20-10. Round 6: Illawarra Steelers vs. Auckland Warriors Sunday 28 April 1996 Competition: Optus Cup Referee (F): Rob Alexander Venue: Steelers Stadium Location: Wollongong, New South Wales Attendance: 8,055 Illawarra Steelers (20) 20 - 30 (6) Auckland Warriors   Tries: Kyle White John Cross Shaun Timmins Tries: Phil Blake Stacey Jones Greg Alexander T. Tatupu Marc Ellis Goals: Rod Wishart 4/4 Goals: Gene Ngamu 3/3 G. Hill 2/2 Riolo; Wishart, Timmins, Simon, Seru; Mackay, Air; Fritz, Hepi, Walsh, Doherty, Cross (c), Rodwell. K.White, Richards, O'Meara, Purcell. The Steelers coughed up a 20-6 lead at half-time with some sloppy handling and disastrous defence to give away 24 unanswered second-half points to the boys that travelled from across the Tasman. Reserve Grade: Illawarra defeated Auckland 29-10. May Round 7: Illawarra Steelers vs. South Queensland Crushers 5 May 1996 Competition: Optus Cup Venue: Steelers Stadium Location: Wollongong, New South Wales Illawarra Steelers (10) 18 - 14 (12) South Queensland Crushers   Tries: Tries: Goals: Goals: Round 8: North Queensland Cowboys vs. Illawarra Steelers Competition: Optus Cup Referee (F): Eddie Ward Venue: Stockland Stadium Location: Townsville, Queensland North Queensland Cowboys (6) 24 - 8 (8) Illawarra Steelers   Tries: Tries: Goals: Goals: Round 9: Illawarra Steelers vs. St. George Dragons 18 May 1996 Competition: Optus Cup Referee (F): Kelvin Jeffes Venue: Steelers Stadium Location: Wollongong, New South Wales Illawarra Steelers (8) 18 - 12 (0) St. George Dragons   Tries: Tries: Goals: Goals: Round 10: Canterbury Bulldogs vs. Illawarra Steelers Friday 31 May 1996 Competition: Optus Cup Referee (F): Graeme West Venue: Belmore Sports Ground Location: Sydney, New South Wales Attendance: 6,022 Canterbury Bulldogs (2) 12 - 0 (0) Illawarra Steelers   Tries: Tries: Goals: Goals: June Round 11: Canberra Raiders vs. Illawarra Steelers Competition: Optus Cup Venue: Bruce Stadium Location: Canberra, ACT Canberra Raiders (6) 16 - 14 (8) Illawarra Steelers   Tries: Noa Nadruku S.Stone Simon Woolford Tries: Neil Piccinelli Brendon Reeves Goals: Robinson 1/1 Jason Ferris 1/4 Goals: Shaun Timmins 3/4 Reserve Grade: Illawarra defeated Canberra 22-16. Round 12: Illawarra Steelers vs. Brisbane Broncos Competition: Optus Cup Venue: Steelers Stadium Location: Wollongong, New South Wales Illawarra Steelers () 14 - 6 () Brisbane Broncos   Tries: Tries: Goals: Goals: Round 13: North Sydney Bears vs. Illawarra Steelers Competition: Optus Cup Venue: North Sydney Oval Location: North Sydney, New South Wales North Sydney Bears () 48 - 18 () Illawarra Steelers   Tries: Tries: Goals: Goals: July Round 14: Illawarra Steelers vs. Manly Sea Eagles Competition: Optus Cup Illawarra Steelers () 8 - 16 () Manly Sea Eagles   Tries: Tries: Goals: Goals: Ladder Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts 1 Manly 22 18 0 4 549 191 +358 36 2 Brisbane 21 17 0 4 607 263 +344 34 3 North Sydney 22 15 2 5 598 325 +273 32 4 Sydney City 22 15 1 6 521 321 +200 31 5 Cronulla 21 14 2 5 399 268 +131 30 6 Canberra 21 13 1 7 538 384 +154 27 7 St. George 21 12 1 8 443 360 +83 27 8 Western Suburbs 22 12 1 9 394 434 −40 25 9 Newcastle 21 10 1 10 416 388 +28 23 10 Canterbury 21 11 0 10 375 378 −3 22 11 Auckland 21 10 0 11 412 427 −15 22 12 Balmain 22 11 0 11 319 459 −140 22 13 Parramatta 21 9 1 11 404 415 −11 21 14 Illawarra 22 8 0 14 403 444 −41 16 15 Penrith 21 7 1 13 363 464 −101 15 16 Western Reds 21 6 1 14 313 420 −107 13 17 North Queensland 21 6 0 15 288 643 −355 12 18 Gold Coast 22 5 1 16 359 521 −162 11 19 South Sydney 22 5 1 16 314 634 −320 11 20 South Queensland 21 3 0 18 220 496 −276 8 Home Crowd Averages Round Opposition Venue Crowd Round 1 Western Suburbs Magpies Steelers Stadium, Wollongong 9,744 Round 4 South Sydney Rabbitohs Steelers Stadium, Wollongong 7,083 Round 6 Auckland Warriors Steelers Stadium, Wollongong 8,055 Round 7 South Queensland Crushers Steelers Stadium, Wollongong 4,883 Round 9 St. George Dragons Steelers Stadium, Wollongong 8,529 Round 12 Brisbane Broncos Steelers Stadium, Wollongong 6,121 Round 14 Manly Sea Eagles Steelers Stadium, Wollongong 9,638 Round 15 WA Reds Steelers Stadium, Wollongong 7,115 Round 17 Sydney City Roosters Steelers Stadium, Wollongong 5,247 Round 19 Cronulla Sharks Steelers Stadium, Wollongong 8,017 Round 21 Penrith Panthers Steelers Stadium, Wollongong 7,346 Total 81,778 Average 7,434 References External links