1996 Illawarra Steelers season

{{Infobox rugby club season

| club = Illawarra Steelers

| season = 1996

| ceo = {{flagicon|AUS}} Bob Millward

| head coach = {{flagicon|AUS}} Allan McMahon

| captain = {{flagicon|AUS}} John Cross

| league = ARL

| league result = 14 (out of 20)

| club try scorer = Rod Wishart (14)

| club points scorer = Rod Wishart (160)

| league2 = Reserve Grade

| league2 result = 8 (of 20), Preliminary Final

| league3 = President's Cup

| league3 result = 3 (of 20), Preliminary Final

| highest attendance = 9,744 (vs. Western Suburbs Magpies, 22 March 1996, at WIN Stadium)

| lowest attendance = 4,883 (vs. South Queensland Crushers, 5 May 1996, at WIN Stadium)

| average attendance = 7,434 (Total 81,778)

| prevseason = 1995

| nextseason = 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

class="wikitable"

style="background:#bdb76b;"

! Player !! Previous Club

Losses

class="wikitable"
style="background:#bdb76b;" ! Player !! Joined Club

Squad

{{Rugby league squad player|nat=Australia|pos=LK|name=Adam Bristow}}

{{Rugby league squad player|nat=Australia|pos=HK|name=Dean Callaway}}

{{Rugby league squad player|nat=Australia|pos=FB|name=Paul Carige}}

{{Rugby league squad player|nat=Australia|pos=WG|name=Wayne Clifford}}

{{Rugby league squad player|nat=Australia|pos=PR|name=David Cox}}

{{Rugby league squad player|nat=Australia|pos=LK|name=John Cross}} (c)

{{Rugby league squad player|nat=Australia|pos=PR|name=Maea David}}

{{Rugby league squad player|nat=Australia|pos=PR|name=Darrien Doherty}}

{{Rugby league squad player|nat=Australia|pos=PR|name=Scott England}}

{{Rugby league squad player|nat=Australia|pos=PR|name=Darren Fritz}}

{{Rugby league squad player|nat=Australia|pos=HK|name=Brad Hepi}}

{{Rugby league squad player|nat=Australia|pos=LK|name=Brad Mackay}}

{{Rugby league squad player|nat=Australia|pos=CE|name=Paul McGregor}}

{{Rugby league squad player|nat=Australia|pos=FB|name=Brendan O'Meara}}

{{Rugby league squad player|nat=Australia|pos=SR|name=Neil Piccinelli}}

{{Rugby league squad player|nat=Australia|pos=HK|name=Andrew Purcell}}

{{Rugby league squad player|nat=Australia|pos=FB|name=Brendon Reeves}}

{{Rugby league squad player|nat=Australia|pos=SR|name=Wayne Richards}}

{{Rugby league squad player|nat=Australia|pos=FB|name=David Riolo}}

{{Rugby league squad player|nat=Australia|pos=CE|name=Brett Rodwell}}

{{Rugby league squad player|nat=Australia|pos=WG|name=Fili Seru}}

{{Rugby league squad player|nat=Australia|pos=CE|name=Craig Simon}}

{{Rugby league squad player|nat=Australia|pos=PR|name=Craig Smith}}

{{Rugby league squad player|nat=Australia|pos=CE|name=Shaun Timmins}}

{{Rugby league squad player|nat=Australia|pos=PR|name=David Walsh}}

{{Rugby league squad player|nat=Australia|pos=HB|name=Josh White}}

{{Rugby league squad player|nat=Australia|pos=PR|name=Kyle White}}

{{Rugby league squad player|nat=Australia|pos=WG|name=Rod Wishart}}

Draw and results

=Quick summary=

colspan="7" style="background:#f20;color:#FFFFFF;text-align:center;"\| 1996 Illawarra Steelers season summary
class="toccolours" style="text-align:left;"
style="font-size:95%; vertical-align:top;"\| {\| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
Round ! Home ! Score ! Away
style="background:#fbb;" \|1	Steelers	8-17	{{leagueicon\|Western Suburbs Magpies\|15}} Wests
style="background:#fbb;" \|2	{{leagueicon\|Auckland\|15}} Auckland	18-10	Steelers
style="background:#fbb;" \|3	{{leagueicon\|Brisbane\|15}} Brisbane	54-4	Steelers
style="background:#cfc;" \|4	Steelers	56-14	{{leagueicon\|South Sydney\|15}} Souths
style="background:#fbb;" \|5	{{leagueicon\|Gold Coast Chargers\|15}} Chargers	28-20	Steelers
style="background:#fbb;" \|6	Steelers	20-30	{{leagueicon\|Auckland\|15}} Auckland

| style="font-size:95%; vertical-align:top;"|

Round ! Home ! Score ! Away
class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
style="background:#cfc;" \|7	Steelers	18-14	{{leagueicon\|South Queensland\|15}} Sth Qld
style="background:#cfc;" \|8	{{leagueicon\|North Queensland\|15}} Nth Qld	24-8	Steelers
style="background:#cfc;" \|9	Steelers	18-12	{{leagueicon\|St. George\|15}} Dragons
style="background:#fbb;" \|10	{{leagueicon\|Canterbury\|15}} Canterbury	12-0	Steelers
style="background:#fbb;" \|11	{{leagueicon\|Canberra\|15}} Canberra	16-14	Steelers
style="background:#cfc;" \|12	Steelers	14-6	{{leagueicon\|Brisbane\|15}} Brisbane

| style="font-size:95%; vertical-align:top;"|

Round ! Home ! Score ! Away
class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
style="background:#fbb;" \|13	{{leagueicon\|North Sydney\|15}} Nth Syd	48-18	Steelers
style="background:#cfc;" \|14	Steelers	8-16	{{leagueicon\|Manly\|15}} Manly
style="background:#cfc;" \|15	Steelers	18-19	{{leagueicon\|Western Reds\|15}} Reds
style="background:#cfc;" \|16	{{leagueicon\|Parramatta\|15}} Eels	34-18	Steelers
style="background:#fbb;" \|17	Steelers	16-32	{{leagueicon\|Easts\|15}} Sydney
style="background:#cfc;" \|18	{{leagueicon\|Newcastle\|15}} Newcastle	22-34	Steelers

| style="font-size:95%; vertical-align:top;"|

Round ! Home ! Score ! Away
class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
style="background:#cfc;" \|19	Steelers	21-14	{{leagueicon\|Cronulla\|15}} Sharks
style="background:#fbb;" \|20	{{leagueicon\|Balmain\|15}} Balmain	16-14	Steelers
style="background:#cfc;" \|21	Steelers	42-2	{{leagueicon\|Penrith\|15}} Penrith
style="background:#fbb;" \|22	{{leagueicon\|Western Suburbs Magpies\|15}} Wests	12-8	Steelers

=Regular season=

==March==

{{Rugbyleaguebox collapsible

|round = Round 1

|date = 22 March 1996

|time =

|team1 = {{league icon|Illawarra Steelers|15}} Illawarra Steelers

|team2 = {{league icon|Western Suburbs Magpies|15}} Western Suburbs Magpies

|score = {{nobold|(0)}} 8–17 {{nobold|(6)}}

|stadium = WIN Stadium

|location = Wollongong, New South Wales

|attendance = 9,744

|referee = Kelvin Jeffes (Field)

|points1 = Tries: {{ubl|Fili Seru 2|}}

Goals: {{ubl|Rod Wishart 0/2|}}

|points2 = Tries: {{ubl|Craig Coleman|Ciriaco Mescia|Damian Kennedy|}}

Goals: {{ubl|Andrew Leeds 2/3, field goal|}}

|competition = Optus Cup

|manofmatch =

|report =

}}

O'Meara; Wishart, Rodwell, McGregor, Seru; C.Simon, J.White; Fritz, Callaway, England, Cross (c), Richards, Timmins. Cox, Hepi, Bristow.

{{Rugbyleaguebox collapsible

|round = Round 2

|date = 31 March 1996

|time =

|team1 = {{league icon|Auckland Warriors|15}} Auckland Warriors

|team2 = {{league icon|Illawarra Steelers|15}} Illawarra Steelers

|score = {{nobold|(6)}} 18–10 {{nobold|(0)}}

|stadium = Ericsson Stadium

|location = Auckland, New Zealand

|attendance = 17,246

|referee = David Manson (Field)

|points1 = Tries: {{ubl|Tea Roparti 2|Richie Blackmore|}}

Goals: {{ubl|Greg Alexander 2/2|Gavin Hill 1/2|}}

|points2 = Tries: {{ubl|Paul McGregor|Rod Wishart|}}

Goals: {{ubl|Rod Wishart 1/2|}}

|competition = Optus Cup

|manofmatch =

|report =

}}

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==

{{Rugbyleaguebox collapsible

|round = Round 3

|date = Saturday 6 April 1996

|time =

|team1 = {{league icon|Brisbane Broncos|15}} Brisbane Broncos

|team2 = {{league icon|Illawarra Steelers|15}} Illawarra Steelers

|score = {{nobold|(26)}} 54–4 {{nobold|(4)}}

|stadium = ANZ Stadium

|location = Brisbane, Queensland

|attendance = 24,577

|referee = Kelvin Jeffes (Field)

|points1 = Tries: {{ubl|Darren Lockyer 2|Willie Carne|Glenn Lazarus|Michael Hancock|Wendell Sailor|Darren Smith|Steve Renouf|Peter Ryan|John Plath|}}

Goals: {{ubl|Willie Carne 6/9|Darren Lockyer 1/1|}}

|points2 = Tries: {{ubl|Rod Wishart|}}

Goals: {{ubl|Rod Wishart 0/1|}}

|competition = Optus Cup

|manofmatch =

|report =

}}

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

----

{{Rugbyleaguebox collapsible

|round = Round 4

|date = Sunday 14 April 1996

|time =

|team1 = {{league icon|Illawarra Steelers|15}} Illawarra Steelers

|team2 = {{league icon|South Sydney Rabbitohs|15}} South Sydney Rabbitohs

|score = {{nobold|(20)}} 56–14 {{nobold|(10)}}

|stadium = Steelers Stadium

|location = Wollongong, New South Wales

|attendance = 7,083

|referee = Rob Alexander (Field)

|points1 = Tries: {{ubl|Glen Air 3|Brad Mackay 2|Brett Rodwell 2|Brad Hepi|David Riolo|Rod Wishart|}}

Goals: {{ubl|Rod Wishart 8/11|}}

|points2 = Tries: {{ubl|Darrell Trindall|Paul Mellor|}}

Goals: {{ubl|Craig Field 3/4|}}

|competition = Optus Cup

|manofmatch =

|report =

}}

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.

----

{{Rugbyleaguebox collapsible

|round = Round 5

|date = 20 April 1996

|time =

|team1 = Gold Coast Chargers

|team2 = Illawarra Steelers

|score = {{nobold|(16)}} 28–20 {{nobold|(10)}}

|stadium = Carrara Stadium

|location = Gold Coast, Queensland

|attendance = 7,251

|referee = Graeme West (Field)

|points1 = Tries: {{ubl|Dave Watson 2|Shane Kenward|David Baildon|Lee Oudenryn|}}

Goals: {{ubl|Lee Oudenryn 2/3|Brad Hurst 2/3|}}

|points2 = Tries: {{ubl|Rod Wishart|Glen Air|Darren Fritz|Brendan O'Meara|}}

Goals: {{ubl|Rod Wishart 2/4|}}

|competition = Optus Cup

|manofmatch =

|report =

}}

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.

----

{{Rugbyleaguebox collapsible

|round = Round 6

|date = Sunday 28 April 1996

|time =

|team1 = {{league icon|Illawarra Steelers|15}} Illawarra Steelers

|team2 = {{league icon|Auckland Warriors|15}} Auckland Warriors

|score = {{nobold|(20)}} 20–30 {{nobold|(6)}}

|stadium = Steelers Stadium

|location = Wollongong, New South Wales

|attendance = 8,055

|referee = Rob Alexander (Field)

|points1 = Tries: {{ubl|Kyle White|John Cross|Shaun Timmins|}}

Goals: {{ubl|Rod Wishart 4/4|}}

|points2 = Tries: {{ubl|Phil Blake|Stacey Jones|Greg Alexander|T. Tatupu|Marc Ellis|}}

Goals: {{ubl|Gene Ngamu 3/3|G. Hill 2/2|}}

|competition = Optus Cup

|manofmatch =

|report =

}}

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==

{{Rugbyleaguebox collapsible

|round = Round 7

|date = 5 May 1996

|time =

|team1 = {{league icon|Illawarra Steelers|15}} Illawarra Steelers

|team2 = {{league icon|South Queensland Crushers|15}} South Queensland Crushers

|score = {{nobold|(10)}} 18–14 {{nobold|(12)}}

|stadium = Steelers Stadium

|location = Wollongong, New South Wales

|attendance =

|referee =

|points1 =

|points2 =

|competition = Optus Cup

|manofmatch =

|report =

}}

{{Rugbyleaguebox collapsible

|round = Round 8

|date =

|time =

|team1 = {{league icon|North Queensland Cowboys|15}} North Queensland Cowboys

|team2 = {{league icon|Illawarra Steelers|15}} Illawarra Steelers

|score = {{nobold|(6)}} 24–8 {{nobold|(8)}}

|stadium = Stockland Stadium

|location = Townsville, Queensland

|attendance =

|referee = Eddie Ward (Field)

|points1 =

|points2 =

|competition = Optus Cup

|manofmatch =

|report =

}}

{{Rugbyleaguebox collapsible

|round = Round 9

|date = 18 May 1996

|time =

|team1 = {{league icon|Illawarra Steelers|15}} Illawarra Steelers

|team2 = {{league icon|St. George Dragons|15}} St. George Dragons

|score = {{nobold|(8)}} 18–12 {{nobold|(0)}}

|stadium = Steelers Stadium

|location = Wollongong, New South Wales

|attendance =

|referee = Kelvin Jeffes (Field)

|points1 =

|points2 =

|competition = Optus Cup

|manofmatch =

|report =

}}

{{Rugbyleaguebox collapsible

|round = Round 10

|date = Friday 31 May 1996

|time =

|team1 = {{league icon|Canterbury Bulldogs|15}} Canterbury Bulldogs

|team2 = {{league icon|Illawarra Steelers|15}} Illawarra Steelers

|score = {{nobold|(2)}} 12–0 {{nobold|(0)}}

|stadium = Belmore Sports Ground

|location = Sydney, New South Wales

|attendance = 6,022

|referee = Graeme West (Field)

|points1 =

|points2 =

|competition = Optus Cup

|manofmatch =

|report =

}}

==June==

{{Rugbyleaguebox collapsible

|round = Round 11

|date =

|time =

|team1 = {{league icon|Canberra Raiders|15}} Canberra Raiders

|team2 = {{league icon|Illawarra Steelers|15}} Illawarra Steelers

|score = {{nobold|(6)}} 16–14 {{nobold|(8)}}

|stadium = Bruce Stadium

|location = Canberra, ACT

|attendance =

|referee =

|points1 = Tries: {{ubl|Noa Nadruku|S.Stone|Simon Woolford|}}

Goals: {{ubl|Robinson 1/1|Jason Ferris 1/4|}}

|points2 = Tries: {{ubl|Neil Piccinelli|Brendon Reeves|}}

Goals: {{ubl|Shaun Timmins 3/4|}}

|competition = Optus Cup

|manofmatch =

|report =

}}

Reserve Grade: Illawarra defeated Canberra 22-16.

{{Rugbyleaguebox collapsible

|round = Round 12

|date =

|time =

|team1 = {{league icon|Illawarra Steelers|15}} Illawarra Steelers

|team2 = {{league icon|Brisbane Broncos|15}} Brisbane Broncos

|score = {{nobold|()}} 14–6 {{nobold|()}}

|stadium = Steelers Stadium

|location = Wollongong, New South Wales

|attendance =

|referee =

|points1 =

|points2 =

|competition = Optus Cup

|manofmatch =

|report =

}}

{{Rugbyleaguebox collapsible

|round = Round 13

|date =

|time =

|team1 = {{league icon|North Sydney Bears|15}} North Sydney Bears

|team2 = {{league icon|Illawarra Steelers|15}} Illawarra Steelers

|score = {{nobold|()}} 48–18 {{nobold|()}}

|stadium = North Sydney Oval

|location = North Sydney, New South Wales

|attendance =

|referee =

|points1 =

|points2 =

|competition = Optus Cup

|manofmatch =

|report =

}}

==July==

{{Rugbyleaguebox collapsible

|round = Round 14

|date =

|time =

|team1 = {{league icon|Illawarra Steelers|15}} Illawarra Steelers

|team2 = {{league icon|Manly Sea Eagles|15}} Manly Sea Eagles

|score = {{nobold|()}} 8–16 {{nobold|()}}

|stadium =

|location =

|attendance =

|referee =

|points1 =

|points2 =

|competition = Optus Cup

|manofmatch =

|report =

}}

Ladder

width=20 abbr="Position×" \| !width=175 \|Team !width=20 abbr="Played" \|Pld !width=20 abbr="Won" \|W !width=20 abbr="Drawn" \|D !width=20 abbr="Lost" \|L !width=20 abbr="Points for" \|PF !width=20 abbr="Points against" \|PA !width=20 abbr="Points difference" \|PD !width=20 abbr="Points" \|Pts
class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
style="background: #ccffcc;" \|1	style="text-align:left;"\| 16x16px Manly-Warringah \|22	18	0	4	549	191	+358	36
style="background: #ccffcc;" \|2	style="text-align:left;"\| 16x16px Brisbane \|21	17	0	4	607	263	+344	34
style="background: #ccffcc;" \|3	style="text-align:left;"\| 16x16px North Sydney \|22	15	2	5	598	325	+273	32
style="background: #ccffcc;" \|4	style="text-align:left;"\| 16x16px Sydney City \|22	15	1	6	521	321	+200	31
style="background: #ccffcc;" \|5	style="text-align:left;"\| 16x16px Cronulla-Sutherland \|21	14	2	5	399	268	+131	30
style="background: #ccffcc;" \|6	style="text-align:left;"\| 16x16px Canberra \|21	13	1	7	538	384	+154	27
style="background: #ccffcc;" \|7	style="text-align:left;"\| 16x16px St. George \|21	12	1	8	443	360	+83	27
style="background: #ccffcc;" \|8	style="text-align:left;"\| 16x16px Western Suburbs \|22	12	1	9	394	434	−40	25
9	style="text-align:left;"\| 16x16px Newcastle \|21	10	1	10	416	388	+28	23
10	style="text-align:left;"\| 16x16px Canterbury \|21	11	0	10	375	378	−3	22
11	style="text-align:left;"\| 16x16px Auckland \|21	10	0	11	412	427	−15	22
12	style="text-align:left;"\| 16x16px Balmain \|22	11	0	11	319	459	−140	22
13	style="text-align:left;"\| 16x16px Parramatta \|21	9	1	11	404	415	−11	21
14	style="text-align:left;"\| 16x16px Illawarra \|22	8	0	14	403	444	−41	16
15	style="text-align:left;"\| 16x16px Penrith \|21	7	1	13	363	464	−101	15
16	style="text-align:left;"\| 16x16px Western Reds \|21	6	1	14	313	420	−107	13
17	style="text-align:left;"\| 16x16px North Queensland \|21	6	0	15	288	643	−355	12
18	style="text-align:left;"\| 16x16px Gold Coast \|22	5	1	16	359	521	−162	11
19	style="text-align:left;"\| 16x16px South Sydney \|22	5	1	16	314	634	−320	11
20	style="text-align:left;"\| 16x16px South Queensland \|21	3	0	18	220	496	−276	8

Home crowd averages

Round	Opposition	Venue	Crowd
class="wikitable"
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

Category:Illawarra Steelers seasons

Illawarra Steelers season