1979 NSWRFL Grand Final
Saturday, 22 September 1979 · Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, New South Wales
1979 NSWRFL Grand Final result: St. George def. Canterbury-Bankstown, 17-13, at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, New South Wales on Saturday, 22 September 1979.
Sourcing caveat: Sources describe the best-player recognition differently: Wikipedia's 1979 season article states Steve Morris won the 'Dave Brown Medal' as best on field, while the St. George club site describes Morris's honour as a retrospective man-of-the-match naming made when the ARL later named best players for Grand Finals 1954-1985. Either way, no Clive Churchill Medal existed in 1979; the medal field on this page is left blank per site convention. Separately, this match was played under the pre-1983 scoring system, where a try was worth 3 points — 3 tries × 3 + 4 goals × 2 = 17 for St. George, and 3 tries × 3 + 2 goals × 2 = 13 for Canterbury, both reconciling exactly under try=3.
Result
| Team | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | St. George | 17 |
| Runner-up | Canterbury-Bankstown | 13 |
Attendance: 50,991
NRL 1979 — full season ladder & finals series
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. George | 22 | 17 | 0 | 5 | 476 | 309 | +167 | 34 |
| 2 | Parramatta | 22 | 16 | 0 | 6 | 490 | 317 | +173 | 32 |
| 3 | Cronulla-Sutherland | 22 | 14 | 1 | 7 | 367 | 270 | +97 | 29 |
| 4 | Western Suburbs | 22 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 396 | 312 | +84 | 28 |
| 5 | Canterbury-Bankstown | 22 | 13 | 0 | 9 | 379 | 310 | +69 | 26 |
| 6 | Balmain | 22 | 12 | 1 | 9 | 358 | 313 | +45 | 25 |
| 7 | Manly-Warringah | 22 | 11 | 1 | 10 | 341 | 353 | -12 | 23 |
| 8 | Eastern Suburbs | 22 | 9 | 1 | 12 | 250 | 321 | -71 | 19 |
| 9 | South Sydney | 22 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 286 | 329 | -43 | 18 |
| 10 | Penrith | 22 | 6 | 2 | 14 | 311 | 473 | -162 | 14 |
| 11 | Newtown | 22 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 321 | 423 | -102 | 12 |
| 12 | North Sydney | 22 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 302 | 547 | -245 | 4 |
Qualified for the finals series — top 5 (“final five”) that season.
Finals series
Major Preliminary Semi-Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Sep 1979 | Parramatta Eels 24–4 Cronulla-Sutherland | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW | 28,335 |
Minor Preliminary Semi-Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Sep 1979 | Canterbury-Bankstown 20–6 Western Suburbs Magpies | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW | 22,104 |
Major Semi-Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Sep 1979 | St. George 15–11 Parramatta Eels | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW | 38,531 |
Minor Semi-Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 Sep 1979 | Canterbury-Bankstown 30–15 Cronulla-Sutherland | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW | 24,132 |
Preliminary Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Sep 1979 | Canterbury-Bankstown 20–14 Parramatta Eels | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW | 33,291 |
Grand Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22 Sep 1979 | St. George 17–13 Canterbury-Bankstown | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW |
Match officials
| Referee | Greg Hartley |
Scorers
| St. George | Tries: Brian Johnson — minute unconfirmed; Mitch Brennan — minute unconfirmed; Rod Reddy — minute unconfirmed Goals: George Grant (4/5) |
| Canterbury-Bankstown | Tries: Steve Gearin — minute unconfirmed; Peter Mortimer — minute unconfirmed; Stan Cutler — minute unconfirmed Goals: Steve Gearin (2/5) |
Teams
| St. George | Canterbury-Bankstown | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brian Johnson | Fullback | Stan Cutler | 1 |
| 2 | Mitch Brennan | Wing | Chris Anderson | 2 |
| 3 | Graham Quinn | Centre | Chris Mortimer | 3 |
| 4 | Robert Finch | Centre | Peter Mortimer | 4 |
| 5 | Michael Sorridimi | Wing | Steve Gearin | 5 |
| 6 | Tony Trudgett | Five-eighth | Garry Hughes | 6 |
| 7 | Steve Morris | Halfback | Steve Mortimer | 7 |
| 8 | Rod Reddy | Second Row | Peter Smith | 8 |
| 9 | Graeme Wynn | Second Row | George Peponis (c) | 9 |
| 10 | George Grant | Front Row | Graeme Hughes | 10 |
| 11 | Craig Young (c) | Front Row | Peter Cassilles | 11 |
| 12 | Steve Edge | Hooker | Greg Cook | 12 |
| 13 | Bruce Starkey | Lock | Steve Folkes | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Steve Butler | Mark Hughes | 14 | |
| Harry Bath | Coach | Ted Glossop | ||
Clive Churchill Medal
The Clive Churchill Medal was first awarded in 1986; no official best-on-ground medal existed for this Grand Final.
Match context
St. George closed out the 1970s with their second premiership of the decade, holding off a furious Canterbury-Bankstown fightback to win 17-13 before 50,991 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The Dragons had been the season's benchmark side, claiming the minor premiership with seventeen wins before beating Parramatta in the major semi-final to book their Grand Final berth. Canterbury took the long road, grinding through the finals with victories over Western Suburbs, Cronulla-Sutherland and Parramatta to reach their first decider since 1974. The first half belonged entirely to the Red V, and in particular to electrifying winger Steve 'Slippery' Morris, a recruit in his debut season at the club, whose attacking brilliance repeatedly exposed the Bulldogs' defence, including a searing forty-metre break on a last tackle from deep in his own territory, ended only by a classic cover tackle from Peter Mortimer. Tries to Brian Johnson, Mitch Brennan and second-rower Rod Reddy, along with four goals from George Grant, propelled St. George to a commanding 17-2 half-time lead. But the Bulldogs refused to fold. In a pulsating second half, tries to Steve Gearin, Peter Mortimer and Stan Cutler, with two Gearin goals, hauled Canterbury back to within four points, and they had two further tries disallowed as they pressed for the miracle; the Dragons did not score a point after the interval yet their scrambling defence held firm to the siren. Morris was recognised as the game's best player, an honour recorded variously as the Dave Brown Medal and as a retrospective man-of-the-match naming made when the Australian Rugby League later honoured the best player of each Grand Final from 1954 to 1985. The premiership added to St. George's 1977 triumph and confirmed the club's revival a decade after the end of the eleven-straight dynasty. For Ted Glossop's young Canterbury side, defeat was a springboard rather than an ending: with Gearin and the Mortimer brothers maturing, the Bulldogs returned twelve months later and won the 1980 Grand Final, ushering in their 'Entertainers' era.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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