Illawarra Steelers

Infobox rugby league club
clubname = Illawarra


fullname = Illawarra Steelers Rugby League Football Club
founded = 1982
First Coach = Alan Fitzgibbon
First Captain = John Dorahy
exited = 1998
league = NSWRL, ARL, NRL
season = 1998
position = 12th of 20
premierships = Nil
runnerups = Nil
minorpremierships = Nil
spoons = 3 - 1985, 1986, 1989
best result = 3rd of 16 1992
trophies = Tooheys Challenge 1992 (pre-season)
win = 45 - 0 vs. Canberra, 25 April 1982¹
loss = 0 - 51 vs. Newtown, 2 May 1982²
homejersey = Illawarra Steelers home jersey 1982.svgThe Illawarra Steelers are an Australian rugby league football club based in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales. The club previously played in Australia's top-level rugby league competition from 1982 when they, along with the Canberra Raiders, were admitted into the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership until 1999 when they merged with the St. George Dragons to form the St. George Illawarra Dragons. The Steelers still field stand alone teams in junior grades.

Their mascot was the ever popular Stanley, the Steel Avenger (commonly referred to as Stanley the Steeler)

History

Illawarra made several attempts to enter the NSWRL competition, the first major attempt was in the 1950s. The Illawarra Rugby League made a much more serious attempt for entry into the 1967 season but were blocked by the Country Rugby League(CRL) who used their constitution to prevent Illawarra's plans of playing in the Sydney competition. This was a crucial moment in the emergence of the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, as it was after Illawarra were blocked and the NSWRL wanted a second new club to enter with Penrith to avoid the need for a bye that "the shire's" submission was successful.

In this unsuccessful bid, Illawarra were to be backed by the then wealthy Illawarra Leagues Club in Church Street, Wollongong. The club is the second oldest leagues club in the world. It was originally established to financially support top class rugby league and soccer in the region. Unfortunately, by the time the Steelers entered the competition in 1982, this had changed. Looking at the endless number of talented internationals that the region produced during this period, one can only imagine what heights Illawarra could have achieved.

On the 13th of December 1980, the NSWRL voted almost unanimously for Illawarra to enter in the 1982 season. Only three dissenting votes were counted, which were the three CRL representatives present. Illawarra's organiser Bob Millward told those at the meeting that Rugby League in the region depended on this bid getting the go ahead. Interest in the region had turned away from local football to the Sydney competition. The Illawarra Mercury daily newspaper was increasing its coverage of the Sydney premiership and Illawarra's inclusion was viewed as the best way of reviving the local league.

Illawarra entered the competition in 1982, with financial backing from many of the local leagues clubs. Unfortunately, the recession hit hard and the leagues club money dried up and the Steelers were a new club in desperate financial trouble. In 1984, BHP Steel saved the club, signing on as the major sponsor. BHP stayed with the Steelers until they merged with St George in 1999.

Their first 8 seasons produced 3 wooden spoons, but things started to improve for the club. In the 1989 Panasonic Cup the club reached the final which was played against the Brisbane Broncos at Parramatta Stadium. The Broncos raced to a 16-0 lead and it seemed the Steelers much more fancied opponnents would run away with the game. But Illawarra hit back. Young Illawarra juniors such as Brett Rodwell and Rod Wishart made their mark in this game, players that would form the foundation of the club's improved performances in the early 1990s. Illawarra lost the match 22-20, however Brisbane scored a try off what appeared to be forward pass. The large Illawarra contingent at Parramatta Stadium booed the Broncos after their win, with Brisbane captain Wally Lewis gaining their ire by gesturing back. Illawarra's performance inspired Australian folk singer John Williamson to write a song about the match.

1990 saw big improvements with the club finishing not too far away from the top 5. The Steelers licenced club opened its doors thanks to the efforts of the local community and businesses.

A new coach by the name of Graham Murray turned Illawarra into an almost unbeatable force at the Wollongong Showground in 1991, losing only to the Penrith Panthers who went on to win the premiership. A big win against Brisbane and a crushing 44-4 win over Canterbury-Bankstown were signs of things to come. A crucial refereeing decision by Bill Harrigan towards the end of the season in a game at Penrith Stadium put an end to their finals aspirations. Harrigan, much to his credit, apologised in the media after the game. Thus Illawarra missed out on a place in the finals by just two points, despite having a season points differential second only to eventual premiers, Penrith.

The Steelers had sweet revenge in the 1992 pre-season Tooheys Challenge, defeating Brisbane 4-2 in a tryless final at Dubbo. This sparked their successful 1992 Winfield Cup campaign, going one game from the Grand Final. Illawarra's first semi final was against future merger partner St George, beating "big-brother" 18-16. Next a loss to the Broncos 22-12 and their last chance against St George, losing 4-0. However, Illawarra were denied tries on several controversial occasions leaving the Steelers with a bitter end to their successful season.

1993 and 1994 were disappointing in contrast to '92, but the club still managed to finish just outside the top 5 each year.

Super League hit in 1995 and the Steelers were in for a rough ride. The good work in becoming a credible force in the competition went out the window and the sacking of Graham Murray was the only incident where anyone in the competition lost their job because of Super League. Murray was organising meetings between Illawarra players and Super League officials, as Super League had intentions of either getting the Steelers or possibly a new Illawarra club. Local club Wests Illawarra were reported in the Illawarra Mercury as being a potential Illawarra Super League club. Local league fans reacted angrily and nothing came of it. Illawarra and its supporters remained loyal to the ARL, though boardmember and then speaker of the house of representatives, Dr Stephen Martin, resigned from the club citing the need to join Super League for the club to survive. Martin would be proved right within less than three years.

In 1997's stand-alone Australian Rugby League competition, the Steelers finished sixth, again qualifying for the Finals series, only to bow out in the first week. 1998 saw the Steelers come agonisingly close to the finals, only missing out because of other results going against them. During season 1998, Illawarra approached St George and intiated joint venture talks. Western Suburbs (whom Illawarra were rumoured to be merging with in the 1980s) and Cronulla both expressed interest in talking with Illawarra but Steelers CEO Bob Millward claimed that the club's preferred partner was St George.

The Illawarra Steelers produced some brilliant playing talent, most notably International representatives Rod Wishart and Paul McGregor. Former Steelers players Trent Barrett, Shaun Timmins and Craig Fitzgibbon have gone on to represent their country since the Steelers' final stand-alone season in 1998.

Merger

The Illawarra Steelers decided to merge with the St. George Dragons for the 1999 NRL season to form the St George Illawarra Dragons. The Illawarra and St George contingents are equal stakeholders in the new club, and as such half of the new team’s home games are played at the Steelers' former home ground, WIN Stadium. The Illawarra Steelers have at times provided the bulk of St George Illawarra's squad, including internationals Matt Cooper, Luke Bailey, Jason Ryles, Shaun Timmins, Trent Barrett and Ben Creagh.

Some supporters, however, feel that the Illawarra is not appropriately acknowledged in St George Illawarra, as the logo and main jersey were taken directly from those of St George (albeit with the addition of "Illawarra" to the bottom of the emblem). More recently, however, St George Illawarra has taken steps to appropriately acknowledge both St George and Illawarra as equally as possible. One example of this is that, in 2006, St George Illawarra introduced an alternate jersey which was predominantly red (with white stripes), this being recognisably similar to the former Steelers' jersey. This replaced the "blood and bandages" jersey of red-and-white horizontal stripes, which was also a former St George jersey.

While Illawarra is still represented in the NRL and New South Wales Rugby League by the St George Illawarra Dragons (in First Grade and Jersey Flegg Cup competitions), the Illawarra Steelers still participate as a single entity in junior competitions, most notably S.G. Ball Cup and Harold Matthews Cup.

In early 2006, WIN Television Network bought a 25% share in the St. George Illawarra club for $6.5 million (half of Illawarra's share), erasing most of the debt Illawarra had to St. George. This formalised the strong support the network has shown for the Steelers in years gone by and ensured that Wollongong will continue to host world class rugby league matches.

Jersey and Colours

The original Steelers jersey was all scarlet with two white stripes on each sleeve. The alternate design was the same colours in reverse. The club kept this design until 1997, adding a third stripe on each sleeve and three hoops around the middle of the jersey. The Steelers simplistic design compared well with the many "space-aged" designs of several other clubs that came and went each season. In 2005, the Dragons wore an Illawarra heritage jersey, which was the same as the original Steelers jumper, on Steelers heritage day, proving popular amongst former Illawarra fans.

Many of the current NRL clubs are reverting to more simplistic jerseys, such as Illawarra's fellow 1982 entrants Canberra.

leagueicon|Illawarra Steelers|align=right|size=100The colours scarlet and white were automatically chosen as they were long worn by Illawarra representative teams in several sports. Local miners uniforms in the early 20th century were scarlet and some associate this with the reason for it becoming the region's sporting colours. It is also the colour of the Illawarra Flametree, another symbol of the region.

Club Name

The name "Steelers" was chosen in reference to the local Port Kembla Steelworks, which was the Illawarra region's largest employer. Other names considered were "Lions" and "Steelies".

Home Ground

The Illawarra Steelers played all of their home games at the Wollongong Showground (currently named WIN Stadium). The ground for many years was also named Steelers Stadium, which many still affectionately call the ground.

teelers Future

Recent speculation suggests that the Steelers may rise again and stand alone in the NRL. Supporters of this theory claim that the club will dissolve the joint venture at the end of the current joint venture contract (2010) and build towards an eventual return, with the backing of a "white knight" or a major consortium. However similar talks come out of the St. George side of the venture, with the argument being that the St. George RLFC is far better off financially and can afford to stand alone in the NRL without drawing on the Illawarra juniors for players. Often the quote of the Roosters premiership win in 2002 is used as an example of how a club can win without producing many local juniors.

Others claim that this push may be a ploy to pressure St George into making further concessions to the Illawarra, as St. George can not afford to lose the Illawarra juniors from the region. Many other clubs would almost certainly be interested in securing the flow of Illawarra juniors. However, the Illawarra part of the venture is constantly in fiscal trouble, often relying on the asset-laden St.George Leagues Club and their sponsors to finance Rugby League related ventures in the Illawarra region, meaning league in the region is reliant on strong backing by St. George.

Records

Club

*Biggest win: 45 - 0 against Canberra Raiders at Wollongong on 25 April, 1982
*Worst defeat: 0 - 51 against Newtown Jets at Henson Park on 2 May, 1982
*Longest winning streak: 4 matches
**4 July - 25 July, 1993
**25 June - 17 July, 1997
*Longest losing streak: 11 matches, 1988
*Largest home crowd: 17,527, against St George Dragons at WIN Stadium, Wollongong on 21 May, 1993

Individual

*Most tries in a match: 5 by Alan McIndoe against Gold Coast Chargers at Steelers Stadium on 4 May, 1991
*Most goals in a match: 10 by Rod Wishart against Parramatta Eels at Steelers Stadium on 16 July, 1995
*Most points in a match: 22 (1 try, 9 goals) by Rod Wishart against Western Suburbs Magpies at Steelers Stadium on 27 August, 1995

*Most tries in a season: 19 by Alan McIndoe in NSWRL season 1991
*Most goals in a season: 76 by John Dorahy in NSWRFL season 1983
*Most points in a season: 176 (11 tries, 66 goals) by Rod Wishart in ARL season 1995

*Most tries in club history: 68 by Rod Wishart, between 1989 and 1998
*Most goals in club history: 386 by Rod Wishart, between 1989 and 1998
*Most points in lub history: 1,044 (68 tries, 386 goals) by Rod Wishart between 1989 and 1998

*Most appearances: Michael Bolt 167, Brett Rodwell 156, Rod Wishart 154, Neil Piccinelli 145, Brian Hetherington 144, John Cross 137, Alan McIndoe 125, Paul McGregor 124, John Simon 120, David Walsh 114

Notable Steelers Players

International representatives:
*Bob Lindner 1993
*Alan McIndoe 1988
*Paul McGregor 1994-1995, 1997
*Rod Wishart 1991-1992, 1994-1996

Others:
*flagicon|AUS John Dorahy
*flagicon|AUS Brett Rodwell
*flagicon|AUS Shaun Timmins
*flagicon|AUS Trent Barrett
*flagicon|AUS Andrew Farrar
*flagicon|AUS David Riolo
*flagicon|AUS Michael Bolt
*flagicon|NZL Craig Smith
*flagicon|GBR Andy Gregory
*flagicon|AUS Ian Russell
*flagicon|AUS John Cross
*flagicon|AUS Craig Fitzgibbon
*flagicon|AUS John Simon
*flagicon|AUS Brad Mackay
*flagicon|AUS Neil Piccinelli
*flagicon|AUS Dean Schifilitti
*flagicon|AUS Chris Walsh
*flagicon|AUS Dale Fritz
*flagicon|GBR Steve Hampson
*flagicon|AUS Rod Reddy
*flagicon|AUS Jeff Hardy
*flagicon|AUS Graeme Bradley
*flagicon|AUS Ryan Girdler

Coaches

*Allan Fitzgibbon 1982-1983 and 1995
*Brian Smith 1984-1987
*Terry Fearnley 1988
*Ron Hilditch 1989-1990
*Graham Murray 1991-1995
*Allan McMahon 1996
*Andrew Farrar 1997-1998

Average Attendance

ee also

*St George Illawarra Dragons
*David Middleton's book "13 Years of Steel" (1994)

External links

* [http://www.webofsteel.com.au Web of Steel]

Notes

# This game was played using an obsolete scoring system. Under current scoring guidelines, the score in this game would have been 54–0
# This game was played using an obsolete scoring system. Under current scoring guidelines, the score in this game would have been 0–61