1985 National Panasonic Cup

The 1985 National Panasonic Cup was the 12th edition of the NSWRL Midweek Cup, a NSWRL-organised national club Rugby League tournament between the leading clubs and representative teams from the NSWRL, the BRL, the CRL and the NZRL.

1985 NSWRL Midweek Cup
NSWRL National Panasonic Cup
Tournament details
Dates6 March - 5 June 1985
Teams16
Venue(s)6 (in 5 host cities)
Final positions
ChampionsBalmain (2nd title)
Runners-upCronulla-Sutherland
Tournament statistics
Matches played15

A total of 16 teams from across Australia and New Zealand played 15 matches in a straight knock-out format, with the matches being held midweek during the premiership season.

Qualified Teams
Team Nickname League Qualification Participation (bold indicates winners)
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs NSWRL Winners of the 1984 New South Wales Rugby League Premiership 12th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984)
Parramatta Eels NSWRL Runners-Up in the 1984 New South Wales Rugby League Premiership 12th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984)
St. George Dragons NSWRL Third Place in the 1984 New South Wales Rugby League Premiership 12th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984)
South Sydney Rabbitohs NSWRL Fourth Place in the 1984 New South Wales Rugby League Premiership 12th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984)
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles NSWRL Fifth Place in the 1984 New South Wales Rugby League Premiership 12th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984)
Canberra Raiders NSWRL Sixth Place in the 1984 New South Wales Rugby League Premiership 4th (Previous: 1982, 1983, 1984)
Penrith Panthers NSWRL Seventh Place in the 1984 New South Wales Rugby League Premiership 12th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984)
Illawarra Steelers NSWRL Eighth Place in the 1984 New South Wales Rugby League Premiership 4th (Previous: 1982, 1983, 1984)
Balmain Tigers NSWRL Ninth Place in the 1984 New South Wales Rugby League Premiership 12th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984)
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks NSWRL Tenth Place in the 1984 New South Wales Rugby League Premiership 12th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984)
North Sydney Bears NSWRL Eleventh Place in the 1984 New South Wales Rugby League Premiership 12th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984)
Eastern Suburbs Roosters NSWRL Twelfth Place in the 1984 New South Wales Rugby League Premiership 12th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984)
Western Suburbs Magpies NSWRL Thirteenth Place in the 1984 New South Wales Rugby League Premiership 12th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984)
Brisbane Poinsettias BRL League Representative Team 7th (Previous: 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984)
NSW Country Kangaroos CRL Country League Representative Team 7th (Previous: 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984)
Auckland Falcons NZRL Winners of the 1984 New Zealand Rugby League Inter-District Premiership 9th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1984)

Venues
Sydney Lismore Tamworth Bathurst Wagga Wagga
Leichhardt Oval Redfern Oval Oakes Oval Scully Park Carrington Park Eric Weissel Oval
Capacity: 23,000 Capacity: 20,000 Capacity: 12,000 Capacity: 13,000 Capacity: 12,000 Capacity: 10,000

Round 1
DateWinnerScoreLoserScoreVenueMan of the Match
6/03/85 Manly-Warringah (Shearer, Cleal, Brown, Close tries, Elwin 3 goals)22North Sydney (Teasdell, McKinnon tries, Dennis 3 goals)12Leichhardt OvalGlenn Ryan - Manly-Warringah
10/03/85 St George * (Wynn, Johnston tries, P.Morris goal)10 South Sydney (Murphy try, Baker 2 goals)8Redfern OvalCraig Young - St George
13/03/85 Penrith (Alexander, Fenton, Gonzales tries, Levy 3 goals)18 Parramatta (D.Price try, Cronin 3 goals)10Carrington ParkGreg Alexander - Penrith
20/03/85 Illawarra (D.Moon, Hetherington, Greenland, Mackey tries, Dorahy 3 goals)22 Eastern Suburbs (Leggett try, Portlock 3 goals)10Leichhardt OvalJohn Dorahy - Illawarra
27/03/85Canterbury-Bankstown (C.Mortimer, P.Mortimer tries, C.Mortimer 3 goals, Lamb 2 field goals)16 Canberra (Giteau 3 goals)6Eric Weissel OvalSteve Mortimer - Canterbury-Bankstown
3/04/85 Western Suburbs32 Auckland (NZ)10Leichhardt OvalLeo Epifania - Western Suburbs
10/04/85 Cronulla-Sutherland (See 2, Merlo tries, Carney 6 goals)24 NSW Country (Randall 2 goals)4Scully Park
17/04/85 Balmain (Brooks 2, Gale, Elias, Marketo tries, Conlon 6 goals, Gale field goal)33 Combined Brisbane (Boys, Dwyer tries, Ribot 4 goals)16Leichhardt OvalBen Elias - Balmain
* The St George V South Sydney game also functioned as the Charity Shield for this season.

Quarter finals
DateWinnerScoreLoserScoreVenueMan of the Match
17/04/85 Western Suburbs (Harrigan, T.Cogger tries, Pearce goal)10 Penrith (Howell try, Alexander goal)6Leichhardt OvalMark Harrigan - Western Suburbs
1/05/85 Cronulla-Sutherland (Carney, D.Sorensen tries, Carney goal)10 Canterbury-Bankstown0Leichhardt OvalMark Wakefield - Cronulla-Sutherland
8/05/85 Balmain (Elias, Gale, John Davidson tries, Conlon 4 goals)20 St George (Linnane, O’Connor, Cannon tries, O’Connor 3 goals)18Leichhardt OvalWayne Pearce - Balmain
15/05/85 Manly-Warringah (Hegarty, Blake, Close, Hasler, Barkley tries, Melrose 5 goals)30 Illawarra (Selby try, Dorahy goal)6Leichhardt OvalTony Melrose - Manly-Warringah

Semi finals
DateWinnerScoreLoserScoreVenueMan of the Match
22/05/85 Cronulla-Sutherland (Docking, Porter, K.Sorensen tries, Carney 2 goals)16 Manly-Warringah0Oakes OvalMichael Porter - Cronulla-Sutherland
29/05/85 Balmain (Gale, Schofield tries, Conlon 2 goals)12 Western Suburbs (Wigham, Fyvie tries, Crooks goal)10Leichhardt OvalKevin Hardwick - Balmain

Final
DateWinnerScoreLoserScoreVenueMan of the Match
5 June 1985 Balmain (Bridge, Gartner tries, Conlon 3 goals)14 Cronulla-Sutherland (Carney, Wakefield tries, Carney 2 goals)12Leichhardt OvalScott Gale - Balmain

Player of the Series

Golden Try

Sources
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