1997 Adelaide Rams season

The 1997 Adelaide Rams season was the Adelaide Rams' debut season as a rugby league club. They competed in the Super League's Telstra Cup and World Club Championship.

1997 Adelaide Rams season
Team information
CoachRod Reddy
Captain
StadiumAdelaide Oval
1998 >

The club had appointed St. George Dragons international back rower Rod Reddy to be their inaugural coach, along with two-time NSWRL premiership-winning Hooker Kerrod Walters from the Brisbane Broncos to be the first captain of the team. Most of the junior players were drawn from the SARL's lower grade competitions in the region.[1]

First match

The club played its first premiership match against the North Queensland Cowboys on 1 March 1997 and, after leading 16–4 at half time, eventually lost 24–16.

This game was the first to be played of the new Super League competition.

Saturday, 1 March 1997
North Queensland Cowboys 24 – 16 Adelaide Rams
Tries:
Steve Walters (2)
Luke Phillips
Tyran Smith
Goals:
Luke Phillips (4/5)		 [2] Tries:
Brett Galea
Kerrod Walters

Goals:
Kurt Wrigley (4/4)
Stockland Stadium, Townsville
Attendance: 17,738
Referee: Brian Grant
North Queensland
Adelaide Rams
FB22Scott Mahon
RW28Luke Phillips
RC30Ben Tabuai
LC1Kyle Warren
LW34Ray Mercy
FE6Andrew Dunemann
HB7Jason Ferris
PR8John Lomax
HK49Steve Walters
PR10Martin Locke
SR11Tyran Smith
SR31Ian Roberts (c)
LK13Owen Cunningham
Substitutions:
IC9Jason Death
IC21Peter Jones
IC16Ian Dunemann
IC17Dion Cope
Coach:
Tim Sheens
FB3Michael Maguire
RW22Wayne Simonds
RC25Solomon Kiri
LC–Elias Paiyo
LW44Joe Tamani
FE33Kurt Wrigley
HB7Stuart Topper
PR11Andrew Hick
HK27Kerrod Walters (c)
PR–Marty McKenzie
SR13Dave Boughton
SR12Brett Galea
LF10Cameron Blair
Substitutions:
IC36Kevin Campion
IC6Chris Quinn
IC9Steve Stone
IC–Bruce Mamando
Coach:
Rod Reddy

Results

Their first home match, against the Hunter Mariners, was also the Rams' first win, and drew their record home attendance of 27,435 to the Adelaide Oval, one of only two home wins for the season. The Rams also won four away games with their first being in Round 4 against the Auckland Warriors at the Ericsson Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand, but their overall record of 6 wins, 11 losses and 1 draw placed them second last on the Super League premiership ladder, one win ahead of North Queensland.[1]

The Rams first home game attendance of 27,435 was the 4th highest attendance of the entire 1997 season, behind only the Grand Final at the ANZ Stadium in Brisbane (58,912), the opening game of the season in Brisbane (42,361) and a Round 6 match at the Stockland Stadium in Townsville (30,122). The Rams average home attendance of 15,330 was also the 4th best in the league behind Brisbane (19,298), North Queensland (17,539) and Auckland (15,442).

Adelaide Rams 1997 Super League season results[3]
RoundHomeScorelineAwayDateVenueCrowd
1North Queensland Cowboys24 - 16Adelaide Rams1 MarchDairy Farmers Stadium17,738
2Brisbane Broncos28 - 12Adelaide Rams9 MarchANZ Stadium16,279
3Adelaide Rams10 - 8Hunter Mariners14 MarchAdelaide Oval27,435
4Auckland Warriors12 - 16Adelaide Rams21 MarchEricsson Stadium13,000
5Adelaide Rams16 - 18Perth Reds27 MarchAdelaide Oval16,294
6Canterbury Bulldogs34 - 22Adelaide Rams6 AprilBelmore Sports Ground7,234
7Adelaide Rams10 - 20Brisbane Broncos13 AprilAdelaide Oval17,633
8Cronulla Sharks18 - 29Adelaide Rams19 AprilShark Park10,112
9Penrith Panthers16 - 22Adelaide Rams27 AprilPenrith Football Stadium5,815
10Adelaide Rams14 - 14North Queensland Cowboys2 MayAdelaide Oval15,970
11Adelaide Rams22 - 42Canterbury Bulldogs23 MayAdelaide Oval15,022
12Adelaide Rams18 - 34Canberra Raiders1 JuneAdelaide Oval13,894
13Perth Reds4 - 28Adelaide Rams29 JuneW.A.C.A7,204
14Hunter Mariners10 - 2Adelaide Rams5 JulyTopper Stadium2,345
15Adelaide Rams8 - 18Auckland Warriors11 JulyAdelaide Oval13,278
16Adelaide Rams6 - 28Cronulla Sharks8 AugustAdelaide Oval7,231
17Canberra Raiders58 - 16Adelaide Rams17 AugustCanberra Stadium7,960
18Adelaide Rams36 - 16Penrith Panthers22 AugustAdelaide Oval11,211

Telstra Cup
Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 Brisbane 181413481283+19829
2 Cronulla-Sutherland 181206403230+17324
3 Canberra 181107436337+9922
4 Canterbury 181008453447+620
5 Penrith 18909431462-3118
6 Hunter 187011350363-1314
7 Auckland 187011332406-7414
8 Perth 187011321456-13514
9 Adelaide Rams 186111303402-9913
10 North Queensland 185211328452-12412

Ladder progression
  • Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top 5.
  • Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished first on the ladder in that round.
  • Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished in last place on the ladder in that round
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
1 Brisbane 24681012141416181919192123252729
2 Cronulla-Sutherland 2466688810101214161618202224
3 Canberra 000022468101214141616182022
4 Canterbury 22444681010121414161618202020
5 Penrith 2468810101212121214161616161818
6 Hunter 0002224666810121414141414
7 Auckland 0222466666666810101214
8 Perth 022466888101012121212141414
9 Adelaide 002444468999111111111113
10 North Queensland 22224444678881012121212

World Club Championship

The Rams were placed in Australasia Pool B along with the Hunter Mariners, North Queensland Cowboys and Perth Reds and would be matched up against teams from Europe Pool B including the Leeds Rhinos, Oldham Bears and Salford City Reds. The competition would see the Rams play three games at home and three in England.[1][4]

The Rams won their three home games rather easily, but only managed to win one of their games in England leaving them in third place in their pool. As only one team from Australasia Pool B would go on to the Quarter finals, this meant that the Adelaide Rams did not advance past the group stage of the tournament.

Adelaide Rams 1997 World Club Championship results[5]
RoundHomeScorelineAwayDateVenueCrowd
1Adelaide Rams50 - 16Salford City Reds8 JuneAdelaide Oval11,009
2Adelaide Rams34 - 8Leeds Rhinos13 JuneAdelaide Oval14,360
3Adelaide Rams42 - 14Oldham Bears20 JuneAdelaide Oval13,852
4Leeds Rhinos22 - 14Adelaide Rams18 JulyHeadingley11,269
5Oldham Bears2 - 18Adelaide Rams25 JulyBoundary Park3,513
6Salford City Reds14 - 12Adelaide Rams6 AprilThe Willows6,995

Pool B
ClubPlayedWonLostDrawnForAgainstDiff.Points
Hunter Mariners66002265017612
North Queensland Cowboys65102289213610
Adelaide Rams6420170681028
Perth Reds6420148104448

Players
See also: List of Adelaide Rams players

Excluding World Club Challenge matches, Goal kicking utility back Kurt Wrigley was the Rams top point scorer for the season with 81 points from 5 tries, 30 goals and 1 field goal. Wrigley and fullback Rod Maybon were the team's top try scorers with 5 each.

Under Super League's rules, players were free to choose their own numbers which they would use throughout the season rather than wearing the traditional 1 through 13.

Player No.NamePos.DebutAppTGFGPts
3Michael MaguireFullback, Wing1 March 199771004
22Wayne SimondsWing1 March 199715†60024
25Solomon KiriCentre1 March 199713†50020
–Elias PaiyoCentre1 March 199760000
44Joe TamaniWing1 March 19971540016
33Kurt WrigleyFive-eighth, Centre1 March 199718†636197
–Stuart TopperHalfback1 March 199761004
11Andrew HickProp, Second-row1 March 199717†1004
49Kerrod Walters (c)Hooker1 March 19971940016
–Marty McKenzieProp1 March 199751004
13Dave BoughtonSecond-row, Lock1 March 1997161004
12Brett GaleaSecond-row1 March 199714†30012
10Cameron BlairSecond-row, Lock1 March 19971840016
36Kevin CampionProp, Second-row, Lock1 March 1997151004
6Chris QuinnCentre, Fullback1 March 199719†40016
9Steve StoneHalfback, Hooker1 March 199717†80032
–Bruce MamandoProp, Second-row1 March 19971650020
1Rod MaybonFullback9 March 199716†90036
50Andrew PierceSecond-row, Lock9 March 1997131004
21Dean SchifillitiHooker, Five-eighth, Halfback9 March 199717†1004
30Mark CorvoProp14 March 1997180000
51Luke WilliamsonCentre, Five-eighth21 March 199715†5490118
8Alan CannProp27 March 1997130000
29Danny GrimleyCentre19 April 19978†2008
5Jason DonnellyWing27 April 199770000
52David KidwellCentre17 August 199720000
53Adam PeekProp22 August 199710000

†Full team list not available for WCC matches against Oldham on 20 June 1997 or 25 July 1997, or against Leeds on 18 July 1997 or Salford on 3 August 1997 but this player scored in one or more of these matches and so is awarded an appearance for that match.

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References
  1. Whiticker, Alan & Collis, Ian (2004). The History of Rugby League Clubs. New Holland Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd. ISBN 1-74110-075-5.
  2. 1997 SL - North Queensland vs Adelaide
  3. "Rugby League Tables / All Games / Adelaide". Retrieved 2009-04-20.
  4. Fagan, Sean. "Rugby League History – RL1908.com – Adelaide Rams". RL1908. Archived from the original on 2008-04-10. Retrieved 2008-04-15.
  5. 1997 World Club Championship at Rugby League Project
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