South Queensland Crushers


The South Queensland Crushers were an Australian rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. In 1992 it was decided that the team would be admitted into the New South Wales Rugby League competition, along with three other teams, as part of the League's expansion plans for professional rugby league in Australia. The competition was re-branded the Australia Rugby League competition in 1995, which was the Crushers' first season.
The Crushers, whose whole existence was against the backdrop of the Super League war, were an unsuccessful club. They had to compete for support with the other Brisbane-based club, the Brisbane Broncos, who were already well-established. The Crushers only competed in the three seasons of the Australian Rugby League's premiership, winning the wooden spoon twice for being last in the competition. Despite the wealth of star players the Crushers managed to attract, they were financially unsustainable and competitively unsuccessful, which ultimately led to their demise at the end of 1997.

History

Formation

The New South Wales Rugby League competition had begun in 1908 as a rugby league competition in the Sydney region of Australia. For the next eighty years, the league would only feature clubs in the New South Wales region. But in 1988, the NSWRL admitted two Queensland based teams, one from Brisbane and the other from Gold Coast. The Brisbane club was the first NSWRL club to be privately owned and by 1992 had won their first premiership. On 30 November 1992, the NSWRL formally admitted a second Brisbane-based team into the competition, along with three others, from Townsville, Perth and New Zealand. The newly established Brisbane team was to be known as the South Queensland Crushers, and would enter the 1995 NSWRL competition, which had been renamed the Australian Rugby League competition.
In September 1993, the Crushers chose Bill Gardner as the coach for the team, but after a poor off-season, he was replaced by former Australian international Bob Lindner. Darryl van der Velde, an experienced rugby league coach from England, was the club's inaugural chief executive. The club had chosen Lang Park as their home ground which had been abandoned by the Brisbane Broncos in favour of QE II Stadium in 1992.
The Crushers were able to sign Queensland representative players Trevor Gillmeister, Mark Hohn and Dale Shearer, as well as three rugby union players including Garrick Morgan who had represented Australia in the fifteen-man code. The Crushers had attempted to lure former Australian international captain Mal Meninga from retirement for one more season, but failed. By the beginning of the 1995 competition, the Crushers had also signed North Sydney forward Mario Fenech, who the club named as their captain. The club's major sponsor was XXXX with Qantas announced as the sleeve sponsor.

1995 season - The first season

The Crushers' first match was against the previous season's premiers, Canberra which they lost along with their next three before winning their first match 16-12 against North Sydney in Round five. Trevor Gillmeister had the honour of scoring the Crusher's first ever try. An injury to Dale Shearer and the difficulties for Garrick Morgan to adapt to rugby league saw the Crushers fail to utilise much of its attacking potential. Captain Fenech was dropped to the interchange bench and lost the captaincy which was passed on to Gillmeister. The season’s end was dampened after coach Lindner and Fenech feuded, resulting in Fenech being released from the final year of his contract.
In the 1995 season, the club had only won six and drew another in the twenty-two games played. In 1995, News Limited, a mass media company, began deliberating a rival rugby league competition, the Super League, and with the rival Broncos a key part of the plans for Super League, the Crushers remained loyal to the ARL competition. The Crushers believed that they would survive and be able to compete on their own. The ARL supported this despite the disappointing results of their first season because of the high home ground crowds, with supporters averaging over 21,000 a season.
RoundHomeScoreAwayDateVenueCrowd
1South Queensland Crushers6–24Canberra Raiders11 March 1995Lang Park21,102
2Parramatta Eels26–2South Queensland Crushers18 March 1995Parramatta Stadium8,080
3Penrith Panthers34–12South Queensland Crushers26 March 1995Penrith Stadium8,024
4Brisbane Broncos32–0South Queensland Crushers31 March 1995QE II49,607
5South Queensland Crushers16–12North Sydney Bears9 April 1995Lang Park19,233
6Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles38–10South Queensland Crushers16 April 1995Brookvale Oval10,616
7South Queensland Crushers24–24Illawarra Steelers23 April 1995Lang Park16,253
8South Queensland Crushers33–14Parramatta Eels30 April 1995Lang Park19,421
9Sydney City Roosters17–6South Queensland Crushers7 May 1995Sydney Football Stadium5,556
10South Queensland Crushers28–18Newcastle Knights21 May 1995Lang Park21,072
11South Queensland Crushers4–20Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks4 June 1995Lang Park22,258
12Sydney Tigers16–12South Queensland Crushers17 June 1995Parramatta Stadium3,225
13South Queensland Crushers28–8Penrith Panthers25 June 1995Lang Park19,753
14Western Suburbs Magpies38–14South Queensland Crushers1 July 1995Campbelltown Stadium4,707
15South Queensland Crushers20–24South Sydney Rabbitohs9 July 1995Lang Park19,288
16Gold Coast Seagulls8–14South Queensland Crushers15 July 1995Seagulls Stadium6,731
17South Queensland Crushers10–22Auckland Warriors23 July 1995Lang Park28,928
18Western Reds22–14South Queensland Crushers28 July 1995WACA9,103
19South Queensland Crushers22–6North Queensland Cowboys6 August 1995Lang Park17,105
20St. George Dragons16–6South Queensland Crushers13 August 1995Kogarah Oval9,091
21South Queensland Crushers18–25Sydney Bulldogs20 August 1995Lang Park26,904
22Canberra Raiders58–4South Queensland Crushers27 August 1995Bruce Stadium19,107

1996 season - The second season

The club had bought five players from the Sydney Roosters to help them improve from their inaugural season, and Queensland representative Tony Hearn also joined the club for the 1996 season. The opening round of the 1996 season the club gathered two points because of Canberra’s forfeit but the club only recorded three more wins in the entire season gathering six points on the competition ladder and took the wooden spoon for being last on the ladder. The Crushers won the second round clash against Parramatta before losing ten in a row. The Crushers then won two in a row before plummeting to lose their last eight matches.
Despite a record crowd that watched the Crushers take on the Brisbane Broncos of 34,263, the Crushers home ground support only averaged over 13,000 each game. The diminishing crowd numbers and player payments meant the club was on the brink of bankruptcy. The ARL and a mystery supporter bailed the club out with over half a million dollars in financial relief. With first-grade rugby league divided between two competitions, it would be hard for the Crushers to recoup lost money in establishing the club as it ploughed further into debt.
A glimmer of hope for the club came when the Crushers won the Under 21's premiership, defeating the Parramatta Eels in the Under 21's Grand Final. This was to be the only premiership for the Crushers.
RoundHomeScoreAwayDateVenueCrowd
1Canberra RaidersforfeitSouth Queensland Crushers
2South Queensland Crushers24–20Parramatta Eels29 March 1996Lang Park12,704
3South Queensland Crushers4–22Penrith Panthers7 April 1996Lang Park11,694
4South Queensland Crushers8–28Brisbane Broncos12 April 1996Lang Park34,263
5North Sydney Bears18–4South Queensland Crushers21 April 1996North Sydney Oval7,871
6South Queensland Crushers6–14Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles28 April 1996Lang Park15,202
7Illawarra Steelers18–14South Queensland Crushers5 May 1996Wollongong Stadium4,883
8Parramatta Eels14–4South Queensland Crushers11 May 1996Parramatta Stadium9,621
9South Queensland Crushers12–38Sydney City Roosters25 May 1996Lang Park10,107
10Newcastle Knights22–6South Queensland Crushers9 June 1996Marathon Stadium17,559
11Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks28–4South Queensland Crushers15 June 1996Shark Park7,071
12South Queensland Crushers2–12Sydney Tigers22 June 1996Lang Park10,166
13Penrith Panthers16–20South Queensland Crushers30 June 1996Penrith Stadium4,215
14South Queensland Crushers24–22Western Suburbs Magpies7 July 1996Lang Park8,961
15South Sydney Rabbitohs48–16South Queensland Crushers14 July 1996Redfern Oval3,107
16South Queensland Crushers4–52Gold Coast Chargers21 July 1996Lang Park8,776
17Auckland Warriors16–12South Queensland Crushers28 July 1996Mt Smart Stadium17,000
18South Queensland Crushers16–18Western Reds4 August 1996Lang Park7,789
19North Queensland Cowboys11–6South Queensland Crushers9 August 1996Stockland Stadium24,989
20South Queensland Crushers8–26St. George Dragons18 August 1996Lang Park9,567
21Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs17–16South Queensland Crushers25 August 1996Belmore Oval5,025
22South Queensland Crushers10–36Canberra Raiders1 September 1996Lang Park13,945

1997 season - The third and final season

The 1997 season was not much better for the Crushers, again taking the wooden spoon for the second year running. Major sponsor XXXX was replaced as the major sponsor by AVJennings. The club only won four games of the twenty-two match season. The 1997 season for the Crushers saw their home game attendances dwindle to an average of 7,000 and even with free days, which allowed supporters to come to the games free of charge, the club didn’t gather support as it had in its inaugural season. The Crushers did however win their final match of the season convincingly 39-18 over the Western Suburbs Magpies and along with the North Sydney Bears and Newtown Jets, the South Queensland Crushers remain one of the few defunct clubs to have won their final game.
RoundHomeScoreAwayDateVenueCrowd
1Sydney City Roosters34–10South Queensland Crushers9 March 1997Sydney Football Stadium8,475
2South Queensland Crushers23–6Parramatta Eels16 March 1997Lang Park9,523
3Newcastle Knights44–0South Queensland Crushers23 March 1997Marathon Stadium15,114
4South Queensland Crushers16–36Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles29 March 1997Lang Park9,147
5Illawarra Steelers14–6South Queensland Crushers6 April 1997WIN Stadium6,144
6South Queensland Crushers14–22Gold Coast Chargers13 April 1997Lang Park5,290
7South Sydney Rabbitohs24–20South Queensland Crushers20 April 1997Sydney Football Stadium4,353
8South Queensland Crushers16–18Balmain Tigers25 April 1997Lang Park5,998
9St. George Dragons32–22South Queensland Crushers4 May 1997Kogarah Oval5,003
10South Queensland Crushers22–36North Sydney Bears10 May 1997Lang Park5,447
11Western Suburbs Magpies32–12South Queensland Crushers18 May 1997Campbelltown Stadium5,732
12South Queensland Crushers28–14Sydney City Roosters23 May 1997Lang Park5,518
13Parramatta Eels52–10South Queensland Crushers8 June 1997Parramatta Stadium10,009
14South Queensland Crushers6–24Newcastle Knights28 June 1997Lang Park4,769
15Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles46–12South Queensland Crushers6 July 1997Brookvale Oval5,055
16South Queensland Crushers8–34Illawarra Steelers19 July 1997Lang Park2,364
17Gold Coast Chargers40–18South Queensland Crushers27 July 1997Carrara Stadium8,392
18South Queensland Crushers17–16South Sydney Rabbitohs3 August 1997Lang Park3,545
19Balmain Tigers32–14South Queensland Crushers10 August 1997Leichhardt Oval5,101
20South Queensland Crushers0–14St. George Dragons17 August 1997Lang Park13,845
21North Sydney Bears42–8South Queensland Crushers24 August 1997North Sydney Oval7,308
22South Queensland Crushers39–18Western Suburbs Magpies31 August 1997Lang Park11,588

Demise

With the unification of the Australian Rugby League and Super League competitions following the 1997 season, the new National Rugby League competition was formed. This meant that three of the twenty-two teams participating in 1997 would be axed as part of the rationalisation process aimed at reducing teams to an optimal number. With the introduction of the Melbourne Storm and the fact that the agreement between the Australian Rugby League and Super League was to have a fourteen-team competition in 2000, the future for the Crushers was inevitably demise.
In late 1997, the club's only option of survival was to merge, with the most likely contender the Gold Coast Chargers, who like the Crushers, were struggling to be able to compete in the competition with the hugely successful Brisbane Broncos being the dominant team in south-east Queensland. However, the National Rugby League approved the Gold Coast team for the 1998 season, and they went alone into the re-unified competition. The South Queensland Crushers were liquidated in December 1997 with debts totalling over A$3 million.

Season Summaries

Notable players

Over their three-year presence in the, the club managed to produce one Australian international player, Trevor Gillmeister.
Other notable players include Mario Fenech, Nigel Gaffey, Mark Hohn, John Jones, Tony Kemp, Phillip Lee, Danny Nutley, Mark Protheroe, and Dale Shearer, and Kurt Wrigley. Players who went on to be successful with other clubs include Clinton Schifcofske, Mark Tookey, Scott Sattler, Travis Norton, Chris McKenna, St John Ellis, Steele Retchless and Danny Nutley.

Records

Club records from 1995-1997.

Premierships

Biggest Losses

Most games for club

2 matches, 30 June - 7 July 1996.

Longest Losing Streak

10 matches, 7 April - 22 June 1996.

Largest Attendance (home)

34,263 vs Brisbane Broncos, Round 4, 1996

Smallest Attendance (home)

2,364 vs Illawarra Steelers, Round 16, 1997

Largest Attendance (away)

49,607 vs Brisbane Broncos at ANZ Stadium, Round 4, 1995

Smallest Attendance (away)

3,107 vs South Sydney Rabbitohs at Redfern Oval, Round 15, 1996