1997 World Club Championship

1997 World Club Challenge

Tournament details
Dates	6 June-11 October
Teams	22
Final positions
Champions	Brisbane Broncos (2nd title)
Runners-up	Hunter Mariners
← 1994 2000 →

The 1997 World Club Championship was an expansion of the World Club Challenge concept by Super League. The rugby competition was restructured to include all 22 clubs from the Australasian Super League and the Super League championships and was known as the Visa World Club Championship due to sponsorship. As it was contested over 6 rounds in 2 hemispheres, with A$1,000,000 prize money (GBP 640,000), the competition was prohibitively expensive to stage. ^{[citation needed]} This coupled with the poor ratings and attendances that were achieved both in Australia and Europe reportedly resulted in a loss over $5,000,000, and the World Club Challenge was not staged again for a number of years. No British teams progressed further than the quarter-finals, with two Australian teams reaching the final (played at the Ericsson Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand): the dominant Brisbane Broncos club and the ill-fated Hunter Mariners.^[1]

1997 tournament tables

The Australasian and European teams were each divided into two pools for the 1997 World Club Challenge. Each pool had six teams, with the exception of Australasia B, which had the two lowest placed Super League-aligned teams and the two newly formed teams: the Hunter Mariners and the Adelaide Rams. The finals series was contested between the top three teams in Australasia Pool A and Europe Pool A, and the top team from Australasia Pool B and Europe Pool B.

Australian Super League

Pool A

Club	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	For	Against	Diff.	Points
Brisbane Broncos	6	6	0	0	270	52	218	12
Auckland Warriors	6	6	0	0	268	82	186	12
Cronulla Sharks	6	6	0	0	230	54	176	12
Penrith Panthers	6	6	0	0	256	120	136	12
Canberra Raiders	6	5	1	0	302	108	194	10
Canterbury Bulldogs	6	4	2	0	218	121	97	8

Pool B

Club	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	For	Against	Diff.	Points
Hunter Mariners	6	6	0	0	226	50	176	12
North Queensland Cowboys	6	5	1	0	228	92	136	10
Adelaide Rams	6	4	2	0	170	68	102	8
Perth Reds	6	4	2	0	148	104	44	8

Super League

Pool A

Club	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	For	Against	Diff.	Points
Wigan Warriors	6	2	4	0	89	212	-123	4
London Broncos	6	1	5	0	136	238	-102	2
Bradford Bulls	6	0	6	0	82	228	-146	0
St Helens	6	0	6	0	96	270	-174	0
Warrington Wolves	6	0	6	0	78	256	-178	0
Halifax Blue Sox	6	0	6	0	56	340	-284	0

Pool B

Club	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	Bye	For	Against	Diff.	Points
Paris Saint-Germain	4	1	3	0	2	48	90	-42	2
Leeds Rhinos	4	1	3	0	2	64	138	-74	2
Oldham Bears	4	1	3	0	2	52	130	-78	2
Salford City Reds	4	1	3	0	2	44	130	-86	2
Sheffield Eagles	4	1	3	0	2	54	168	-114	2
Castleford Tigers	4	0	4	0	2	52	116	-64	0

Matches

Round 1

6 June 1997
Brisbane Broncos	42 – 22	London Broncos	ANZ Stadium, Brisbane	Attendance: 18,193
St. Helens	14 – 42	Auckland Warriors	Knowsley Road, St. Helens	Attendance: 8,911
7 June 1997
North Queensland Cowboys	42 – 20	Leeds Rhinos	Stockland Stadium, Townsville	Attendance: 14,561
8 June 1997
Adelaide Rams	50 – 8	Salford City Reds	Adelaide Oval, Adelaide	Attendance: 11,346
Canberra Raiders	70 – 6	Halifax Blue Sox	Bruce Stadium, Canberra	Attendance: 7,780
Paris St-Germain	12 – 28	Hunter Mariners	Charlety Stadium, Paris	Attendance: 3,500
Castleford Tigers	16 – 24	Perth Reds	Wheldon Road, Castleford	Attendance: 3,590
Warrington Wolves	12 - 40	Cronulla Sharks	Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington	Attendance: 3,378
9 June 1997
Canterbury Bulldogs	18 – 22	Wigan Warriors	Belmore Sports Ground, Sydney	Attendance: 10,680
Bradford Bulls	16 – 20	Penrith Panthers	Odsal Stadium, Bradford	Attendance: 14,378

Round 2

13 June 1997
Adelaide Rams	34 – 8	Leeds Rhinos	Adelaide Oval, Adelaide	Attendance: 14,630
Castleford Tigers	12 – 42	Hunter Mariners	Wheldon Road, Castleford	Attendance: 3,087
14 June 1997
North Queensland Cowboys	54 – 16	Oldham Bears	Stockland Stadium, Townsville	Attendance: 12,631
Bradford Bulls	16 – 20	Auckland Warriors	Odsal Stadium, Bradford	Attendance: 13,133
15 June 1997
Canterbury Bulldogs	58 – 6	Halifax Blue Sox	Belmore Sports Ground, Sydney	Attendance: 5,034
Canberra Raiders	66 – 20	London Broncos	Bruce Stadium, Canberra	Attendance: 6,471
Sheffield Eagles	26 – 22	Perth Reds	Don Valley Stadium, Sheffield	Attendance: 3,000
Warrington Wolves	22 – 52	Penrith Panthers	Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington	Attendance: 3,850
16 June 1997
Brisbane Broncos	34 – 0	Wigan Warriors	ANZ Stadium, Brisbane	Attendance: 14,833
St Helens	8 - 48	Cronulla Sharks	Knowsley Road, St Helens	Attendance:8,039

Round 3

20 June 1997
Adelaide Rams	42 – 14	Oldham Bears	Adelaide Rams, Adelaide	Attendance: 13,852
Bradford Bulls	10 – 30	Cronulla Sharks	Odsal Stadium, Bradford	Attendance: 10,756
21 June 1997
North Queensland Cowboys	44 – 8	Salford City Reds	Stockland Stadium, Townsville	Attendance: 15,508
Paris St-Germain	24 – 0	Perth Reds	Charlety Stadium, Paris	Attendance: 2,500
22 June 1997
Brisbane Broncos	76 – 0	Halifax Blue Sox	ANZ Stadium, Brisbane	Attendance: 11,358
Canberra Raiders	56 – 22	Wigan Warriors	Bruce Stadium, Canberra	Attendance: 9,098
Canterbury Bulldogs	34 – 18	London Broncos	Belmore Sports Ground, Sydney	Attendance: 4,000
23 June 1997
Warrington Wolves	28 – 56	Auckland Warriors	Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington	Attendance: 4,428
Sheffield Eagles	4 – 40	Hunter Mariners	Don Valley Stadium, Sheffield	Attendance: 2,500

Round 4

18 July 1997
Penrith Panthers	48 – 12	Warrington Wolves	Penrith Football Stadium, Penrith	Attendance: 5,642
Leeds Rhinos	22 – 14	Adelaide Rams	Headingley Rugby Stadium, Leeds	Attendance: 11,269
Oldham Bears	20 – 16	North Queensland Cowboys	Boundary Park, Oldham	Attendance: 2,961
19 July 1997
Perth Reds	48 – 12	Sheffield Eagles	WACA Ground, Perth	Attendance: 7,429
20 July 1997
Auckland Warriors	64 – 14	Bradford Bulls	Ericsson Stadium, Auckland	Attendance: 13,000
Hunter Mariners	26 – 8	Castleford Tigers	Topper Stadium, Newcastle	Attendance: 3,379
Halifax Blue Sox	22 – 40	Canterbury Bulldogs	Thrum Hall, Halifax	Attendance: 3,500
Wigan Warriors	4 – 30	Brisbane Broncos	Central Park, Wigan	Attendance: 12,816
21 July 1997
Cronulla Sharks	28 – 12	St. Helens	Shark Park, Sydney	Attendance: 7,751
London Broncos	38 – 18	Canberra Raiders	The Stoop, London	Attendance: 7,819

Round 5

25 July 1997
Auckland Warriors	70 – 6	St. Helens	Ericsson Stadium, Auckland	Attendance: 8,500
Oldham Bears	2 – 18	Adelaide Rams	Boundary Park, Oldham	Attendance: 3,315
26 July 1997
Cronulla Sharks	44 – 0	Warrington Wolves	Shark Park, Sydney	Attendance: 6,112
27 July 1997
Hunter Mariners	32 – 0	Paris St-Germain	Topper Stadium, Newcastle	Attendance: 2,210
Perth Reds	24 – 14	Castleford Tigers	WACA Ground, Perth	Attendance: 6,114
London Broncos	16 – 34	Brisbane Broncos	The Stoop, London	Attendance: 9,846
Salford City Reds	14 – 24	North Queensland Cowboys	The Willows, Salford	Attendance: 7,448
Halifax Blue Sox	12 – 42	Canberra Raiders	Thrum Hall, Halifax	Attendance: 3,620
28 July 1997
Penrith Panthers	54 – 14	Bradford Bulls	Penrith Football Stadium, Penrith	Attendance: 5,332
Wigan Warriors	31 – 24	Canterbury Bulldogs	Central Park, Wigan	Attendance: 10,280

Round 6

1 August 1997
Perth Reds	18 – 8	Paris St-Germain	WACA Ground, Perth	Attendance: 5,160
London Broncos	22 – 44	Canterbury Bulldogs	The Stoop, London	Attendance: 6,923
2 August 1997
Cronulla Sharks	40 – 12	Bradford Bulls	Shark Park, Sydney	Attendance: 8,272
3 August 1997
Auckland Warriors	16 – 4	Warrington Wolves	Lancaster Park, Christchurch	Attendance: 6,500
Hunter Mariners	58 – 12	Sheffield Eagles	Topper Stadium, Newcastle	Attendance: 1,965
Leeds Rhinos	14 – 48	North Queensland Cowboys	Headingley Rugby Stadium, Leeds	Attendance: 12,224
Salford City Reds	14 – 12	Adelaide Rams	The Willows, Salford	Attendance: 6,995
Wigan Warriors	10 – 50	Canberra Raiders	Central Park, Wigan	Attendance: 12,504
4 August 1997
Penrith Panthers	32 – 26	St. Helens	Penrith Football Stadium, Penrith	Attendance: 5,000
Halifax Blue Sox	10 – 54	Brisbane Broncos	Thrum Hall, Halifax	Attendance: 3,255

Playoffs

20 August 1997
St. Helens	42 – 4	Paris St-Germain	Knowsley Road, St. Helens	Attendance: -

Quarter-finals

3 October 1997
Auckland Warriors	62 – 14	Bradford Bulls	Ericsson Stadium, Auckland	Attendance: 9,553
Wigan Warriors	18 – 22	Hunter Mariners	Central Park, Wigan	Attendance: 9,553
4 October 1997
Brisbane Broncos	66 – 12	St. Helens	ANZ Stadium, Brisbane	Attendance: 6,438
6 October 1997
London Broncos	16 – 40	Cronulla Sharks	The Stoop, London	Attendance: 6,239

Semi-finals

10 October 1997
Brisbane Broncos	22 – 16	Auckland Warriors	ANZ Stadium, Brisbane	Attendance: 9,686
11 October 1997
Cronulla Sharks	18 – 22	Hunter Mariners	Shark Park, Sydney	Attendance: 5,214

Final

In their only year of existence, this would be the only Final that the Hunter Mariners would appear in.

1997 (1997) World Club Championship final  ()
Mount Smart Stadium hosted the match
Brisbane Broncos Hunter Mariners (SL ) (SL ) 36 12
1 2 Total BRI 26 10 36 HUN 4 8 12
Date	18 October 1997
Stadium	Mount Smart Stadium
Location	Auckland, New Zealand
Referee	Graham Annesley
Attendance	10,300
Broadcast partners
Broadcasters	Fox Sports Sky Sports
Commentators	Eddie Hemmings Mike Stephenson
World Club Challenge ← 1994 2000 →

Teams

Brisbane Broncos

Hunter Mariners

FB 1 Darren Lockyer RW 18 Michael De Vere RC 13 Darren Smith LC 4 Steve Renouf LW 5 Wendell Sailor FE 6 Kevin Walters HB 7 Allan Langer (c) PR 21 Shane Webcke HK 9 John Plath PR 23 Andrew Gee SR 11 Gorden Tallis SR 10 Brad Thorn LK 12 Peter Ryan Substitutions: IC 14 Ben Walker IC 2 Michael Hancock IC 15 Tonie Carroll IC 33 Phillip Lee Coach: Wayne Bennett

FB 1 Robbie Ross RW 3 Nick Zisti LC 6 Brad Godden RC 4 Kevin Iro LW 5 John Carlaw FE 21 Scott Hill HB 20 Brett Kimmorley PR 31 Anthony Brann HK 9 Robbie McCormack (c) PR 14 Troy Stone SR 16 Darrien Doherty SR 12 Paul Marquet LK 55 Tyran Smith Substitutions: IC 2 Keith Beauchamp IC 10 Tim Maddison IC 11 Tony Iro IC 18 Richard Swain Coach: Graham Murray

Match details

Aftermath

The dominance of the Australasian sides in the competition led to the Rugby Football League appointing Joe Lydon to head a commission to provide an explanation.^[3] The general conclusion was that the Australian sides were no more skillful than the European teams, the main difference as it had been in international football since the late 1970s, was fitness, something that they were working on by the time of the season ending Super League Test series between the Super League Australians and the Great Britain Lions in England in November.

See also

• World Club Challenge
• Super League (Australia) season 1997
• Super League II
• Brisbane Broncos 1997

References

External links

• "Global show hits Knowsley Road" - article by Dave Hadfield at The Independent (London), June 6, 1997
• 1997 World Club Challenge at hunterlink.net.au
• "World Club Championship Final – Broncos' early burst" – article by Dave Hadfield at The Independent (London), Oct 18, 1997
• 1997 World Club Challenge at superleague.co.uk