Final Standings
| P | W | L | T | Pct | |
| Bondi Raiders | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
| Fairfield Argonauts | 12 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 72 |
| Sydney Uni Lions | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 67 |
| Hills District Eagles | 12 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 58 |
| Liverpool Pirates | |||||
| North West Rebels |
Playoff Results
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | ||
| Semi-Finals | ||||
| 1989 | Bondi Raiders | 57 | Hills District Eagles | 0 |
| 1989 | Fairfield Argonauts | L | Sydney Uni Lions | W |
| Waratah Bowl V | ||||
| 1989 | Bondi Raiders | 14 | Sydney Uni Lions | 13 |
Regular Season Results
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | ||
| Week ? | ||||
| 1989 | Bondi Raiders | 16 | Hills District Eagles | 0 |
| 1989 | Fairfield Argonauts | 0 | Sydney Uni Lions | 10 |
| 1989 | Liverpool Pirates | 13 | North West Rebels | 14 |
| Week ? | ||||
| 1989 | Hills District Eagles | 0 | Bondi Raiders | 48 |
| 1989 | Sydney Uni Lions | 14 | Fairfield Argonauts | 16 |
| 1989 | North West Rebels | 13 | Liverpool Pirates | 21 |
Report
Bondi raiders won Gridiron News South Wales’ Waratah Bowl V in 1989, by a single point over Sydney Uni Lions. The Sydney Uni Lions looked like they had it in the bag with less than 90 seconds on the clock, but a series of errors deep in their own territory cost them the game.
The Lions had to start from their own seven yard line after receiving a punt, and then QB Eric Carrier was sacked on his own four yard line. On third down they went for a long pass which was sensationally intercepted by Free Safety Joe Desmid, giving the Raiders a last shot.
Back-Up QB for the Raiders, James Hayes, hit sent a 36-yard pass to flanker Harry Pavlidia, and then a draw play gained them another seven yards to the Lions’ eight yard line. Again QB Hayes found his man, Harry Pavlidia, who slipped into the endzone. Powers kicked the extra point which proved to be the difference between the teams, but it was the strange decision to go long earlier which cost the Lions.
The first quarter had been scoreless, and in the second Lions QB Carrier found Tom Boardman for a 75 yard TD reception. Another long punt by Powers had the Lions on their 3 yard line, and on a QB sneak Roy Herman stripped the Lions QB of the ball giving them possession on the 5 yard line. With 30 seconds to go in the half Rookie Brett Mason scored on a counter play, and with the kick good, both teams were level on 7-7 at the half.
In the third quarter there was no scoring, but in the fourth the Lions QB pitched out to John Kirby in the backfield on a third-and-nine. Carrier then swung out left and Kirby sent him the ball back and in he went for the score. The Raiders were stunned, but managed to regain composure and block the score. This set the scene for the crazy scenes at the end of the game. [Ref: 7]
References
Newspapers
[1] Rowe, Peter (1989) “Australia” World American Football. 27 September 1989.
[2] Rowe, Peter (1989) “Australia” World American Football. 4 October 1989.
[3] Rowe, Peter (1989) “Australia” World American Football. 11 October 1989.
[4] Rowe, Peter (1989) “Australia” World American Football. 18 October 1989.
[5] Rowe, Peter (1989) “Australia” World American Football. 19 October 1989.
[6] Rowe, Peter (1989) “Australia” World American Football. 26 October 1989.
[7] Rowe, Peter (1989) “Australia” World American Football. 2 November 1989.
Images
[8] Gridiron NSW (2019) 3sfrxmxvpeb7htaj [Internet] Available from: https://cdn.revolutionise.com.au/logos/3sfrxmxvpeb7htaj.png [Accessed 3 July 2020]
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Michael O’Callaghan and Alan Delaney.
About this document
Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the
Eirball | Irish North American & World Sports Archive
Last Updated: 3 July 2020
(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and Eirball 2020