A 1980 State of Origin pioneer who had already scored 114 points in 14 Tests for Australia, Meninga was coming off a BRL grand final triumph when he signed with Canberra. Souths Magpies, coached by Wayne Bennett (who would join Meninga at the Raiders in 1987), stunned a Wynnum Manly Seagulls side headlined by Wally Lewis, Gene Miles and Greg Dowling in the 1985 decider.
Souths teammate Gary Belcher, fellow BRL tyros and future internationals Steve Walters and Gary Coyne, and Test winger John Ferguson, were also part of the Raiders’ aggressive recruitment drive for 1986.
Speculation abounded that Meninga would step straight into the captaincy at his new club, but Raiders coach Don Furner opted for back-row workhorse Dean Lance for the role.
“[Meninga] simply wants to concentrate on his own game feels he can give more value to the team that way,” Furner told Big League in the lead-up to the season opener against Manly.
Emboldened by his high-profile acquisitions, foundation mentor Furner also outlined his side’s ambitions.
“The days of us being a nuisance side are over. We are looking at the semi-finals and nothing less will be acceptable.”
Ironically, Meninga did lead the Raiders out onto Brookvale Oval on club debut with Lance a late scratching. The visitors were outclassed 20-12 by a Sea Eagles outfit boasting six Australian representatives.
While fullback Belcher – who would make his Origin and Test debuts in 1986 – shone brightly in a beaten side, Meninga made a comparatively tentative start to life in the Sydney competition.
“Meninga will improve as he settles in with his new teammates,” Furner soothed post-match.
Elsewhere in Round 1, both 1985 grand finalists were humbled by hungry young teams setting the tone for a big year ahead.
Mascot juniors Ian Roberts and Brad Webb were superb on first-grade debut as South Sydney pummelled St George 22-4 at Redfern Oval.
“Souths are overdue to produce some outstanding talent, and Webb and Roberts could be the start of the revival,” Rabbitohs coach George Piggins raved to Big League.
“They gave the fans something to cheer about. Not since the days of Bobby McCarthy, Ron Coote, Eric Simms and Paul Sait had Souths produced such outstanding talent.”
Balmain enforcer Steve Roach tore apart the two-time premiership-winning Canterbury pack in an 18-12 thriller at Leichhardt Oval.
Battling Wests were unable to parlay an emotional tribute to their former cult hero prop John Donnelly into a victory over Penrith. The Magpies went into the match without a player in the number 11 jersey to recognise ‘Dallas’, who tragically drowned in Byron Bay only two weeks earlier, aged just 31.
The Panthers prevailed 26-18 at Lidcombe Oval with halves Greg Alexander and Greg Clemens combining for three tries.
Canberra ultimately finished a disappointing 11th in 1986 with just eight wins, but a maiden finals berth and grand final appearance were only another year away with the co-coaching team of Bennett and Furner moulding a squad brimming with talent into a genuine force.
