New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1943
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| New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1943 | |
 |
|
| Teams | 8 |
| Premiers |  Newtown (3rd title) |
| Minor premiers | Newtown (3rd title) |
| Matches played | 61 |
| Points scored | 1527 (average 25.033 per match) |
| Top points scorer(s) | Tom Kirk (116 points) |
| Top try scorer(s) |  C "Kelly" McMahon (12 tries) |
The 1943 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the thirty-sixth season of the rugby league competition based in Sydney. Eight teams from across Sydney contested during the season which culminated in the Grand Final between Newtown and North Sydney.
Contents |
[edit] Season summary
The season is notable for Newtown turning around their second-last placing from the previous season, becoming minor premiers and later premiers. On the other hand, defending premiers Canterbury-Bankstown had a disastrous season, finishing last and picking up the wooden spoon.
[edit] Teams
- Balmain, formed on January 23, 1908 at Balmain Town Hall
- Canterbury-Bankstown
- Eastern Suburbs, formed on January 24, 1908 at Paddington Town Hall
- Newtown, formed on January 14, 1908
- North Sydney, formed on February 7, 1908
- South Sydney, formed on January 17, 1908 at Redfern Town Hall
- St. George, formed on November 8, 1920 at Kogarah School of Arts
- Western Suburbs, formed on February 4, 1908
[edit] Colours
 Balmain |
 Canterbury |
 Eastern Suburbs |
 Newtown |
 North Sydney |
 South Sydney |
 St. George |
 Western Suburbs |
[edit] Ladder
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Newtown |
14 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 272 | 143 | +129 | 21 |
| 2 |  Balmain |
14 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 178 | 131 | +47 | 21 |
| 3 | North Sydney |
14 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 193 | 124 | +69 | 17 |
| 4 |  St. George |
14 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 185 | 188 | -3 | 17 |
| 5 |  South Sydney |
14 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 161 | 147 | +14 | 16 |
| 6 |  Eastern Suburbs |
14 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 131 | 214 | -83 | 8 |
| 7 |  Western Suburbs |
14 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 132 | 176 | -44 | 6 |
| 8 |  Canterbury-Bankstown |
14 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 115 | 244 | -129 | 6 |
[edit] Finals
For the second year running, the minor premiership was decided by a playoff and once again Balmain failed to win this important match, this time against Newtown. The following week both of these teams lost their matches to lower-ranked teams, and as a result, the victors North Sydney and St. George faced off to decide who would meet the minor premiers in the Final. North Sydney won this match which allowed them to face the side they had beaten two weeks earlier once again; this time in the Final. Here, Newtown easily won the match and claimed their third and final premiership.
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| Playoff | ||||||||
 Newtown |
11 - 10 |  Balmain |
7 August 1943 | Sydney Cricket Ground | 47,230 | |||
| Semi Finals | ||||||||
| Newtown |
16 - 21 |  North Sydney |
14 August 1943 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Jack O'Brien | 35,920 | ||
| Balmain |
5 - 12 |  St. George |
21 August 1943 | Sydney Cricket Ground | George Bishop | 27,395 | ||
| Preliminary Final | ||||||||
| North Sydney |
25 - 19 | St. George |
28 August 1943 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Jack O'Brien | 41,646 | ||
| Final | ||||||||
| Newtown |
34 - 7 | North Sydney |
4 September 1943 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Jack O'Brien | 60,922 | ||
[edit] Premiership final
| Newtown Bluebags | Position | North Sydney Bears |
|---|---|---|
| Tom Kirk | FB | Stan Ridgeway |
| Sid Goodwin | WG | Frank Collins |
| Len Smith | CE | Frank Hyde (c) |
| Norm Jacobsen | CE | Ted Rudd |
| Bruce Ryan | WG | Ray Ainsworth |
| Tom Nevin | FE | Kelly McMahon |
| Paddy Bugden | HB | J McLachlan |
| Gordon McLennan | PR | Laurie Doran |
| Jimmy Brailey | HK | Frank Facer |
| Frank Farrell (c) | PR | Harry McKinnon |
| Keith Phillips | SR | Max Whitehead |
| Herb Narvo | SR | Don McKinnon |
| Charles Cahill | LK | Gerard Scully |
| Arthur Folwell | Coach | Frank Hyde |
The Final was played at the SCG before a record crowd of 60,922, though there were thousands more on roofs and vantage points outside the ground. Because of the War all service people got in, if they were in uniform, for free.
Captained by the colourful Frank 'Bumper' Farrell, Newtown took on the fancied North Sydney side. The men from across the harbour were led by Frank Hyde and his Norths' side had shown no sympathy for his former club, having beaten Newtown three times already that season. Newtown countered the short-kicking tactics of the Bears into an advantage of their own, gaining a strong lead at half-time and going on to win 34 - 7. Stars of the day for Newtown were forward Charles Cahill along with backs Len Smith and Tom Kirk. It was the third premiership win for Newtown, and would turn out to be their last.
Newtown 34 : (Tries: Goodwin 2, Ryan, Brailey, Phillips, Narvo, Smith, Farrell. Goals: Kirk 5)
defeated
North Sydney 7 (Tries: McLachlan. Goals: Rudd 2)
[edit] References
- Rugby League Tables - Notes The World of Rugby League
- Rugby League Tables - Season 1943 The World of Rugby League
- Premiership History and Statistics RL1908
- Finals lineups and results Hunterlink site
- Unofficial North Sydney History Greg Fiveash site
