New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1973
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| New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1973 | |
 |
|
| Teams | 12 |
| Premiers |  Manly-Warringah (2nd title) |
| Minor premiers | Manly-Warringah (3rd title) |
| Matches played | 139 |
| Points scored | 4234 (average 30.46 per match) |
| Attendance | 1,390,810 (average 10,006 per match) |
| Top points scorer(s) |  Graeme Langlands (183 points) |
| Top try scorer(s) | Bob Fulton (18 tries) |
The 1973 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the sixty-sixth season of the rugby league competition based in Sydney. Twelve teams from across the city contested the season, including six foundation clubs.
Contents |
[edit] Teams
 Balmain Tigers |
 Canterbury Bulldogs |
 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks |
 Eastern Suburbs Roosters |
 Manly Sea Eagles |
 Newtown Jets |
 North Sydney Bears |
 Parramatta Eels |
 Penrith Panthers |
 South Sydney Rabbitohs |
 St. George Dragons |
 Western Suburbs Magpies |
[edit] Ladder
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manly-Warringah |
22 | 17 | 1 | 4 | 500 | 226 | +274 | 35 |
| 2 |  Cronulla-Sutherland |
22 | 17 | 0 | 5 | 389 | 219 | +170 | 34 |
| 3 | St. George |
22 | 15 | 0 | 7 | 372 | 213 | +159 | 30 |
| 4 |  Newtown |
22 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 358 | 224 | +134 | 28 |
| 5 |  Canterbury-Bankstown |
22 | 12 | 1 | 9 | 369 | 269 | +100 | 25 |
| 6 |  Eastern Suburbs |
22 | 12 | 0 | 10 | 415 | 314 | +101 | 24 |
| 7 |  South Sydney |
22 | 11 | 1 | 9 | 345 | 367 | -22 | 23 |
| 8 |  North Sydney |
22 | 7 | 1 | 14 | 239 | 350 | -101 | 15 |
| 9 |  Western Suburbs |
22 | 7 | 0 | 15 | 310 | 414 | -104 | 14 |
| 10 |  Balmain |
22 | 7 | 0 | 15 | 254 | 495 | -241 | 14 |
| 11 |  Parramatta |
22 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 275 | 492 | -217 | 12 |
| 12 |  Penrith |
22 | 5 | 0 | 17 | 272 | 525 | -253 | 10 |
[edit] Finals
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| Qualifying Finals | ||||||||
 Cronulla-Sutherland |
18 - 0 |  St. George |
25 August 1973 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Keith Page | 37,778 | ||
 Newtown |
13 - 2 |  Canterbury-Bankstown |
26 August 1973 | Sydney Sports Ground | Keith Page | 17,778 | ||
| Semi Finals | ||||||||
 Manly-Warringah |
14 - 4 | Cronulla-Sutherland |
1 September 1973 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Keith Page | 41,898 | ||
| St. George |
12 - 12 | Newtown |
2 September 1973 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Keith Page | 24,390 | ||
| St. George |
5 - 8 | Newtown |
4 September 1973 | Sydney Sports Ground | Keith Page | 27,791 | ||
| Preliminary Final | ||||||||
| Cronulla-Sutherland |
20 - 11 | Newtown |
8 September 1973 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Keith Page | 30,649 | ||
| Grand Final | ||||||||
| Manly-Warringah |
10 - 7 | Cronulla-Sutherland |
15 September 1973 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Keith Page | 52,044 | ||
[edit] Grand Final
| Manly Sea Eagles | Position | Cronulla Sharks |
|---|---|---|
| Graham Eadie | FB | Warren Fisher |
| Ken Irvine | WG | Ray Corcoran |
| Ray Branighan | CE | Steve Rogers |
| Bob Fulton | CE | Eric Archer |
| M Brown | WG | Bob Wear |
| Ian Martin | FE | Chris Wellman |
| John Mayes | HB | Tommy Bishop (c) |
| Bill Hamilton | PR | Cliff Watson |
| Fred Jones (c) | HK | Ron Turner |
| John O'Neill | PR | Graham Bowen |
| Peter Peters | SR | Ken Maddison |
| Terry Randall | SR | John Maguire |
| Malcolm Reilly | LK | Greg Pierce |
| John Bucknall | Bench | Rick Bourke |
| Ron Willey | Coach | Tommy Bishop |
After Cronulla's 14-4 loss in the major semi-final, Manly expected the Sharks would be fired up for the Grand Final. And they were. Ian Heads wrote in the Sunday Telegraph the next day that It was a Grand Final as tough and dirty as any bar-room brawl[1]. Alan Clarkson wrote in the Sun Herald The fare served up in the first half belonged in the Colosseum[2]. The first half was not how the game's administrators would have wished to show-case rugby league, every tackle was loaded with menace and meant to damage. But from the melee Bob Fulton emerged and showed his unrivalled skill. Heads and Clarkson wrote of his "towering genius" and "football brilliance" respectively.
Manly's English import Malcolm Reilly himself never one to take a backward step, was the first victim of the carnage. In the opening minute a Cronulla forward set his sights on Reilly and didn't miss his target. Reilly was in agony from a badly bruised hip and left the field for pain-killers, to return for revenge. He then created mayhem but bowed out in the 25th minute and was replaced by John Bucknall.
After an all-in brawl in the first half, Referee Keith Page eventually called all 26 players in for a mass caution, advising that he would send the next infringer off.
Then Fulton took over in the 29th and 58th minutes. 'Bozo' demonstrated power and pace in both tries. The first came from a brilliant Fred Jones pass which saw Fulton split Eric Archer and Steve Rogers just 25 metres from the line. Manly took a 5-0 scoreline to the half time break.
The second Fulton try came after Eadie took a pass from five-eighth. Ian Martin then looked for Fulton and set him up perfectly.
Cronulla had to wait a long time before they dented the Manly line. It was in the 70th minute that the crack appeared. Trailing 8-2, the Sharks struck when lock Greg Pierce positioned replacement fullback Rick Bourke for a try. Eadie stretched the lead to three points from a penalty kick and then the Sharks rallied and bombarded Manly. However the Sea-Eagles defence of Johnny Mayes, Terry Randall, Peter Peters, Eadie and Fulton were up to the task.
Manly-Warringah 10 (Tries: Fulton 2. Goals: Eadie 2. )
Cronulla 7 (Tries: Bourke. Goals: Rogers )
[edit] References
- Rugby League Tables - Notes The World of Rugby League
- Rugby League Tables - Season 1973 The World of Rugby League
- Premiership History and Statistics RL1908
- Clarkson, Alan (1997) The Greatest Games We Ever Played (Essay Collection, ed Geoff Prenter) Ironbark Publishing, Sydney
