| 1954 NSWRFL season | |
| Teams | 10 |
| Premiers | South Sydney (15th title) |
| Minor premiers | Newtown (5th title) |
| Matches played | 94 |
| Points scored | 3613 (total) 38.436 (per match) |
| Top point scorer(s) | Ron Rowles (221) |
| Top try scorer(s) | Ray Preston (34) |
1954's New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the forty-seventh season of the rugby league competition based in Sydney. Ten teams from across Sydney competed for the J. J. Giltinan Shield during the season, which culminated in the first mandatory Grand Final, which was played between South Sydney and Newtown.
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During the pre-season, Queensland and Australian international representative forward, Harold "Mick" Crocker signed a then record one-year deal for an Australian to move south and play for Sydney club Parramatta.[1] 1954 marked the first season when a Grand Final was scheduled to determine the premiership winner. Prior to that the season victors were either the minor premiers or decided by a final that followed two semi-finals. A Grand Final was only played if the minor-premier was knocked out in a semi-final or final and exercised their right to challenge via a Grand Final. Since 1954 a Grand Final has been played every year to determine the premiership winner.
This season, in a New South Wales versus England match at the Sydney Cricket Ground, referee Aub Oxford watched in disbelief the players fighting around him like street-brawlers before turning his back and walking from the field. Oxford never refereed again and the match remains the only top-level game ever abandoned in rugby league history.
In 1954 South Sydney's Les Brennan set the standing record for the highest number of tries in a debut season with 29. Ray preston's 34 tries this year was second only to Dave Brown's 38 in 1935 in the tally of tries scored in a season.
| Balmain | Canterbury-Bankstown | Eastern Suburbs | Manly-Warringah |
| Newtown | North Sydney | Parramatta Capt./Coach: Charlie Gill |
South Sydney |
| St. George | Western Suburbs |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Newtown | 18 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 439 | 215 | +224 | 32 |
| 2 | South Sydney | 18 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 473 | 255 | +218 | 29 |
| 3 | St. George | 18 | 11 | 1 | 6 | 345 | 292 | +53 | 23 |
| 4 | North Sydney | 18 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 415 | 320 | +95 | 22 |
| 5 | Manly | 18 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 391 | 343 | +48 | 21 |
| 6 | Balmain | 18 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 346 | 345 | +1 | 19 |
| 7 | Western Suburbs | 18 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 287 | 374 | -87 | 13 |
| 8 | Canterbury | 18 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 233 | 465 | -232 | 8 |
| 9 | Eastern Suburbs | 18 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 257 | 493 | -236 | 7 |
| 10 | Parramatta | 18 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 282 | 366 | -84 | 6 |
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| Semi Finals | ||||||||
| St. George | 15-14 | North Sydney | 28 August 1954 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Jack O'Brien | 32,397 | ||
| Newtown | 14-24 | South Sydney | 4 September 1954 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Darcy Lawler | 38,520 | ||
| Preliminary Final | ||||||||
| Newtown | 27-13 | St. George | 11 September 1954 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Darcy Lawler | 32,303 | ||
| Grand Final | ||||||||
| South Sydney | 23-15 | Newtown | 18 September 1954 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Jack O'Brien | 45,759 | ||
| South Sydney | Position | Newtown |
|---|---|---|
| Clive Churchill | FB | Gordon Clifford |
| Ian Moir | WG | Kevin Considine |
| Martin Gallagher | CE | Dick Poole |
| Greg Hawick | CE | Brian Clay |
| Les Brennan | WG | Ray Preston |
| John Dougherty | FE | Ray Kelly |
| Ray Mason | HB | Bobby Whitton |
| Denis Donoghue | PR | Jim Evans (c) |
| Ernie Hammerton | HK | Frank Johnson |
| Jim Richards | PR | Don Stait |
| Bernie Purcell | SR | Frank Narvo |
| Jack Rayner (Ca./Co.) | SR | Henry Holloway |
| Les Cowie | LK | Peter Ryan |
| Coach | Col Geelan |
In spite of Newtown finishing as minor premiers they hadn't beaten South Sydney in either regular season encounter. Souths had also won their semi-final meeting 24-14. In this, the NSWRFL's first Grand Final scheduled to determine the premiership winner, Souths were the victors. Legendary fullback Clive Churchill was outstanding setting up three of his side's five tries. The Bluebags stayed in the contest through the kicking boot of their Test fullback Gordon "Punchy" Clifford. South Sydney 23 ( Tries: Cowie 2, Moir, Hawick, Dougherty. Goals: Purcell 4.)
Newtown 15 ( Tries: Narvo. Goals: Clifford 6.)
Following the grand final, nine players from the NSWRFL were selected in a squad of eighteen to represent Australia in the 1954 Rugby League World Cup in France.
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