| 1974 NSWRFL season | |
| Teams | 12 |
| Premiers | Eastern Suburbs (10th title) |
| Minor premiers | Eastern Suburbs (13th title) |
| Matches played | 138 |
| Points scored | 4382 (total) 31.754 (per match) |
| Attendance | 1,278,823 (total) 9,267 (per match) |
| Top point scorer(s) | Graham Eadie (216) |
| Top try scorer(s) | Kevin Junee (23) Bill Mullins (23) |
The 1974 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the sixty-seventh season of Sydney's professional rugby league football competition, Australia's first. Twelve teams, including six of 1908's foundation clubs and another six from across Sydney, competed for the J. J. Giltinan Shield during the season, which culminated in a grand final match for the WD & HO Wills Cup between the Eastern Suburbs and Canterbury-Bankstown clubs. This season NSWRFL teams also competed for the inaugural Amco Cup.
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This season the NSWRFL made the financial commitment to bring suburban football grounds up to a higher standard in order to take more games to the fans on a home-and-away basis.[1]
Twenty-two regular season rounds were played from March until August, resulting in a top five of Eastern Suburbs, Manly-Warringah, Canterbury-Bankstown, Western Suburbs and Souths who battled it out in the finals.
The 1974 Rothmans Medal was awarded to Manly-Warringah's fullback Graham Eadie. Rugby League Week awarded their player of the year award to Eastern Suburbs' forward Arthur Beetson.
| Balmain | Canterbury-Bankstown | Cronulla-Sutherland | Eastern Suburbs |
| Manly-Warringah | Newtown Jets | North Sydney | Parramatta Coach: Dave Bolton |
| Penrith | South Sydney | St. George | Western Suburbs |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eastern Suburbs | 22 | 19 | 0 | 3 | 513 | 198 | +315 | 38 |
| 2 | Manly-Warringah | 22 | 15 | 0 | 7 | 526 | 316 | +210 | 30 |
| 3 | Canterbury-Bankstown | 22 | 13 | 0 | 9 | 364 | 308 | +56 | 26 |
| 4 | Western Suburbs | 22 | 12 | 1 | 9 | 402 | 305 | +97 | 25 |
| 5 | South Sydney | 22 | 12 | 1 | 9 | 317 | 327 | -10 | 25 |
| 6 | North Sydney | 22 | 11 | 2 | 9 | 297 | 272 | +25 | 24 |
| 7 | Newtown Jets | 22 | 9 | 2 | 11 | 278 | 261 | +17 | 20 |
| 8 | St. George | 22 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 331 | 363 | -32 | 20 |
| 9 | Penrith | 22 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 353 | 465 | -112 | 18 |
| 10 | Cronulla-Sutherland | 22 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 314 | 437 | -123 | 18 |
| 11 | Parramatta | 22 | 5 | 0 | 17 | 237 | 454 | -217 | 10 |
| 12 | Balmain | 22 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 255 | 481 | -226 | 10 |
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| Qualifying Finals | ||||||||
| Manly-Warringah | 14 - 20 | Canterbury-Bankstown | 31 August 1974 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Keith Page | 23,600 | ||
| Western Suburbs | 24 - 8 | South Sydney | 1 September 1974 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Laurie Bruyeres | 26,276 | ||
| Semi Finals | ||||||||
| Eastern Suburbs | 17 - 19 | Canterbury-Bankstown | 7 September 1974 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Keith Page | 31,432 | ||
| Manly-Warringah | 20 - 23 | Western Suburbs | 8 September 1974 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Laurie Bruyeres | 40,050 | ||
| Preliminary Final | ||||||||
| Eastern Suburbs | 25 - 2 | Western Suburbs | 14 September 1974 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Laurie Bruyeres | 43,072 | ||
| Grand Final | ||||||||
| Canterbury-Bankstown | 4 - 19 | Eastern Suburbs | 21 September 1974 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Laurie Bruyeres | 57,214 | ||
| Canterbury-Bankstown | Position | Eastern Suburbs |
|---|---|---|
| Gary Dowling | FB | Russell Fairfax |
| Chris Anderson | WG | Jim Porter |
| Stan Cutler | CE | John Brass |
| Peter Winchester | CE | Mark Harris |
| Terry Murphy | WG | Bill Mullins |
| Mark Hughes | FE | John Peard |
| Don Moseley | HB | Johnny Mayes |
| Brian Lockwood | PR | Ian McKay |
| George Peponis | HK | Elwyn Walters |
| Bill Noonan | PR | Ken Jones |
| Geoff Connell | SR | Arthur Beetson (c) |
| John McDonell (c) | SR | Barry "Bunny" Reilly |
| John Peek | LK | Ron Coote |
| Henry Tatana | Reserve | Harry Cameron |
| Reserve | Greg Bandiera | |
| Malcolm Clift | Coach | Jack Gibson |
Master coach Jack Gibson's first title - and the Roosters' first for twenty-nine years - was won by one of the most talented club teams in the Australian game's history. In rugby union convert Russell Fairfax and giant wingers Mark Harris and Bill Mullins, Easts had three attacking players who dominated Canterbury with their brilliance.
Eastern Suburbs 19 (Tries: Beetson. Mullins, Harris. Goals: Peard 3, Brass 2.)
defeated
Canterbury-Bankstown 4 (Goals: Cutler 2.)
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