| 1959 NSWRFL season | |
| Teams | 10 |
| Premiers | St. George (6th title) |
| Minor premiers | St. George (6th title) |
| Matches played | 94 |
| Points scored | 3107 (total) 33.053 (per match) |
| Attendance | 896,911 (total) 9,542 (per match) |
| Top try scorer(s) | Ken Irvine (19) |
1959's New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the fifty-second season of the rugby league competition based in Sydney. Ten teams from across the city competed for the J. J. Giltinan Shield during the season, which culminated in a grand final between St. George and Manly-Warringah.
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The St. George team went through the 1959 season undefeated[1] - a feat achieved by only five teams prior to 1959 but by none since. The club won 19 of their 20 matches and had a draw against Balmain. In this time they were able to score more than 40 points on six occasions. After eighteen premiership rounds St. George had scored an average of over 30 points per match and conceded an average of 10 points.
Future Immortals Reg Gasnier and Johnny Raper both debuted for St. George in first grade in 1959 and both made the Australian side, aged just 19. Seven St. George players made that year's Kangaroo Tour.
The 1959 season also saw the retirement from the League of future Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame inductee, Harry Bath.
| Balmain | Canterbury-Bankstown | Eastern Suburbs | Manly-Warringah |
| Newtown | North Sydney | Parramatta | South Sydney |
| St. George | Western Suburbs |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. George | 18 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 550 | 190 | +360 | 35 |
| 2 | Western Suburbs | 18 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 405 | 273 | +132 | 27 |
| 3 | Manly | 18 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 283 | 239 | +44 | 22 |
| 4 | Newtown | 18 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 254 | 296 | -42 | 20 |
| 5 | North Sydney | 18 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 371 | 282 | +89 | 18 |
| 6 | South Sydney | 18 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 257 | 276 | -19 | 18 |
| 7 | Balmain | 18 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 308 | 336 | -28 | 13 |
| 8 | Eastern Suburbs | 18 | 6 | 0 | 12 | 211 | 314 | -103 | 12 |
| 9 | Canterbury | 18 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 194 | 378 | -184 | 11 |
| 10 | Parramatta | 18 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 150 | 399 | -249 | 4 |
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| Semi Finals | ||||||||
| Manly-Warringah | 17–0 | Newtown | 25 July 1959 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Darcy Lawler | 8,967 | ||
| St. George | 35–25 | Western Suburbs | 1 August 1959 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Darcy Lawler | 42,347 | ||
| Preliminary Final | ||||||||
| Western Suburbs | 13–14 | Manly-Warringah | 8 August 1959 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Darcy Lawler | 28,385 | ||
| Grand Final | ||||||||
| St. George | 20–0[2] | Manly-Warringah | 15 August 1959 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Darcy Lawler | 49,457 | ||
| St. George | Position | Manly-Warringah |
|---|---|---|
| Brian Graham | FB | Ron Willey (c) |
| Eddie Lumsden | WG | Len Wadling |
| Johnny Raper | CE | Kevin Mosman |
| Geoff Weekes | CE | William Lloyd |
| Brian Messiter | WG | George Hugo |
| Brian Clay | FE | Alf Madden |
| Bob Bugden | HB | Peter Burke |
| Harry Bath | PR | Roy Bull |
| Ken Kearney (Ca./Co.) | HK | George Lenon |
| Billy Wilson | PR | Bill Delamare |
| Monty Porter | SR | Peter Diversi |
| Norm Provan | SR | Rex Mossop |
| Peter Provan | LK | Jim Peebles |
| Coach | Ken Arthurson |
In the lead up to the Grand Final, rumours were circulating that Manly-Warringah's Rex Mossop was carrying a broken cheekbone. From the kick off, Saints' forwards took turns at testing Mossop's injury with Harry Bath giving him particular attention. For most of the match the Manly forward copped a hammering until in frustration, Mossop retaliated by standing on Bath's head. A brawl broke out between the two and the referee Lawler sent both off.
In the meantime, St. George's forwards were steamrolling Manly-Warringah and the red and white backs were cutting loose. Winger Eddie Lumsden had a magnificent match, scoring a hat trick of tries. Lumsden beat Ron Willey cold for his first try and then was on the end of later backline passing bursts for two more.
As the Manly-Warringah pack tired in the second half, experienced St. George second rower Norm Provan began to easily break their defence out wide, linking with his backs and being rewarded himself with a try. Reserve grade centre Geoff Weekes had been promoted when Gasnier and Johnny Riley were both injured in the major semi final. He scored a try as did St. George's steady and safe custodian Brian Graham.
St. George outclassed Manly-Warringah 20–0 in a ruthless display of speed and strength. The match was future Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame inductee Harry Bath's last game.
St. George 20 (Tries: Lumsden 3, Graham, Weekes, N Provan. Goals: Bath 1.)
Manly-Warringah 0
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