| 1939 NSWRFL season | |
| Teams | 8 |
| Premiers | Balmain (7th title) |
| Minor premiers | Balmain (7th title) |
| Matches played | 59 |
| Points scored | 1555 (total) 26.356 (per match) |
| Top point scorer(s) | Neville Smith (97) |
| Top try scorer(s) | Sid Goodwin (18) |
The 1939 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the thirty-second season of Sydney's top-level rugby league football club competition, Australia's first. Eight teams from across the city contested the premiership during the season, which lasted from April until September and culminated in Balmain's victory over South Sydney in the final.[1]
Contents |
This was to be the St. George club's final season at Earl Park, Arncliffe, the following season moving back to Hurstville Oval.
| Balmain | Canterbury-Bankstown | Eastern Suburbs | Newtown |
| North Sydney | South Sydney | St. George | Western Suburbs |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Balmain | 14 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 249 | 115 | +134 | 22 |
| 2 | St. George | 14 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 268 | 169 | +99 | 20 |
| 3 | Canterbury-Bankstown | 14 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 234 | 155 | +79 | 20 |
| 4 | South Sydney | 14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 219 | 158 | +61 | 18 |
| 5 | Eastern Suburbs | 14 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 192 | 184 | +8 | 16 |
| 6 | Western Suburbs | 14 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 148 | 213 | -65 | 6 |
| 7 | North Sydney | 14 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 129 | 272 | -143 | 6 |
| 8 | Newtown | 14 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 124 | 297 | -173 | 4 |
In the two semi finals, minor premiers Balmain narrowly defeated Canterbury whilst fourth-placed South Sydney beat second-placed St. George.
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| Semi Finals | ||||||||
| Balmain | 13 - 9 | Canterbury | 19 August 1939 | Sydney Cricket Ground | George Bishop | 23,774 | ||
| St. George | 10 - 23 | South Sydney | 26 August 1939 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Tom McMahon | 21,722 | ||
| Final | ||||||||
| Balmain | 33 - 4 | South Sydney | 2 September 1939 | Sydney Cricket Ground | George Bishop | 26,972 | ||
| Balmain | Position | South Sydney |
|---|---|---|
| Hec Day | FB | Ron Johnson |
| Sid Goodwin (c) | WG | Harry Thompson |
| Jack Winchester | CE | Alan Quinlivan |
| Frank Hyde | CE | Fred Felsch (c) |
| Tom Bourke | WG | Arthur Tuohey |
| Billy Bischoff | FE | Jack Kadwell |
| Jim Quealey | HB | Albert Webster |
| Dawson Buckley | PR | John Whitfield |
| George Watt | HK | George Kilham |
| Dave Manning | PR | Jack Walsh |
| Athol Smith | SR | Percy Fairall |
| William "Bunny" Johnson | SR | John Brown |
| Jack Redman | LK | Eddie Hinson |
| Bill Kelly | Coach |
The decider was played on the weekend when the world's future altered dramatically with the invasion of Poland by Germany leading to England, Australia and the world going to war.
The match was played at the Sydney Cricket Ground and refereed by George Bishop in front of 26,972. The game was tight in the first half with the Tiger's scoring one try to lead 7-2 at the break.
In the second-half Balmain ran away with it, scoring six further tries to South Sydney's nil for a crushing seventh premiership title and the Tigers' first back-to-back season victories since 1924.
Star Balmain players of the time included Sid Goodwin, Frank Hyde, Tom Bourke, Athol Smith, Billy Bischoff, George Watt and Jim Quealey.
Balmain 33 (Tries: Tom Bourke 2, Frank Hyde, J Redman, Jim Quealey, D Buckley, A Smith. Goals: H Day 5, W Johnson )
defeated
South Sydney 4 (Fred Felsch 2 goals)
|
|||||||||||