1940 NSWRFL season

1940 NSWRFL season
Teams 8
Premiers Eastern Suburbs (8th title)
Minor premiers Eastern Suburbs (9th title)
Matches played 59
Points scored 1738 (total)
29.458 (per match)
Top point scorer(s) Tom Kirk (99)
Top try scorer(s) Jack Lindwall (19)

The 1940 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the thirty-third 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 August, culminating in Eastern Suburbs' victory over Canterbury-Bankstown in the final.[1]

Contents

Season summary

For this season St. George returned to Hurstville Oval as their home ground.

Teams

Balmain Canterbury-Bankstown Eastern Suburbs Newtown
North Sydney South Sydney St. George Western Suburbs

Ladder

Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 Eastern Suburbs 14 9 1 4 250 136 +114 19
2 Newtown 14 9 0 5 261 200 +61 18
3 St. George 14 7 2 5 263 203 +60 16
4 Canterbury-Bankstown 14 8 0 6 204 195 +9 16
5 Balmain 14 7 1 6 199 162 +37 15
6 South Sydney 14 7 0 7 165 259 -94 14
7 North Sydney 14 4 0 10 156 243 -87 8
8 Western Suburbs 14 3 0 11 159 259 -100 6

Finals

In the two semi finals, minor premiers Eastern Suburbs defeated St. George whilst fourth-placed Canterbury beat second-placed Newtown. Eastern Suburbs then beat Canterbury-Bankstown in the Final to collect their eighth premiership.

Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Crowd
Semi Finals
Eastern Suburbs 10 - 3 St. George 17 August 1940 Sydney Cricket Ground Jack O'Brien 17,473
Newtown 11 - 19 Canterbury 24 August 1940 Sydney Cricket Ground Jack O'Brien 22,061
Final
Eastern Suburbs 24 - 14 Canterbury 31 August 1940 Sydney Cricket Ground Jack O'Brien 24,167

Premiership Final

Eastern Suburbs Position Canterbury-Bankstown
Doug Bartlett FB Lindsay Johnson
Rod O'Loan WG Edgar Newham
Stan Callaghan CE Merv Denton
Dick Dunn CE Bob Russell
Bill Brew WG Jack Bonnyman (c)
Fred May FE Ted Anderson
Sel Lisle HB Roy McCarter
Ray Stehr (c) PR Jim Gibbs
Noel Hollingdale HK Roy Kirkaldy
John Clarke PR Jack Reilly
Harry Pierce SR Bob Allison
Sid Pearce SR Bob Farrar
Andrew Norval LK Gordon Clunas
Dave Brown Coach Alan Brady

Led by their standard-setting captain-coach Dave Brown, the Roosters continued their strong season performance with a semi-final victory over St George to gain a Final berth.

Although Brown was ruled out on the morning of the decider with a leg injury, replacement Bill Brew slotted into the side and scored a try after backing up second rower Sid "Joe" Pearce who also scored the next try. The young Easts team who averaged 20 years of age overcame Canterbury by six tries to two.

Eastern Suburbs 24 (Tries: Pierce 2, O'Loan, Brew, Pearce, Clarke. Goals: Dunn 2 )

defeated

Canterbury-Bankstown 14 (Tries: Bonnyman, Denton. Goals: Johnson 4)


References