1948 NSWRFL season
| 1948 New South Wales Rugby Football League | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 10 |
| Premiers |
 Western Suburbs (3rd title) |
| Minor premiers |
Western Suburbs (2nd title) |
| Matches played | 94 |
| Points scored |
2829 (total) 30.096 (per match) |
| Top point scorer(s) |
 Jack Lindwall (101) |
| Top try scorer(s) |
 Norm Jacobson (27) |
The 1948 NSWRFL season was the 41st New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership season, Sydney's top-level rugby league football competition, and Australia's first. The teams remained unchanged from the previous season, with ten clubs from across the city contesting the premiership during the season which culminated in Western Suburbs' victory over Balmain in the grand final.[1]
Season summary
When Balmain's young stars of 1946-47 Pat Devery and Harry Bath left for big money offers in England it seemed doubtful that the Tigers would be able to continue their run of success. However Balmain gave themselves every chance to achieve their third title in a row and made it through to the Grand Final match up against Wests.
Teams
- Balmain, formed on January 23, 1908 at Balmain Town Hall
- Canterbury-Bankstown
- Eastern Suburbs, formed on January 24, 1908 at Paddington Town Hall
- Manly-Warringah
- Newtown, formed on January 14, 1908
- North Sydney, formed on February 7, 1908
- Parramatta, formed in November 1946
- South Sydney, formed on January 17, 1908 at Redfern Town Hall
- St. George, formed on November 8, 1920 at Kogarah School of Arts
- Western Suburbs, formed on February 4, 1908
 41st season Ground: Leichhardt Oval Coach: Athol Smith Captain: Tom Bourke |
 14th season Ground: Belmore Sports Ground Coach: Arthur Halloway Captain: Henry Porter |
Eastern Suburbs 41st season Ground: Belmore Oval Coach: Percy Williams Captain: Wally O'Connell |
Manly-Warringah 2nd season Ground: Brookvale Oval Coach: Ray Stehr Captain: Ron O'Connell |
 41st season Ground: Erskineville Oval Captain-Coach: Frank Farrell |
 41st season Ground: North Sydney Oval Coach: Cliff Pearce Captain: Frank Cottle |
Parramatta 2nd season Ground: Cumberland Oval Captain-coach: Vic Hey |
South Sydney 41st season Ground: Redfern Oval Coach: Dave Watson Captain: Jack Rayner |
| St. George 28th season Ground: Hurstville Oval Coach: Jim Duckworth Captain: Matt McCoy |
Western Suburbs 41st season Ground: Pratten Park Coach: Jeff Smith Captain: Jack Walsh |
Ladder
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Western Suburbs |
18 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 322 | 189 | +133 | 32 |
| 2 | Newtown |
18 | 13 | 0 | 5 | 386 | 248 | +138 | 26 |
| 3 |  Balmain |
18 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 287 | 222 | +65 | 26 |
| 4 | St. George |
18 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 332 | 262 | +70 | 21 |
| 5 |  Canterbury-Bankstown |
18 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 282 | 276 | +6 | 16 |
| 6 |  Eastern Suburbs |
18 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 225 | 248 | -23 | 16 |
| 7 |  South Sydney |
18 | 7 | 1 | 10 | 265 | 302 | -37 | 15 |
| 8 |  Parramatta |
18 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 237 | 346 | -109 | 11 |
| 9 |  Manly-Warringah |
18 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 221 | 334 | -113 | 9 |
| 10 |  North Sydney |
18 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 191 | 321 | -130 | 8 |
Finals
In Balmain's preliminary final match up with St George, Balmain winger Arthur Patton refused to leave the field whilst injured as the Tigers held on to win 13-12. At game's end it was found that he had a broken leg.
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| Semi Finals | ||||||||
| Western Suburbs |
7 - 8 | Balmain |
28 August 1948 | Sydney Cricket Ground | George Bishop | 25,907 | ||
| Newtown |
8 - 20 | St. George |
4 September 1948 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Jack O'Brien | 31,310 | ||
| Preliminary Final | ||||||||
| Balmain |
13 - 12 | St. George |
11 September 1948 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Jack O'Brien | 37,404 | ||
| Grand Final | ||||||||
| Western Suburbs |
8 - 5 | Balmain |
18 September 1948[2] | Sydney Sports Ground | George Bishop | 29,122 | ||
Grand Final
| Western Suburbs | Posit. | Balmain |
|---|---|---|
| William Keato | FB | Dave Parkinson |
| Col Hudson | WG | Leo Nosworthy |
| Eric Bennett | CE | George Williams |
| Lindsay Rodda | CE | Tom Bourke (c) |
| John Lackey | WG | Mitchell Wallace |
| Frank Stanmore | FE | William Sneddon |
| Neville Hogan | HB | Des Bryan |
| William Horder | PR | Jim Thomson |
| William Brown | HK | Robert Crane |
| Jack Walsh (c) | PR | Jack Spencer |
| Kevin Hansen | SR | Sid Ryan |
| Don Milton | SR | Pat Madden |
| Peter McLean | LK | Jack Hampstead |
| Jeff Smith | Coach | Athol Smith |
After rainy conditions the grand final was played on a soft Sydney Sports Ground surface.[3] The Tigers led the game until the final quarter when a 40 metre run by Wests' second rower Kevin Hansen saw him tackled right on the try line. The referee awarded the try and Wests held an 8-5 break until full-time to record their third premiership win.
Western Suburbs Magpies 8 (Tries: Hudson, Hansen. Goals: Keato)
defeated
Balmain Tigers 5 (Tries: Bourke. Goals: Bourke)
References
- ↑ Premiership Roll of Honour at rl1908.com
- ↑ 1948 Grand Final at nrlstats.com
- ↑ "League grand final on soft field". The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia). 1948-09-18. p. 7. Retrieved 2009-11-20.
- Rugby League Tables - Notes The World of Rugby League
- Rugby League Tables - Season 1948 The World of Rugby League
- Premiership History and Statistics RL1908
- Finals lineups and results Hunterlink site
- Results: 1941-1950 at rabbitohs.com.au
- 1948 Labor Daily Cup at rleague.com
- NSWRFL season 1948 at rugbyleagueproject.com
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