1954 NSWRFL season
| 1954 New South Wales Rugby Football League | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 10 |
| Premiers |
 South Sydney (15th title) |
| Minor premiers |
 Newtown (5th title) |
| Matches played | 94 |
| Points scored |
3613 (total) 38.436 (per match) |
| Top point scorer(s) |
 Ron Rowles (221) |
| Top try scorer(s) |
Ray Preston (34) |
1954's New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the forty-seventh season of the rugby league competition based in Sydney. Ten teams from across Sydney competed for the J. J. Giltinan Shield during the season, which culminated in the first mandatory Grand Final, which was played between South Sydney and Newtown.
Season summary
During the pre-season, Queensland and Australian international representative forward, Harold "Mick" Crocker signed a then record one-year deal for an Australian to move south and play for Sydney club Parramatta.[1] 1954 marked the first season when a Grand Final was scheduled to determine the premiership winner. Prior to that the season victors were either the minor premiers or decided by a final that followed two semi-finals. A Grand Final was only played if the minor-premier was knocked out in a semi-final or final and exercised their right to challenge via a Grand Final. Since 1954 a Grand Final has been played every year to determine the premiership winner.
This season, in a New South Wales versus England match at the Sydney Cricket Ground, referee Aub Oxford watched in disbelief the players fighting around him like street-brawlers before turning his back and walking from the field. Oxford never refereed again and the match remains the only top-level game ever abandoned in rugby league history.
In 1954 South Sydney's Les Brennan set the standing record for the highest number of tries in a debut season with 29. Ray preston's 34 tries this year was second only to Dave Brown's 38 in 1935 in the tally of tries scored in a season.
Teams
 47th season Ground: Leichhardt Oval Coach: Norm Robinson Captain: Jack Fifield |
 20th season Ground: Belmore Sports Ground Coach: Jack Hampstead Captain: Leo Trevena |
Eastern Suburbs 47th season Ground: Sydney Sports Ground Captain-Coach: Ferris Ashton |
Manly-Warringah 8th season Ground: Brookvale Oval Coach: Ray Norman Captain: Roy Bull |
 47th season Ground: Henson Park Coach : Col Geelan Captain: Col Geelan, Jim Evans |
 47th season Ground: North Sydney Oval Coach: Rex Harrison Captain: Bob Sullivan |
Parramatta 8th Season Ground: Cumberland Oval Captain-Coach: Charlie Gill |
South Sydney 47th season Ground: Redfern Oval Captain-coach: Jack Rayner |
| St. George 34th season Ground: Jubilee Oval Captain-Coach: Ken Kearney |
Western Suburbs 47th season Ground: Pratten Park Captain-Coach: Keith Holman |
Ladder
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Newtown |
18 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 439 | 215 | +224 | 32 |
| 2 | South Sydney |
18 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 473 | 255 | +218 | 29 |
| 3 |  St. George |
18 | 11 | 1 | 6 | 345 | 292 | +53 | 23 |
| 4 |  North Sydney |
18 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 415 | 320 | +95 | 22 |
| 5 | Manly |
18 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 391 | 343 | +48 | 21 |
| 6 |  Balmain |
18 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 346 | 345 | +1 | 19 |
| 7 |  Western Suburbs |
18 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 287 | 374 | -87 | 13 |
| 8 |  Canterbury |
18 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 233 | 465 | -232 | 8 |
| 9 |  Eastern Suburbs |
18 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 257 | 493 | -236 | 7 |
| 10 |  Parramatta |
18 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 282 | 366 | -84 | 6 |
Finals
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| Semi Finals | ||||||||
| St. George |
15-14 | North Sydney |
28 August 1954 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Jack O'Brien | 32,397 | ||
| Newtown |
14-24 | South Sydney |
4 September 1954 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Darcy Lawler | 38,520 | ||
| Preliminary Final | ||||||||
| Newtown |
27-13 | St. George |
11 September 1954 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Darcy Lawler | 32,303 | ||
| Grand Final | ||||||||
| South Sydney |
23-15 | Newtown |
18 September 1954 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Jack O'Brien | 45,759 | ||
Grand Final
| South Sydney | Position | Newtown |
|---|---|---|
| Clive Churchill | FB | Gordon Clifford |
| Ian Moir | WG | Kevin Considine |
| Martin Gallagher | CE | Dick Poole |
| Greg Hawick | CE | Brian Clay |
| Les Brennan | WG | Ray Preston |
| John Dougherty | FE | Ray Kelly |
| Ray Mason | HB | Bobby Whitton |
| Denis Donoghue | PR | Jim Evans (c) |
| Ernie Hammerton | HK | Frank Johnson |
| Jim Richards | PR | Don Stait |
| Bernie Purcell | SR | Frank Narvo |
| Jack Rayner (Ca./Co.) | SR | Henry Holloway |
| Les Cowie | LK | Peter Ryan |
| Coach | Col Geelan | |
In spite of Newtown finishing as minor premiers they hadn't beaten South Sydney in either regular season encounter. Souths had also won their semi-final meeting 24-14. In this, the NSWRFL's first Grand Final scheduled to determine the premiership winner, Souths were the victors. Legendary fullback Clive Churchill was outstanding setting up three of his side's five tries. The Bluebags stayed in the contest through the kicking boot of their Test fullback Gordon "Punchy" Clifford.
South Sydney 23 ( Tries: Cowie 2, Moir, Hawick, Dougherty. Goals: Purcell 4.)
Newtown 15 ( Tries: Narvo. Goals: Clifford 6.)
Post-season
Following the grand final, nine players from the NSWRFL were selected in a squad of eighteen to represent Australia in the 1954 Rugby League World Cup in France.
References
- ↑ "Crocker will play here" 20 January 1954 The Sydney Morning Herald
External links
- Rugby League Tables - Season 1954 The World of Rugby League
- Whiticker, Alan & Collis, Ian (2006) The History of Rugby League Clubs, New Holland, Sydney
- Results: 1951-60 at rabbitohs.com.au
- 1954 J J Giltinan Shield at rleague.com
- NSWRFL season 1954 at rugbyleagueproject.com
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