1957 NSWRFL season
| 1957 New South Wales Rugby Football League | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 10 |
| Premiers |
 St. George (4th title) |
| Minor premiers |
St. George (4th title) |
| Matches played | 94 |
| Points scored |
3103 (total) 33.011 (per match) |
| Attendance |
1,089,273 (total) 11,588 (per match) |
| Top point scorer(s) |
 Darcy Russell (169) |
| Top try scorer(s) |
Tommy Ryan (26) |
1957's New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the 50th 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.
Season summary
Teams
Balmain Ground: Leichhardt Oval Coach: Sid Ryan Captain: Brian Staunton |
Canterbury-Bankstown season |
Eastern Suburbs 50th season Ground: Sydney Sports Ground Coach: Dave Brown Captain: Tony Paskins |
Manly-Warringah 11th season Ground: Brookvale Oval Coach: Ken Arthurson Captain: George Hunter |
Newtown Ground: Henson Park Captain-Coach: Dick Poole |
North Sydney Ground: North Sydney Oval Coach: Trevor Allan Captain: Ken McCaffery, Bob Dawson |
Parramatta 11th season Ground: Cumberland Oval Captain-Coach: Ken Slattery |
South Sydney 50th season Ground: Redfern Oval Coach: Jack Rayner Captain: Clive Churchill |
| St. George 37th season Ground: Kogarah Oval Captain-coach: Ken Kearney |
Western Suburbs 50th season Ground: Pratten Park Coach: Jack Walsh Captain: Keith Holman |
Ladder
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. George |
18 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 417 | 232 | +185 | 30 |
| 2 |  Manly |
18 | 11 | 1 | 6 | 282 | 209 | +73 | 23 |
| 3 |  South Sydney |
18 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 354 | 314 | +40 | 22 |
| 4 | Western Suburbs |
18 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 358 | 251 | +107 | 21 |
| 5 |  North Sydney |
18 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 292 | 278 | +14 | 19 |
| 6 |  Balmain |
18 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 352 | 281 | +71 | 18 |
| 7 |  Newtown |
18 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 267 | 228 | +39 | 18 |
| 8 |  Eastern Suburbs |
18 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 277 | 347 | -70 | 18 |
| 9 |  Canterbury |
18 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 182 | 339 | -157 | 7 |
| 10 |  Parramatta |
18 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 189 | 491 | -302 | 4 |
Finals
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| Semi Finals | ||||||||
| South Sydney |
26-13 | Western Suburbs |
31 August 1957 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Darcy Lawler | 46,957 | ||
| St. George |
21-7 | Manly-Warringah |
7 September 1957 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Darcy Lawler | 39,845 | ||
| Preliminary Final | ||||||||
| Manly-Warringah |
15-11 | South Sydney |
14 September 1957 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Darcy Lawler | 39,065 | ||
| Grand Final | ||||||||
| St. George |
31-9 | Manly-Warringah |
21 September 1957 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Darcy Lawler | 54,399 | ||
Grand Final
| St George | Position | Manly-Warringah |
|---|---|---|
| Brian Graham | FB | Ron Willey |
| Tommy Ryan | WG | Ray Ritchie |
| Ray Smith | CE | Ray Quinnell |
| Jack Fifield | CE | Bill Lloyd |
| Eddie Lumsden | WG | George Hugo |
| Peter Carroll | FE | Kevin Diett |
| Bob Bugden | HB | Peter Burke |
| Kevin Brown | PR | Roy Bull |
| Ken Kearney (Ca./Co.) | HK | George Lenon |
| Bryan Orrock | PR | Denis Meaney |
| Harry Bath | SR | Doug Daley |
| Norm Provan | SR | Rex Mossop |
| Brian Clay | LK | George Hunter (c) |
| Coach | Ken Arthurson | |
Under 27 year-old coach Ken Arthurson, Manly were playing in their second grand final. The match began with Saints pounding the (then called) 'Seagulls' with some heavy tackling. Brian Clay in particular targeted Manly's Rex Mossop, often trapping the dual international forward with the ball. 'Poppa' Clay had a fearsome reputation in defence and at one point he knocked the Manly captain George Hunter senseless.
Manly were up to the task in the first half with the score locked at 4-all for 30 minutes. Straight after half time, the flood gates opened following a magnificent run up the centre by second-row forward Norm Provan. He palmed off Manly defenders, ran deep into their territory, high stepped past fullback Ron Willey and slipped the ball to Poppa Clay who scored under the posts.
A second Dragons try followed within three minutes and the game began to slip away from the Manly side. The Larry Writer reference quotes Manly coach Arthurson: "The sheer physical strength of the St. George team is in itself a formidable thing to overcome. Our fellows tried everything, but St. George had so much more to give. Those big fellows are so clever."[1]
Harry Bath kicked eight goals from eight attempts establishing a standing record for the most goals in a grand final and the most number of points scored in a grand final (16). His fellow ball playing forward and tactician Ken Kearney had returned for this, the first of five successful seasons as coach (four as captain-coach).
St. George 31 (Tries: Clay 2, Ryan, Fifield, Lumsden. Goals: Bath 8.)
Manly 9 (Tries: Burke. Goals: Willey 3.)
References
- Rugby League Tables - Season 1957 The World of Rugby League
- Writer, Larry (1995) Never Before, Never Again, Pan MacMillan, Sydney
Sources and footnotes
- ↑ Never Before, Never Again p 39
- Results:1951-60 at rabbitohs.com.au
- 1957 J J Giltinan Shield at rleague.com
- NSWRFL season 1957 at rugbyleagueproject.com
- 1957 Final at Dragons History site
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