1919 NSWRFL season

Rugby league competition

1919 New South Wales Rugby Football League

Teams| 8
Premiers|  Balmain (4th title)
Minor premiers|  Balmain (4th title)
Matches played| 56
Points scored| 1474
Top points scorer(s)|  A McPherson (89)
Top try-scorer(s)|  Gordon Wright (17)

← 1918

1920 →

The 1919 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the twelfth season of Sydney’s professional rugby league club competition, Australia’s first. Eight teams from across the city contested during the season, with Balmain finishing on top of the ladder to claim the premiership.[1]

## Season summary[edit]

Balmain and Eastern Suburbs dominated the 14-round season, dropping just two and three games respectively. Balmain were undefeated after eight rounds but a mid-year Australian tour to New Zealand saw the black and golds lose their representative stars and their lead was lost to Eastern Suburbs for one week late in the season.

With eleven rounds played, Balmain led Eastern Suburbs by one point on the ladder but relinquished this lead by losing their round 12 match against Glebe as Eastern Suburbs beat winless Annandale 28-0\. This meant Eastern Suburbs now led by one point with two rounds to play. However, they lost the very next round 15-12 to South Sydney, who had won just four of their twelve previous matches. Meanwhile, Balmain managed to beat Newtown 18-5, giving them the one point advantage heading into the final round.

The final match of the season turned out to be the decider for the premiership, with the top two teams playing one another at the Royal Agricultural Society Ground. The winner of the match would take out the premiership, whilst a draw would give Balmain the title. At the end of the day, it was the goal kicking of Balmain's Les Wall that secured the premiership, with a 13-4 win over Eastern Suburbs. Five of Wall’s attempts hit the post that day, but four crossed the bar and won Balmain the title.[2] Members of the Balmain premiership winning side included Bob Craig and Bill Kelly.

The City Cup was won by Wests for the second consecutive season.

### Teams[edit]

The teams remained unchanged from the 1918 season

* Annandale
* Balmain, formed on January 23, 1908, at Balmain Town Hall
* Eastern Suburbs, formed on January 24, 1908, at Paddington Town Hall
* Glebe, formed on January 9, 1908
* Newtown, formed on January 14, 1908
* North Sydney, formed on February 7, 1908
* South Sydney, formed on January 17, 1908, at Redfern Town Hall
* Western Suburbs, formed on February 4, 1908

|  |  |

|
|
|

Annandale
10th season
Ground: Wentworth Park
Coach:
Captain: Walter Haddock | Balmain
12th season
Ground: Birchgrove Oval
Coach:
Captain: Bob Craig | Eastern Suburbs
12th season
Ground: Sydney Sports Ground
Coach:
Captain: Ray Norman | Glebe
12th season
Ground: Wentworth Park
Coach: Alex Burdon
Captain: Tom Leggo, Albert Burge
Newtown
12th season
Ground: Wentworth Park
Coach: Charles "Boxer" Russell
Captain: Albert "Ricketty" Johnston | North Sydney
12th season
Ground: North Sydney Oval
Captain-Coach: George Green | South Sydney
12th season
Ground: RAS Showground
Coach:
Captain: Howard Hallett | Western Suburbs
12th season
Ground: St. Luke's Oval
Coach:
Captain: Tedda Courtney

### Ladder[edit]

The geographical locations of the teams that contested the 1919 premiership across Sydney. | Team  | Pld  | W  | D  | L  | PF  | PA  | PD  | Pts

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1 |  Balmain | 14 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 277 | 109 | +168 | 23
2 |  Eastern Suburbs | 14 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 229 | 108 | +121 | 20
3 |  Western Suburbs | 14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 239 | 130 | +109 | 18
4 |  Glebe | 14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 209 | 134 | +75 | 18
5 |  Newtown | 14 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 123 | 186 | -63 | 14
6 |  South Sydney | 14 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 208 | 223 | -15 | 13
7 |  Annandale | 14 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 86 | 270 | -184 | 3
8 |  North Sydney | 14 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 103 | 314 | -211 | 3

## References[edit]

1. ^ Premiership Roll of Honour Archived 2011-05-14 at the Wayback Machine at rl1908.com
2. ^ Pollard, Jack (1965). Gregory's Guide to Rugby League. Australia: Grenville Publishing. p82.

## External links[edit]

* Rugby League Tables - Notes AFL Tables
* Rugby League Tables - Season 1919 AFL Tables
* Premiership History and Statistics RL1908
* Results: 1911-20 at rabbitohs.com.au

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