1927 NSWRFL season

Rugby league competition

1927 New South Wales Rugby Football League

Teams| 9
Premiers|  South Sydney[1] (7th title)
Minor premiers|  South Sydney (7th title)
Matches played| 75
Points scored| 2183
Top points scorer(s)|  Alf Blair (94)
Top try-scorer(s)|  Benny Wearing (19)

← 1926

1928 →

The 1927 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the twentieth season of Sydney's top-level rugby league club competition, Australia's first. Nine teams from across the city contested during the season, which culminated in South Sydney's victory over St. George in the premiership final.

## Season summary[edit]

The 1927 season saw a new record for length of a player's suspension. Balmain's Bill Maizey was suspended for twelve months for punching Easts player George Clamback. The season was also the last as a player in the NSWRFL for future Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame inductee, Frank Burge, who had returned as captain-coach of St. George after three seasons out of the NSWRFL.

### Teams[edit]

* Balmain, formed on 23 January 1908 at Balmain Town Hall
* Eastern Suburbs, formed on 24 January 1908 at Paddington Town Hall
* Glebe, formed on 9 January 1908
* Newtown, formed on 14 January 1908
* North Sydney, formed on 7 February 1908
* 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
* University, formed in 1919 at Sydney University

|  |

|
|

Balmain
20th season
Ground: Birchgrove Oval
Coach: Alf Fraser
Captain: Norm Robinson | Eastern Suburbs
20th season
Ground: RAS Showground
Coach:
Captain: Arthur Oxford | Glebe
20th season
Ground: Wentworth Park
Captain: Tom McGrath
Newtown
20th season
Ground: Marrickville Oval
Coach: Albert "Ricketty" Johnston
Captain(s): Charles Kell, Tom Ellis | North Sydney
20th season
Ground: North Sydney Oval
Coach:
Captain: Leo O'Connor | St. George
7th season
Ground: Earl Park
Captain-Coach: Frank Burge
South Sydney
20th season
Ground: Sydney Cricket Ground
Captain-coach: Alf Blair | University
8th season
Coach:
Captain: Frank O'Rourke, Sammy Ogg | Western Suburbs
20th season
Ground: Pratten Park
Coach: Clarrie Prentice
Captain: Frank McMillan

### Ladder[edit]

The geographical locations of the teams that contested the 1927 premiership across Sydney. | Team  | Pld  | W  | D  | L  | B  | PF  | PA  | PD  | Pts

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1 |  South Sydney | 16 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 402 | 162 | +240 | 32
2 |  St. George | 16 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 284 | 141 | +143 | 29
3 |  Western Suburbs | 16 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 222 | 182 | +40 | 22
4 |  Eastern Suburbs | 16 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 215 | 216 | -1 | 22
5 |  Newtown | 16 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 189 | 259 | -70 | 20
6 |  North Sydney | 16 | 6 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 174 | 256 | -82 | 17
7 |  Balmain | 16 | 5 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 210 | 238 | -28 | 16
8 |  Glebe | 16 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 176 | 297 | -121 | 12
9 |  Sydney University | 16 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 199 | 320 | -121 | 10

## Finals[edit]

All four finalists had been decided before the end of the final round and by coincidence faced each other in the penultimate round. 1926 wooden spooners St. George had a massive turnaround in 1927, with a chance to become minor premiers in the final round when they played South Sydney who were just one point ahead of them on the ladder. However looking for their third successive title, South Sydney prevailed 22-9 in front of a large crowd of 26,649 at the Sydney Cricket Ground, and as a result took the minor premiership. On the same day, Western Suburbs and Eastern Suburbs played each other for third spot, with Western Suburbs winning 8-6.

In the semi-finals, both South Sydney and St. George overcame their opponents and were able to set up a rematch of their Round 18 game just two weeks earlier.

| Semi-finals| | Final

|
|
|

|  |  |  |  |  |

| 10 September 1927 - Earl Park| |

|  St. George | 26

| 17 September 1927 - Royal Agricultural Society Showground

|  Eastern Suburbs | 11 |

|  South Sydney | 20

| 10 September 1927 - Royal Agricultural Society Showground

| |  St. George | 11

|  South Sydney | 38

|  Western Suburbs | 6 |

### Final[edit]

South Sydney  | Position  | St. George

|
|

Harry Kadwell | FB | Jack McCormack
Benny Wearing | WG | Stan Brain
Vic Lawrence | CE | George Carstairs
Sid Harris | CE | Lennie Guest
Harry Finch | WG | Frank Saunders
Alf Blair (Ca./Co.) | FE | Arnold Traynor
Michael O'Connor | HB | Bill Benson
David Watson | PR | Clarrie Tye
Alby Carr | HK | Arthur Justice
Chas Fennell | PR | Tom Killiby
George Treweek | SR | Bill Hardman
Edward Root | SR | Frank Burge (Ca./Co.)
Harry Cavanough | LK | Aub Kelly

Playing on a quagmire at the Royal Agricultural Society Grounds in front of a modest crowd of 12,124 St. George contested their first ever premiership decider in their seventh year in the top league. They confronted the might of South Sydney who were reigning premiers in the two prior years and minor premiers at the end of the 1927 regular season.

The two teams had already met earlier in the season at the Sydney Cricket Ground when Souths defeated Saints 17–14 in front of a massive crowd of 31,500. With heavy rain falling throughout the match, refereed by former Rabbitoh and international Webby Neill Souths took a 13–6 lead to the half time break. The Rabbitohs won the decider scoring four tries to three to take their third successive premiership and becoming the third club to do so.[2]

South Sydney 20 (Tries: Carr, Root, Wearing, Finch. Goals: Blair 2, Kadwell 2)

defeated

St George 11 (Tries: Justice, Carstairs, Saunders. Goal: Saunders )

* George Treweek

* Edward Root

* Harry Cavanough

* Alby Carr

* Arthur Justice

* Frank Burge

## References[edit]

1. ^ Premiership Roll of Honour Archived 11 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine at rl1908.com
2. ^ Corbett, Claude (18 September 1927). "South Sydney Premiers - Third Successive Year". The Sun (Sydney). Sydney: National Library of Australia. p. 8. Retrieved 20 September 2020.

## External links[edit]

* Rugby League Tables - Notes AFL Tables
* Rugby League Tables - Season 1927 AFL Tables
* Premiership History and Statistics RL1908
* Results: 1921-30 at rabbitohs.com.au

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South Sydney Rabbitohs

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Related articles|

* The Burrow
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South Sydney were excluded from the National Rugby League for the 2000 and 2001 seasons

* v
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South Sydney squad - 1927 NSWRFL Premiers (7th title)

* 1\. Harry Kadwell
* 2\. Benny Wearing
* 3\. Vic Lawrence
* 4\. Sid Harris
* 5\. Harry Finch
* 6\. Alf Blair (Capt./Coach)
* 7\. Michael O'Connor

* 8\. David Watson
* 9\. Alby Carr
* 10\. Chas Fennell
* 11\. George Treweek
* 12\. Edward Root
* 13\. Harry Cavanough

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