1910 NSWRFL season

Season summary

On 23 July 1910 at the Sydney Showground the South Sydney club defeated Western Suburbs 67–0. This still stands as Souths’ highest ever score and biggest winning margin in a premiership game. It was not beaten in the NSWRFL until 11 May 1935 when St. George defeated Canterbury-Bankstown 91–6, which remains the record score and margin as of 2025.

During the season Annandale’s Ray, Roy, Rex and Bernard Norman became the first set of four brothers to play in the same NSWRFL side.

The League's takings for all matches this year amounted to £13,512, an increase of over £6,000 on the previous season. 1910 was the first season where the NSFWRFL had more people in attendance than Rugby Union.

Teams

With the loss of Cumberland at the end of the 1908 season, the league remained with eight teams; a preferable outcome since no byes would be needed. However by the end of the 1909 season, interest for a local Newcastle competition as well as the difficulties of longer travel for the Newcastle side saw it pull out of the premiership. As a result, a team from Annandale joined the premiership to leave the competition with eight teams. Also this season St. Luke's Park became the Western Suburbs club's home ground.

Ladder

Newtown finished on top of the League's ladder at the end of the regular season.

Final

Unlike the previous two seasons where a play-off system was used to decide the premier, there was only one game played in 1910. The top two teams, Newtown and South Sydney, played off in a memorable match in front of around 15,000 people at the RAS Showground. Leading 4–2 with reportedly only seconds to go, South Sydney seemed set to take out their third straight premiership. However, after Souths player Howard Hallett was forced to kick the ball clear from his own line, Newtown centre Albert Hawkes caught the ball on the full just metres away from halfway and the touch line. The rules at the time allowed Hawkes to claim a "fair mark" and Newtown to have a shot at goal. Newtown captain Charles "Boxer" Russell was successful in kicking the goal from a difficult position, allowing Newtown to tie the game and win the competition as they had been minor premiers.

Neither team scored a try in the final, although both teams had opportunities to cross the try line recalled by the referee. Additionally multiple attempts at goal were missed by both teams.

Scoreboard

Russell (1/2) Hayes (0/1) Russell (1/1)

Davis (2/3) Conlin (0/1)

File:Howard Hallett 1911.jpg|Howard Hallett File:Arthur Hennessy AustRL.jpg|Arthur Hennessy File:Webby Neill 1911.jpg|Webby Neill File:Charles Boxer Russell 1920.jpg|Charles Russell File:Jack Barnett 1908.jpg|Jack Barnett

References

References

1. "Premiership Roll of Honour". rl1908.com.
2. "Club Records". rabbitohs.com.au.
3. [http://afltables.com/rl/teams/all/overall_gr.html Rugby League Tables – Game Records]; ''AFL Tables''
4. (30 August 2013). "Rugby league history as FOUR English brothers star for Russell Crowe's side". Mirror.
5. (1911-03-21). "A Flourishing League". Grey River Argus.
6. Titus O'Reily. (20 August 2018). "A Thoroughly Unhelpful History of Australian Sport". Penguin Books.
7. "History of the Premiership". [[Australian Rugby League]].
8. (1910-09-21). "Football". The Sydney Mail.
9. (1910-09-19). "League football.". Evening Post, Volume LXXX, Issue 69.
10. (21 September 1910). "Rugby (League) - Newtown premiers for 1910". [[Sydney Sportsman]].
11. (19 September 1910). "League Final - Newtown Wins Premiership". Sydney Morning Herald.