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1946 NSWRFL season
Rugby league competition
Rugby league competition
| Field | Value | |
|---|---|---|
| year | 1946 | |
| competition | New South Wales Rugby Football League | |
| imagesize | 125px | |
| teams | 8 | |
| premiers | [[Image:Balmain colours.svg | 16x16px]] Balmain |
| count | 9th | |
| minor premiers | [[Image:St. George colours.svg | 16x16px]] St. George |
| mpcount | 2nd | |
| matches | 60 | |
| points | 1956 | |
| top point scorer | [[Image:Newtown colours.svg | 16x16px]] Tom Kirk (122) |
| top try scorer | [[Image:St. George colours.svg | 16x16px]] Jack Lindwall (16) |
| wooden_spoon | South Sydney | |
| wooden_spoon_count | 2nd | |
| prevseason_link | 1945 NSWRFL season | |
| prevseason_year | 1945 | |
| nextseason_link | 1947 NSWRFL season | |
| nextseason_year | 1947 |
The 1946 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the thirty-ninth season of Sydney’s top-level rugby league competition, Australia’s first. Eight teams from across the city contested during the season which culminated in Balmain’s victory over St. George in the premiership final.
Season summary
The South Sydney club did not win a single match in 1946, continuing a losing streak that started in round 8, 1945 and which would run till round 1, 1947.
Eastern Suburbs’ Lionel Cooper took out the New South Wales “Player of the Year” award.
Teams
- Balmain, formed on January 23, 1908, at Balmain Town Hall
- Canterbury-Bankstown
- Eastern Suburbs, formed on January 24, 1908, at Paddington Town Hall
- Newtown, formed on January 14, 1908
- North Sydney, formed on February 7, 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
| North Sydney[[Image:North Sydney Jersey 1941.png | 100px | center]] | South Sydney[[Image:South Sydney Jersey 1945.png | 100px | center]] | St. George[[Image:St George Jersey 1943.png | 100px | center]] | Western Suburbs[[Image:Western Suburbs Jersey 1944.png | 100px | center]] |
|---|
Ladder
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [[Image:St. George colours.svg | 16x16px]] St. George | 14 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 264 | 203 | +61 |
| 2 | [[Image:Newtown colours.svg | 16x16px]] Newtown | 14 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 294 | 189 | +105 |
| 3 | [[Image:Balmain colours.svg | 16x16px]] Balmain | 14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 279 | 193 | +86 |
| 4 | [[Image:Canterbury colours.svg | 16x16px]] Canterbury | 14 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 212 | 196 | +16 |
| 5 | [[Image:Eastern Suburbs colours.svg | 16x16px]] Eastern Suburbs | 14 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 213 | 174 | +39 |
| 6 | [[Image:North Sydney colours.svg | 16x16px]] North Sydney | 14 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 248 | 283 | -35 |
| 7 | [[Image:Western Suburbs colours.svg | 16x16px]] Western Suburbs | 14 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 224 | 267 | -43 |
| 8 | [[Image:South Sydney colours.svg | 16x16px]] South Sydney | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 124 | 353 | -229 |
Finals
With just two rounds remaining, Newtown looked on track for the minor premiership until they lost to Eastern Suburbs and then Balmain in the two final rounds of the year. This left St. George to take the minor premiership, and with it, a guaranteed place in a final. This proved costly for Newtown, who were narrowly beaten by Canterbury-Bankstown in the semifinal eliminator, meaning they were out of the competition. St. George also lost their first round match, meaning they immediately got sent into the Grand final against the winner of a Balmain and Canterbury-Bankstown match, which Balmain won by a point.
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semifinals | |||||||||
| [[Image:St. George colours.svg | 23x23px]] St. George | 14–22 | [[Image:Balmain colours.svg | 23x23px]] Balmain | 24 August 1946 | Sydney Cricket Ground | George Bishop | 34,408 | |
| [[Image:Newtown colours.svg | 23x23px]] Newtown | 10–12 | [[Image:Canterbury colours.svg | 23x23px]] Canterbury-Bankstown | 31 August 1946 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Jack O'Brien | 28,012 | |
| Preliminary Final | |||||||||
| [[Image:Balmain colours.svg | 23x23px]] Balmain | 8–7 | [[Image:Canterbury colours.svg | 23x23px]] Canterbury-Bankstown | 7 September 1946 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Tom McMahon | 36,445 | |
| Grand Final | |||||||||
| [[Image:St. George colours.svg | 23x23px]] St. George | 12–13 | [[Image:Balmain colours.svg | 23x23px]] Balmain | 14 September 1946 | Sydney Sports Ground | George Bishop | 32,296 |
Grand Final
| St George | Position | Balmain |
|---|---|---|
| 44. Ray Lindwall | FB | 30. Jack McCullough |
| 18. Noel Jones | WG | 2. Arthur Patton |
| 10. Doug McRitchie | CE | 6. Pat Devery |
| 8. Fred Brown | CE | 4. Tom Bourke (c) |
| 40. Jack Lindwall | WG | 3. Joe Jorgenson |
| 48. Don Graham | FE | 19. George Williams |
| 7. Max Hayward | HB | 7. Stan Ponchard |
| PR | 10. Hilton Kidd | |
| 2. Ken Banks | HK | 9. Herb Gilbert Jnr |
| 3. Jack McPherson | PR | 8. Jack Spencer |
| 4. Jim Hale | SR | 25. Fred de Belin |
| 5. Herb Narvo (c/c) | SR | 11. Harry Bath |
| 22. Chick Donnelley | LK | 13. Jack Hampstead |
| Coach | Norm Robinson |
In spite of St George’s status as minor premiers, Balmain were Grand Final favourites due to their comprehensive routing of the Dragons in the first semi-final. The decider, played on Saturday 14 September, was a closely fought contest.
A series of dubious decisions by referee George Bishop gave Balmain an advantage. There was a disallowed try to St George and two Balmain tries which came off what appeared to be forward passes, one when Balmain’s Joe Jorgenson scored after receiving a ball that seemed to have been propelled at least a yard forward.
The Dragons came close to victory when late in the game Jack Lindwall scored in the corner but his brother, prospective Test bowler, Ray Lindwall was unable to convert it. Lindwall in fact missed all four conversion attempts on the day.
The Tigers had won seven straight victories to take the premiership.
Tensions of the encounter overflowed after full-time, and at the conclusion of the match Saints forward, Jim Hale went toe to toe with Balmain hooker, Herb Gilbert, Jr, himself a former Dragon. Hale was then attacked by a spectator and an all-in brawl followed.{{cite news | access-date = 2 July 2024
Balmain 13 (Tries: Jorgenson 2, Patton. Goals: Bourke 2 )
defeated
St George 12 (Tries: J Lindwall 2, Jones, Munn)
Image:Joe Jorgenson.jpg| Joe Jorgenson Image:Harry Bath (1945, Brisbane).jpg|Harry Bath Image:Herb Narvo Aust1944.jpg|Herb Narvo
Player statistics
The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 14. Top 5 point scorers
| Points | Player | Tries | Goals | Field Goals | 120 | 84 | 77 | 68 | 60 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Kirk | 2 | 57 | 0 | ||||||
| Bill Keato | 0 | 42 | 0 | ||||||
| Dick Dunn | 1 | 37 | 0 | ||||||
| Roy Hasson | 2 | 31 | 0 | ||||||
| Joe Jorgenson | 4 | 24 | 0 |
Top 5 try scorers
| Tries | Player | 14 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Lindwall | ||||||
| Cyril McMahon | ||||||
| Johnny Bliss | ||||||
| Denis Boocker | ||||||
| Len Smith |
Top 5 goal scorers
| Goals | Player | 57 | 42 | 37 | 31 | 28 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Kirk | ||||||
| Bill Keato | ||||||
| Dick Dunn | ||||||
| Roy Hasson | ||||||
| Pat Morgan |
References
References
- [http://rl1908.com/clubcomps/Honours.htm Premiership Roll of Honour] {{webarchive. link. (April 28, 2007 at ''rl1908.com'')
- link. (2012-03-04 at ''nrlstats.com'')
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