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1964 NSWRFL season

Rugby league competition


Rugby league competition

FieldValue
year1964
competitionNew South Wales Rugby Football League
imagesize125px
teams10
premiers[[Image:St. George colours.svg16x16px]] St. George
count11th
minor premiers[[Image:St. George colours.svg16x16px]] St. George
mpcount10th
matches94
points2736
attendance1197569
top point scorer[[Image:North Sydney colours.svg16x16px]] Fred Griffiths (160)
top try scorer[[Image:St. George colours.svg16x16px]] Reg Gasnier (18)
wooden_spoonCanterbury-Bankstown
wooden_spoon_count3rd
prevseason_link1963 NSWRFL season
prevseason_year1963
nextseason_link1965 NSWRFL season
nextseason_year1965

The 1964 NSWRFL season was the fifty-seventh season of Sydney's professional rugby league football competition, the New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership, Australia's first. Ten clubs from across the city competed for the J. J. Giltinan Shield and the WD & HO Wills Cup during the season, which culminated in a grand final between St. George and Balmain.

Teams

**North Sydney**[[Image:North Sydney Jersey 1960.png100pxcenter]]**Parramatta**[[Image:Parramatta Jersey 1963.png100pxcenter]]**South Sydney**[[Image:South Sydney Jersey 1959.png100pxcenter]]**St. George**[[Image:St George Jersey 1959.png100pxcenter]]**Western Suburbs**

Ladder

TeamPldWDLPFPAPDPts
1[[Image:St. George colours.svg16x16px]] St. George181503393154+239
2[[Image:Parramatta colours.svg16x16px]] Parramatta181404274188+86
3[[Image:Balmain colours.svg16x16px]] Balmain181206247192+55
4[[Image:North Sydney colours.svg16x16px]] North Sydney181116334257+77
5[[Image:South Sydney colours.svg16x16px]] South Sydney181107304250+54
6[[Image:Newtown colours.svg16x16px]] Newtown18909236268-32
7[[Image:Western Suburbs colours.svg16x16px]] Western Suburbs18819259274-15
8[[Image:Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg16x16px]] Manly185112229331-102
9[[Image:Eastern Suburbs colours.svg16x16px]] Eastern Suburbs182016190351-161
10[[Image:Canterbury colours.svg16x16px]] Canterbury181116168369-201

Finals

HomeScoreAwayMatch informationDate and timeVenueRefereeCrowd
**Semi-finals**
[[Image:Balmain colours.svg23x23px]] Balmain11–9[[Image:North Sydney colours.svg23x23px]] North Sydney29 August 1964Sydney Cricket GroundJack Bradley35,082
[[Image:St. George colours.svg23x23px]] St. George42–0[[Image:Parramatta colours.svg23x23px]] Parramatta5 September 1964Sydney Cricket GroundCol Pearce33,659
**Preliminary Final**
[[Image:Parramatta colours.svg23x23px]] Parramatta7–16[[Image:Balmain colours.svg23x23px]] Balmain12 September 1964Sydney Cricket GroundCol Pearce35,389
**Grand Final**
[[Image:St. George colours.svg23x23px]] St. George11–6[[Image:Balmain colours.svg23x23px]] Balmain19 September 1964Sydney Cricket GroundCol Pearce61,369

Grand Final

St. GeorgePositionBalmain
FB
2. Johnny KingWG2. Dick Quinn
3. Reg GasnierCE3. Brian Dunlop
4. Billy SmithCE4. Robert Ridley
5. Eddie LumsdenWG5. Bob Mara
6. Brian ClayFE6. Jack Danzey
7. George EvansHB7. Billy Bischoff Jr.
13. Monty PorterPR13. Bob Boland
12. Peter ArmstrongHK12. Dick Wilson
11. Kevin RyanPR11. George Piper
10. Elton RasmussenSR10. Ron Clothier
9. Norm Provan (Ca./Co.)SR9. Peter Provan
8. Johnny RaperLK8. Dennis Tutty
CoachHarry Bath

St. George captain-coach Norm Provan was matching up against his younger brother (and former Dragon) Peter, who had moved to the Tigers in 1961.

The Tigers’ defence was strong throughout a dour first half and for the first time in nine grand finals the Dragons trailed at half-time (4–2) with Balmain in the lead after penalty goals from Keith "Golden Boots" Barnes.

The turning point of the match came five minutes into the second half. The Tigers were defending their own line with some desperate tackling when they received a relieving penalty from referee Pearce. Balmain's Bob Boland put in a big punt which at first looked like a good touch finder. To Balmain's horror, Graeme Langlands stretched and then caught the ball with his boots only an inch or two from the touchline. The champion fullback then raced cross-field towards the Balmain line and sent a cut-out pass to Billy Smith 25 yards out from the tryline. The centre made further inroads before channeling a pass to Johnny King who sped down the left wing for 20 yards to score a diving try.

Test winger Johnny King thus kept intact his grand final record with this being his fifth successive try in a decider.

Eighteen-year-old Dennis Tutty stood out for the Tigers, providing reliable cover defence that stopped the Dragons on numerous occasions. For St. George, Smith and Langlands had strong games with Langlands tallying 72 points in his last four games of the season. Brian Clay had by now reclaimed his five-eighth position from Bruce Pollard and excelled just as he had in his five previous Grand Final appearances.

St. George 11 (Tries: King. Goals: Langlands 4.)

Balmain 6 (Goals: Barnes 3.)

Player statistics

The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 18. Top 5 point scorers

PointsPlayerTriesGoalsField Goals15413112811582
Fred Griffiths2740
Ken Bray1640
Brian Graham2610
Greg McMillan3530
Brian Hambly0410

Top 5 try scorers

TriesPlayer1616151411
Reg Gasnier
Nick Yakich
Ken Irvine
Michael Cleary
Johnny King

Top 5 goal scorers

GoalsPlayer7464615341
Fred Griffiths
Ken Bray
Brian Graham
Greg McMillan
Brian Hambly

Season notes

  • The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs' wooden spoon season was their last until 2002, when they were sentenced to finish last that season as punishment due to gross salary cap breaches uncovered by the NRL in August that year. It wouldn't be until 2008 that they would again finish last as a result of poor on-field performances during the season.

References

References

  1. "Nat Silcock". SmartPack International.
  2. Walton, Darren. (17 August 2020). "Bulldogs coach needs beer after NRL loss". [[Seven News]].
  3. (18 June 2013). "Bulldogs v Roosters: SBW's return". [[National Rugby League]].
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