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1969 NSWRFL season

Rugby league competition

Field	Value
year	1969
competition	New South Wales Rugby Football League
teams	12
premiers	[[Image:Balmain colours.svg	16x16px]] Balmain
count	11th
minor premiers	[[Image:South Sydney colours.svg	16x16px]] South Sydney
mpcount	15th
matches	136
points	4258
attendance	1788112
top point scorer	[[Image:South Sydney colours.svg	16x16px]] Eric Simms (265)
top try scorer	[[Image:North Sydney colours.svg	16x16px]] Ken Irvine (17)
MVP	Denis Pittard
MVP_link	Rothmans Medal
wooden_spoon	Cronulla-Sutherland
wooden_spoon_count	2nd
prevseason_link	1968 NSWRFL season
prevseason_year	1968
nextseason_link	1970 NSWRFL season
nextseason_year	1970

The 1969 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the 62nd season of Sydney's professional rugby league football competition, Australia's first. Twelve teams, including six Sydney-based foundation teams and another six from the Sydney area competed for the J.J. Giltinan Shield and WD & HO Wills Cup during the season, which culminated in a grand final between Balmain and South Sydney.

Season summary

South Sydney fullback Eric Simms' tally of 265 points for the season from 112 goals, 19 field-goals and one try topped the season point scoring record that had been set in the 1935 season by Dave Brown.

The 1969 season's Rothmans Medallist was South Sydney's Denis Pittard.

The 1969 season also saw the retirement from the League of future Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame inductee, John Raper.

Teams

Penrith[[File:Penrith Jersey 1967.png	100px	center]]	South Sydney[[File:South Sydney Jersey 1968.png	100px	center]]	St. George[[File:St George Jersey 1959.png	100px	center]]	Western Suburbs

Regular season

Team	1	2
Balmain	SOU
+9	**CRO
+18**	EAS
+14	**PEN
+1**	**MAN
+5**	**CBY
−4**	NEW
+15	WES
+9	**PAR
+2**	**STG
+5**	NOR
+8	**SOU
−17**	CRO
+3	**EAS
+2**	PEN
−4	**MAN
−3**	CBY
+24	**NEW
+10**	**WES
−7**	PAR
+5	**STG
+9**	**NOR
+2**	X	SOU
−1	**MAN
+1**	SOU
+9
Canterbury-Bankstown	**NEW
+18**	WES
−21	**PAR
+16**	STG
+10	**NOR
+6**	BAL
+4	CRO
+27	**EAS
−5**	**PEN
−5**	MAN
−8	**SOU
−20**	NEW
−8	**WES
+5**	PAR
−9	**STG
+4**	NOR
−1	**BAL
−24**	**CRO
+11**	EAS
−15	PEN
−2	**MAN
+12**	SOU
−28
Cronulla-Sutherland	**NOR
−11**	BAL
−18	SOU
−39	**EAS
−10**	PEN
−20	MAN
−9	**CBY
−27**	NEW
+16	**WES
−1**	**PAR
−7**	STG
−4	NOR
+8	**BAL
−3**	**SOU
−5**	EAS
−5	**PEN
+3**	**MAN
−7**	CBY
−11	**NEW
+11**	WES
−10	PAR
+8	**STG
−6**
Eastern Suburbs	**STG
+13**	NOR
−9	**BAL
−14**	CRO
+10	**SOU
−4**	**PEN
+3**	MAN
−7	CBY
+5	**NEW
+7**	WES
−11	PAR
−12	STG
−4	**NOR
0**	BAL
−2	**CRO
+5**	SOU
−27	PEN
+1	**MAN
−28**	**CBY
+15**	NEW
−18	**WES
−17**	**PAR
−8**
Manly-Warringah	**WES
+11**	PAR
+2	STG
−21	NOR
+18	BAL
−5	**CRO
+9**	**EAS
+7**	PEN
+1	SOU
−12	**CBY
+8**	NEW
−5	WES
+1	**PAR
+16**	STG
−1	NOR
−10	BAL
+3	CRO
+7	EAS
+28	**PEN
+9**	SOU
−4	CBY
−12	**NEW
+7**	STG
+9	X	BAL
−1
Newtown	CBY
−18	SOU
−14	**WES
−18**	PAR
−25	**STG
−3**	NOR
−9	**BAL
−15**	**CRO
−16**	EAS
−7	PEN
0	**MAN
+5**	**CBY
+8**	**SOU
−20**	WES
+6	**PAR
−1**	STG
−18	**NOR
+6**	BAL
−10	CRO
−11	**EAS
+18**	**PEN
+7**	MAN
−7
North Sydney	CRO
+11	**EAS
+9**	PEN
+3	**MAN
−18**	CBY
−6	**NEW
+9**	**WES
−3**	PAR
+4	STG
−23	SOU
+9	**BAL
−8**	**CRO
−8**	EAS
0	**PEN
+29**	**MAN
+10**	**CBY
+1**	NEW
−6	WES
−5	**PAR
+3**	**STG
−8**	SOU
−20	BAL
−2
Parramatta	PEN
+11	**MAN
−2**	CBY
−16	**NEW
+25**	WES
+6	SOU
−27	**STG
+1**	**NOR
−4**	BAL
−2	CRO
+7	**EAS
+12**	**PEN
−2**	MAN
−16	**CBY
+9**	NEW
+1	**WES
+6**	SOU
+9	STG
−25	NOR
−3	**BAL
−5**	**CRO
−8**	EAS
+8
Penrith	**PAR
−11**	STG
−24	**NOR
−3**	BAL
−1	**CRO
+20**	EAS
−3	SOU
−1	**MAN
−1**	CBY
+5	**NEW
0**	WES
+6	PAR
+2	**STG
−1**	NOR
−29	**BAL
+4**	CRO
−3	**EAS
−1**	**SOU
−22**	MAN
−9	**CBY
+2**	NEW
−7	**WES
−10**
South Sydney	**BAL
−9**	**NEW
+14**	**CRO
+39**	WES
+10	EAS
+4	**PAR
+27**	**PEN
+1**	**STG
−4**	**MAN
+12**	**NOR
−9**	CBY
+20	BAL
+17	NEW
+20	CRO
+5	**WES
+7**	**EAS
+27**	**PAR
−9**	PEN
+22	**STG
+21**	**MAN
+4**	**NOR
+20**	**CBY
+28**	X	**BAL
+1**	X	**BAL
−9**
St. George	EAS
−13	**PEN
+24**	**MAN
+21**	**CBY
−10**	NEW
+3	**WES
−2**	PAR
−1	SOU
+4	**NOR
+23**	BAL
−5	**CRO
+4**	**EAS
+4**	PEN
+1	**MAN
+1**	CBY
−4	**NEW
+18**	WES
+11	**PAR
+25**	SOU
−21	NOR
+8	BAL
−9	CRO
+6	**MAN
−9**
Western Suburbs	MAN
−11	**CBY
+21**	NEW
+18	**SOU
−10**	**PAR
−6**	STG
+2	NOR
+3	**BAL
−9**	CRO
+1	**EAS
+11**	**PEN
−6**	**MAN
−1**	CBY
−5	**NEW
−6**	SOU
−7	PAR
−6	**STG
−11**	**NOR
+5**	BAL
+7	**CRO
+10**	EAS
+17	PEN
+10

Bold – Home game

X – Bye

Opponent for round listed above margin

Ladder

Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	[[Image:South Sydney colours.svg	16x16px]] South Sydney	22	18	0	4	489	222	+267
2	[[Image:Balmain colours.svg	16x16px]] Balmain	22	17	0	5	410	304	+106
3	[[Image:St. George colours.svg	16x16px]] St. George	22	14	0	8	411	323	+88
4	[[Image:Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg	16x16px]] Manly	22	14	0	8	355	298	+57
5	[[Image:Western Suburbs colours.svg	16x16px]] Western Suburbs	22	11	0	11	315	288	+27
6	[[Image:Parramatta colours.svg	16x16px]] Parramatta	22	11	0	11	323	338	-15
7	[[Image:North Sydney colours.svg	16x16px]] North Sydney	22	10	1	11	343	362	-19
8	[[Image:Canterbury colours.svg	16x16px]] Canterbury	22	10	0	12	316	349	-33
9	[[Image:Eastern Suburbs colours.svg	16x16px]] Eastern Suburbs	22	8	1	13	307	409	-102
10	Penrith	22	6	1	15	311	398	-87
11	[[Image:Newtown colours.svg	16x16px]] Newtown	22	6	1	15	279	421	-142
12	[[Image:Cronulla colours.svg	16x16px]] Cronulla	22	5	0	17	301	448	-147

Ladder progression

Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top 4.
Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished first on the ladder in that round.
Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished last place on the ladder in that round.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22
1	South Sydney	0	2	4	6	8	10	12	12	14	14	16	18	20	22	24	26	26	28	30	32	34
2	Balmain	2	4	6	8	10	10	12	14	16	18	20	20	22	24	24	24	26	28	28	30	32
3	St. George	0	2	4	4	6	6	6	8	10	10	12	14	16	18	18	20	22	24	24	26	26
4	Manly-Warringah	2	4	4	6	6	8	10	12	12	14	14	16	18	18	18	20	22	24	26	26	26
5	Western Suburbs	0	2	4	4	4	6	8	8	10	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	14	16	18	20
6	Parramatta	2	2	2	4	6	6	8	8	8	10	12	12	12	14	16	18	20	20	20	20	20
7	North Sydney	2	4	6	6	6	8	8	10	10	12	12	12	13	15	17	19	19	19	21	21	21
8	Canterbury-Bankstown	2	2	4	6	8	10	12	12	12	12	12	12	14	14	16	16	16	18	18	18	20
9	Eastern Suburbs	2	2	2	4	4	6	6	8	10	10	10	10	11	11	13	13	15	15	17	17	17
10	Penrith	0	0	0	0	2	2	2	2	4	5	7	9	9	9	11	11	11	11	11	13	13
11	Newtown	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	5	5	7	7	7	9	9	9	11	13
12	Cronulla-Sutherland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	2	2	4	4	4	4	6	6	6	8	8	10

Finals

In the preliminary final, Balmain trailed 12-14 against Manly-Warringah until late in the match when winger George Ruebner charged for the corner post to snatch a win in dramatic fashion.

Home	Score	Away	Match Information	Date and Time	Venue	Referee	Crowd
Semi-finals
[[Image:Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg	23x23px]] Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	19–10	[[Image:St. George colours.svg	23x23px]] St. George Dragons	30 August 1969	Sydney Cricket Ground	Keith Page	40,977
[[Image:South Sydney colours.svg	23x23px]] South Sydney Rabbitohs	14–13	[[Image:Balmain colours.svg	23x23px]] Balmain Tigers	6 September 1969	Sydney Cricket Ground	Keith Page	44,159
Preliminary Final
[[Image:Balmain colours.svg	23x23px]] Balmain Tigers	15–14	[[Image:Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg	23x23px]] Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	13 September 1969	Sydney Cricket Ground	Keith Page	41,410
Grand Final
[[Image:South Sydney colours.svg	23x23px]] South Sydney Rabbitohs	2–11	[[Image:Balmain colours.svg	23x23px]] Balmain Tigers	20 September 1969	Sydney Cricket Ground	Keith Page	58,825

Grand Final

South Sydney	Position	Balmain
	FB
2. Michael Cleary	WG	2. George Ruebner
3. Bob Honan	CE	3. Allan Fitzgibbon
4. Kerry Burke	CE	4. Terry Parker
5. Brian James	WG	5. Len Killeen
6. Denis Pittard	FE	6. Keith Outten
7. Bob Grant	HB	7. Dave Bolton
13. John Sattler (c)	PR	13. Garry Leo
12. Elwyn Walters	HK	12. Peter Boulton
11. John O'Neill	PR	11. Barry McTaggart
10. Bob McCarthy	SR	10. John Spencer
9. Bob Moses	SR	9. Joe Walsh
8. Ron Coote	LK	8. Peter Provan (c)
17. Paul Sait	Reserve	14. Sid Williams
Clive Churchill	Coach	Leo Nosworthy

Balmain were not given a chance of winning the Premiership after the retirement of Keith Barnes. Souths had won the last two premierships, beaten the Tigers in the major semi-final to advance to the Grand Final and boasted eleven internationals in their side.

However, as a result their favouritism Souths were overconfident and showed insufficient respect to the young Tigers, who had shown early-season form in beating them in round 1, and to their rookie coach Leo Nosworthy, who presented a well-prepared and determined Balmain team.

The Tigers led 6–0 at halftime after two penalty goals by Len Killeen and a Dave Bolton field-goal. Souths refusal to kick on the last tackle played into Balmain's hands as novice replacement hooker Peter Boulton managed to consistently regain possession from the scrums. Balmain backed up with a robust defensive line and kept South pinned in their own half.

After the break a Bob McCarthy fumble after a mix up with Paul Sait saw Bolton swoop on the ball deep in Souths territory. From the ruck Terry Parker slipped a beautiful pass to replacement winger Sid Williams who juggled but held the ball to cross the line for the only try of the match. With a 9–0 lead early in the second half and a penalty count that continued to mount in their favour, Balmain took control of the game and appeared to begin a ploy of feigning injury whenever Souths looked to build rhythm, stopping the Rabbitohs' flow of play.{{Cite news | author-link = Sean Fagan | access-date = 3 October 2010}} Hence the match is still referred to today as "the lay-down grand final".{{cite news | access-date = 2010-01-15 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181004074123/http://blogs.watoday.com.au/executive-style/sportandstyle/bencoady/2009/09/28/grandfinaldra.html | archive-date = 2018-10-04 | url-status = dead

Souths' protests proved pointless as referee Keith Page (in his first Grand Final) was powerless to stop the Tigers tactics under the rules of the day, and Balmain secured and held an 11–2 lead to win their first premiership since 1947 and to give a fairy-tale career farewell for their captain and 159-game veteran Peter Provan.

This was the 11th and most recent premiership for the Tigers as just Balmain, and in 1999, the club formed a 50/50 joint venture with the Western Suburbs Magpies to become the Wests Tigers. The joint venture that continues to this day

Balmain 11 (Tries: Williams. Goals: Killeen 2. Field Goal: D Bolton 2)

South Sydney 2 (Goals: Simms 1.)

Player statistics

The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 22. Top 5 point scorers

Points	Player	Tries	Goals
Eric Simms	1	108	18
Len Killeen	9	73	6
Bob Batty	2	77	3
Bob Landers	6	70	0
Graeme Langlands	4	72	0

Top 5 try scorers

Tries	Player	17	16	12	10	10	10	10
Ken Irvine
Johnny King
Denis Pittard
Bob McCarthy
John McDonald
Barry Beath
George Ambrum

Top 5 goal scorers

Goals	Player	108	77	73	72	70
Eric Simms
Bob Batty
Len Killeen
Graeme Langlands
Bob Landers

References

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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