1967 NSWRFL season

The 1967 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the 60th season of Sydney's professional rugby league football competition, Australia's first. The introduction of the Cronulla-Sutherland and Penrith clubs saw a total of twelve teams from across the Sydney area compete for the J.J. Giltinan Shield and WD & HO Wills Cup during the season, which culminated in a grand final between South Sydney and Canterbury-Bankstown. This was also the first live televised broadcast of a football grand final of any code in Australia.[1]

1967 New South Wales Rugby Football League
Teams12
Premiers South Sydney (17th title)
Minor premiers St. George (13th title)
Matches played136
Points scored3827
Attendance1769881
Top points scorer(s) Eric Simms (233)
Top try-scorer(s) Les Hanigan (16)

Season summary

The 1967 season was the first played under the limited tackle rule, replacing the unlimited tackle rule previously used since the code’s 1908 inception.[2] The number of tackles was four and would remain at that number for only four years before being increased to six in 1971.

Also this season Lidcombe Oval became the Western Suburbs club’s homeground.

The twelve sides met each other twice in twenty-two regular premiership rounds before the top four teams battled out four finals. For the sixth consecutive season St. George finished as minor premiers. The two newcomers to the premiership, Penrith and Cronulla-Sutherland, finished the season second last and last respectively.

In 1967 the Nine Network reached agreement with the NSWRFL for a fee of $5,000 for TV broadcasting rights for the grand final.

South Sydney won their seventeenth premiership, defeating Canterbury-Bankstown in their first grand final since 1947. This finally spelled the end for St. George’s monopoly on Grand Final wins which lasted over a decade, and commenced a new period of South Sydney dominance, during which they would win four premierships in a five-year period.

The 1967 season also saw the retirement from the League of future Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame inductee, Reg Gasnier.

Teams

1967 saw the NSWRFL expand to twelve teams with the introduction of the Penrith and Cronulla-Sutherland clubs.[3] This was the first time the number of clubs had increased since 1947 and the first time ever the number of clubs competing totalled more than ten.

Balmain

60th season
Ground: Leichhardt Oval
Captain-coach: Keith Barnes

Canterbury-Bankstown

33rd season
Ground: Belmore Sports Ground
Captain-coach: Kevin Ryan

Cronulla-Sutherland

1st season
Ground: Sutherland Oval
Coach: Ken Kearney
Captain: Monty Porter

Eastern Suburbs

60th season
Ground: Sydney Sports Ground
Coach: Jack Gibson
Captain: Jim Matthews

Manly-Warringah

21st season
Ground: Brookvale Oval
Coach: Wally O'Connell
Captain: Ken Day, Fred Jones

Newtown

60th season
Ground: Henson Park
Coach: Dick Poole
Captain: Brian Graham

North Sydney

60th season
Ground: North Sydney Oval
Coach: Billy Wilson
Captain: Colin Greenwood

Parramatta

21st season
Ground: Cumberland Oval
Captain-coach: Brian Hambly

Penrith

1st season
Ground: Penrith Stadium
Coach: Leo Trevena
Captain: Tony BrownLaurie Fagan

South Sydney

60th season
Ground: Redfern Oval
Coach: Clive Churchill
Captain: John Sattler

St. George

47th season
Ground: Kogarah Oval
Captain-Coach: Ian Walsh

Western Suburbs

60th season
Ground: Lidcombe Oval
Captain-Coach: Noel Kelly

Ladder

Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 St. George 221615437267+17033
2 South Sydney 221606422271+15132
3 Canterbury-Bankstown 221417349269+8029
4 Eastern Suburbs Roosters 221327269219+5028
5 Manly-Warringah 221228365271+9426
6 Balmain 221228344258+8626
7 Western Suburbs 2210210269255+1422
8 North Sydney 228113297370-7317
9 Parramatta 228014309322-1316
10 Newtown 227213274406-13216
11 Penrith 225215203352-14912
12 Cronulla-Sutherland 223118208486-2787

Finals

Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Crowd
Semi-finals
Canterbury-Bankstown 13–2 Eastern Suburbs 26 August 1967 Sydney Cricket Ground Col Pearce 47,186
St. George 8–13 South Sydney 2 September 1967 Sydney Cricket Ground Col Pearce 51,915
Preliminary Final
St. George 11–12 Canterbury-Bankstown 9 September 1967 Sydney Cricket Ground Col Pearce 49,941
Grand Final
South Sydney 12–10 Canterbury-Bankstown 16 September 1967 Sydney Cricket Ground Col Pearce 56,358

Grand Final

South Sydney Rabbitohs Position Canterbury-Bankstown
  1. Kevin Longbottom
FB
  1. Les Johns
2. Michael ClearyWG2. Barry Reynolds
3. Bob MosesCE3. Bob Hagan
4. Eric SimmsCE4. Johnny Greaves
5. Brian JamesWG5. Clive Gartner
6. Jim LisleFE6. Bob Doyle
7. Ivan JonesHB7. Ross Kidd
13. John Sattler (c)PR13. Merv Hicks
12. Elwyn WaltersHK12. Col Brown
11. John O'NeillPR11. Kevin Ryan(c/coach)
10. Bob McCarthySR10. Kevin Goldspink
9. Alan ScottSR9. George Taylforth
8. Ron CooteLK8. Ron Raper
Clive ChurchillCoach

Live television broadcast coverage of grand finals commenced in 1967 with the match being shown on all four Sydney channels. As a result, the crowd of 56,358 was the lowest seen at a grand final since the rainy 1962 St George and Wests decider.[4]

South Sydney, led by new skipper John Sattler, began their period of dominance by downing Canterbury in a torrid 80 minutes played in bleak conditions with a light rain throughout. Taylforth and Eric Simms opened accounts with early goals, before John O'Neill barged over for a close-range try from dummy half. Canterbury's Ron Raper responded with a field-goal kicked from halfway and then Taylforth punished Souths with two successful penalty goals after firstly a clash between Kevin Ryan and O'Neill and then a scrum infringement. Canterbury led 8–5.

A turning point came just before half-time when Rabbitohs second rower Bob McCarthy swooped on a lofted pass from Canterbury’s Col Brown intended for Johnny Greaves and ran the length of the field to take Souths into the break with a 10–8 lead.

Taylforth kicked his fourth goal to take the scores level nine minutes into the second-half but from that point on the match became a tight arm wrestle. With five minutes remaining Canterbury’s Ross Kidd was penalised for an incorrect scrum feed and Simms kicked the Rabbitohs to a two-point lead which they held to give them their 17th premiership title.[5]

It marked the beginning of a new golden period for Souths and Ron Coote, Mike Cleary, Bob McCarthy, O'Neill, Sattler and Simms would win four premierships in the next five seasons and figure prominently in representative squads of that period.

South Sydney 12 (Tries: O'Neill, McCarthy. Goals: Simms 3)

Canterbury-Bankstown 10 (Goals: Taylforth 4. Fld Goal: Raper)

Player statistics

The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 22.

References

  1. Masters, Roy (4 October 2009). "Messenger can watch a better league broadcast in the US than south of the border". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Digital. Retrieved 10 May 2009.
  2. Middleton, David (2008). League of Legends: 100 Years of Rugby League in Australia (PDF). National Museum of Australia. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-876944-64-3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 March 2011.
  3. "History of the Premiership". centenaryofrugbyleague.com.au. Australian Rugby League. Archived from the original on 9 February 2008. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  4. Big League, 13 July 2006 p.7
  5. Clarkson, Alan (26 September 1986). "The best Grand Finals I've seen". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. p. 77. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
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