1919 NSWRFL season

The 1919 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the twelfth season of Sydney’s professional rugby league club competition, Australia’s first. Eight teams from across the city contested during the season, with Balmain finishing on top of the ladder to claim the premiership.[1]

1919 New South Wales Rugby Football League
Teams8
Premiers Balmain (4th title)
Minor premiers Balmain (4th title)
Matches played56
Points scored1474
Top points scorer(s) A McPherson (89)
Top try-scorer(s) Gordon Wright (17)

Season summary

Balmain and Eastern Suburbs dominated the 14-round season, dropping just two and three games respectively. Balmain were undefeated after eight rounds but a mid-year Australian tour to New Zealand saw the black and golds lose their representative stars and their lead was lost to Eastern Suburbs for one week late in the season.

With eleven rounds played, Balmain led Eastern Suburbs by one point on the ladder but relinquished this lead by losing their round 12 match against Glebe as Eastern Suburbs beat winless Annandale 28–0. This meant Eastern Suburbs now led by one point with two rounds to play. However, they lost the very next round 15–12 to South Sydney, who had won just four of their twelve previous matches. Meanwhile, Balmain managed to beat Newtown 18–5, giving them the one point advantage heading into the final round.

The final match of the season turned out to be the decider for the premiership, with the top two teams playing one another at the Royal Agricultural Society Ground. The winner of the match would take out the premiership, whilst a draw would give Balmain the title. At the end of the day, it was the goal kicking of Balmain's Les Wall that secured the premiership, with a 13–4 win over Eastern Suburbs. Five of Wall’s attempts hit the post that day, but four crossed the bar and won Balmain the title.[2] Members of the Balmain premiership winning side included Bob Craig and Bill Kelly.

The City Cup was won by Wests for the second consecutive season.

Teams

The teams remained unchanged from the 1918 season

Annandale
10th season
Ground: Wentworth Park
Coach:
Captain: Walter Haddock
Balmain
12th season
Ground: Birchgrove Oval
Coach:
Captain: Bob Craig
Eastern Suburbs
12th season
Ground: Sydney Sports Ground
Coach:
Captain: Ray Norman
Glebe
12th season
Ground: Wentworth Park
Coach: Alex Burdon
Captain: Tom Leggo, Albert Burge
Newtown
12th season
Ground: Wentworth Park
Coach: Charles "Boxer" Russell
Captain: Albert "Ricketty" Johnston
North Sydney
12th season
Ground: North Sydney Oval
Captain-Coach: George Green
South Sydney
12th season
Ground: RAS Showground
Coach:
Captain: Howard Hallett
Western Suburbs
12th season
Ground: St. Luke's Oval
Coach:
Captain: Tedda Courtney

Ladder
The geographical locations of the teams that contested the 1919 premiership across Sydney.
Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 Balmain 141112277109+16823
2 Eastern Suburbs 14923229108+12120
3 Western Suburbs 14905239130+10918
4 Glebe 14905209134+7518
5 Newtown 14626123186-6314
6 South Sydney 14617208223-1513
7 Annandale 14111286270-1843
8 North Sydney 141112103314-2113

References
  1. Premiership Roll of Honour Archived 2011-05-14 at the Wayback Machine at rl1908.com
  2. Pollard, Jack (1965). Gregory's Guide to Rugby League. Australia: Grenville Publishing. p82.
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