1954 NSWRFL season

1954 New South Wales Rugby Football League
Teams	10
Premiers	South Sydney (15th title)
Minor premiers	Newtown (5th title)
Matches played	94
Points scored	3613 (total) 38.436 (per match)
Top point scorer(s)	Ron Rowles (221)
Top try scorer(s)	Ray Preston (34)

The 1954 NSWRFL season was the forty-seventh season of the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership competition, based in Sydney. Ten rugby league football teams from across the city competed for the J. J. Giltinan Shield during the season, which culminated in the first pre-mandated Grand Final, which was played between South Sydney and Newtown.

Season summary

During the pre-season, Queensland and Australian international representative forward, Harold "Mick" Crocker signed a then record one-year deal for an Australian to move south and play for Sydney club Parramatta.^[1] 1954 marked the first season when a Grand Final was scheduled to determine the premiership winner. Prior to that the season victors were either the minor premiers or decided by a final that followed two semi-finals. A Grand Final was only played if the minor-premier was defeated in a semi-final or final and exercised their right to challenge via a Grand Final. Since 1954 a Grand Final has been played every year to determine the premiership winner.

This season, in a New South Wales versus England match at the Sydney Cricket Ground, referee Aub Oxford watched in disbelief the players fighting around him like street-brawlers before turning his back and walking from the field. Oxford never refereed again and the match remains the only top-level game ever abandoned in rugby league history.

Teams


Balmain 47th season Ground: Leichhardt Oval Coach: Norm Robinson Captain: Jack Fifield	Canterbury-Bankstown 20th season Ground: Belmore Sports Ground Coach: Jack Hampstead Captain: Leo Trevena	Eastern Suburbs 47th season Ground: Sydney Sports Ground Captain-Coach: Ferris Ashton	Manly-Warringah 8th season Ground: Brookvale Oval Coach: Ray Norman Captain: Roy Bull
Newtown 47th season Ground: Henson Park Coach : Col Geelan Captain: Col Geelan, Jim Evans	North Sydney 47th season Ground: North Sydney Oval Coach: Rex Harrison Captain: Bob Sullivan	Parramatta 8th Season Ground: Cumberland Oval Captain-Coach: Charlie Gill	South Sydney 47th season Ground: Redfern Oval Captain-coach: Jack Rayner
	St. George 34th season Ground: Jubilee Oval Captain-Coach: Ken Kearney	Western Suburbs 47th season Ground: Pratten Park Captain-Coach: Keith Holman

Ladder

	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	Newtown	18	15	2	1	439	215	+224	32
2	South Sydney	18	14	1	3	473	255	+218	29
3	St. George	18	11	1	6	345	292	+53	23
4	North Sydney	18	10	2	6	415	320	+95	22
5	Manly	18	10	1	7	391	343	+48	21
6	Balmain	18	9	1	8	346	345	+1	19
7	Western Suburbs	18	6	1	11	287	374	-87	13
8	Canterbury	18	4	0	14	233	465	-232	8
9	Eastern Suburbs	18	3	1	14	257	493	-236	7
10	Parramatta	18	3	0	15	282	366	-84	6

Records set in 1954

In 1954 South Sydney’s Les Brennan set the standing record for the highest number of tries in a debut season with 29. Newtown winger Ray Preston’s 34 tries remains second only to Dave Brown’s 38 in 1935 in the tally of tries scored in a season.^[2] Preston and Kevin Considine combined for fifty-six tries during the season – easily a record for a pair of club wingers.^[3]

In the last round on 21 August, Western Suburbs set a record for the highest losing score when they lost to Balmain 32–37. This was to be one of only two cases before the introduction of the 10-metre ruck rule in 1993 that a team scored over thirty points and lost the match.^[4]

Finals

Home	Score	Away	Match Information
Home	Score	Away	Date and Time	Venue	Referee	Crowd
Semi Finals
St. George	15-14	North Sydney	28 August 1954	Sydney Cricket Ground	Jack O'Brien	32,397
Newtown	14-24	South Sydney	4 September 1954	Sydney Cricket Ground	Darcy Lawler	38,520
Preliminary Final
Newtown	27-13	St. George	11 September 1954	Sydney Cricket Ground	Darcy Lawler	32,303
Grand Final
South Sydney	23-15	Newtown	18 September 1954	Sydney Cricket Ground	Jack O'Brien	45,759

Grand Final

South Sydney	Position	Newtown
Clive Churchill	FB	Gordon Clifford
Ian Moir	WG	Kevin Considine
Martin Gallagher	CE	Dick Poole
Greg Hawick	CE	Brian Clay
Les Brennan	WG	Ray Preston
John Dougherty	FE	Ray Kelly
Ray Mason	HB	Bobby Whitton
Denis Donoghue	PR	Jim Evans (c)
Ernie Hammerton	HK	Frank Johnson
Jim Richards	PR	Don Stait
Bernie Purcell	SR	Frank Narvo
Jack Rayner (Ca./Co.)	SR	Henry Holloway
Les Cowie	LK	Peter Ryan
	Coach	Col Geelan

In spite of Newtown finishing as minor premiers they hadn’t beaten South Sydney in either regular season encounter. Souths had also won their semi-final meeting 24-14. In this, the NSWRFL’s first Grand Final scheduled to determine the premiership winner, Souths were the victors. Legendary fullback Clive Churchill was outstanding setting up three of his side's five tries. The Bluebags stayed in the contest through the kicking boot of their Test fullback Gordon “Punchy” Clifford.

South Sydney 23 ( Tries: Cowie 2, Moir, Hawick, Dougherty. Goals: Purcell 4.)

Newtown 15 ( Tries: Narvo. Goals: Clifford 6.)

Post-season

Following the grand final, nine players from the NSWRFL were selected in a squad of eighteen to represent Australia in the 1954 Rugby League World Cup in France.

References

↑ ‘Crocker will play here’ 20 January 1954 The Sydney Morning Herald
↑ Rugby League Tables – Most Individual Tries in a Season; AFL Tables
↑ Whitticker, Alan and Hudson, Glen; The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players (1999), p. 432 ISBN 1875169768
↑ Rugby League Tables – Highest Losing Scores; AFL Tables

External links

Rugby League Tables - Season 1954 AFL Tables
Whiticker, Alan & Collis, Ian (2006) The History of Rugby League Clubs, New Holland, Sydney
Results: 1951-60 at rabbitohs.com.au
1954 J J Giltinan Shield at rleague.com
NSWRFL season 1954 at rugbyleagueproject.com

South Sydney squad - 1954 NSWRFL Premiers (15th title)

1. Clive Churchill 2. Ian Moir 3. Martin Gallagher 4. Greg Hawick 5. Les Brennan 6. John Dougherty 7. Ray Mason 8. Denis Donoghue 9. Ernie Hammerton 10. Jim Wilson 11. Bernie Purcell 12. Jack Rayner (Ca./Co.) 13. Les Cowie

South Sydney Rabbitohs

Est. 1908 at Redfern Town Hall, Sydney, New South Wales

The club	History Honours Players Coaches Records Representatives Results

Home grounds	Current ANZ Stadium Past Sydney Sports Ground Redfern Oval Sydney Football Stadium

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Important figures	Arthur Hennessy Benny Wearing George Treweek Jack Rayner Clive Churchill John Sattler Bob McCarthy George Piggins Russell Crowe

League	Current NRL Past NSWRL ARL

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Other competitions	Current Auckland Nines National Youth Competition S. G. Ball Cup Harold Matthews Cup Past Amco Cup New South Wales Cup Jersey Flegg Cup

Affiliations	South Sydney District Junior Rugby Football League North Sydney Bears

Related articles	The Burrow Reggie the Rabbit South Sydney Central

NRL seasons

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