New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1949
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| New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1949 | |
 |
|
| Teams | 10 |
| Premiers |  St. George (2nd title) |
| Minor premiers |  South Sydney (10th title) |
| Matches played | 94 |
| Points scored | 2995 (average 31.862 per match) |
| Top points scorer(s) |  Bill Keato (163 points) |
| Top try scorer(s) | Ron Roberts (25 tries) |
The 1949 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the forty-second season of the rugby league competition based in Sydney. Ten teams from across Sydney contested during the season.
Contents |
[edit] Teams
- Balmain, formed on January 23, 1908 at Balmain Town Hall
- Canterbury-Bankstown
- Eastern Suburbs, formed on January 24, 1908 at Paddington Town Hall
- Manly-Warringah
- Newtown, formed on January 14, 1908
- North Sydney, formed on February 7, 1908
- Parramatta, formed in November 1946
- South Sydney, formed on January 17, 1908 at Redfern Town Hall
- St. George, formed on November 8, 1920 at Kogarah School of Arts
- Western Suburbs, formed on February 4, 1908
[edit] Colours
 Balmain |
 Canterbury |
 Eastern Suburbs |
 Manly |
 Newtown |
 North Sydney |
 Parramatta |
 South Sydney |
 St. George |
 Western Suburbs |
[edit] Season summary
St. George's Ron Robert's 25 try tally in 1949 stands in third place behind Les Brennan's 29 of 1954 and Bob Lulham's 28 of 1947 for the highest number of tries by a player in a debut season.
[edit] Ladder
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Sydney |
18 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 360 | 210 | +150 | 27 |
| 2 | Western Suburbs |
18 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 365 | 280 | +85 | 24 |
| 3 | St. George |
18 | 11 | 1 | 6 | 345 | 231 | +114 | 23 |
| 4 |  Balmain |
18 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 265 | 206 | +59 | 22 |
| 5 |  Parramatta |
18 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 311 | 269 | +42 | 20 |
| 6 |  Newtown |
18 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 358 | 332 | +26 | 19 |
| 7 |  Canterbury-Bankstown |
18 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 236 | 337 | -101 | 14 |
| 8 |  Manly-Warringah |
18 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 171 | 293 | -122 | 13 |
| 9 |  North Sydney |
18 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 253 | 369 | -116 | 11 |
| 10 |  Eastern Suburbs |
18 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 214 | 351 | -137 | 7 |
[edit] Finals
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| Semi Finals | ||||||||
 South Sydney |
12 - 16 |  St. George |
20 August 1949 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Tom McMahon | 41,696 | ||
 Western Suburbs |
13 - 20 |  Balmain |
27 August 1949 | Sydney Cricket Ground | George Bishop | 38,209 | ||
| Preliminary Final | ||||||||
| St. George |
18 - 7 | Balmain |
3 September 1949 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Jack O'Brien | 55,341 | ||
| Grand Final | ||||||||
| South Sydney |
12 - 19 | St. George |
10 September 1949 | Sydney Cricket Ground | George Bishop | 56,534 | ||
[edit] Grand Final
| South Sydney | Position | St George Dragons |
|---|---|---|
| Clive Churchill | FB | Doug Fleming |
| John Graves | WG | Ron Roberts |
| Norm Spillane | CE | Doug McRitchie |
| Ken Brogan | CE | Matt McCoy |
| Len Allmond | WG | Noel Pidding |
| Arthur Moynihan | FE | Johnny Hawke (c) |
| Des Bryan | HB | Noel Hill |
| Denis Donoghue | PR | Jack Holland |
| Ernie Hammerton | HK | Frank Facer |
| Jack Melville | PR | Jack Munn |
| Bernie Purcell | SR | Carl Langton |
| Jack Rayner (c) | SR | Charles Banks |
| Les Cowie | LK | George Jardine |
| Jack Rayner | Coach | Jim Duckworth |
In a brutal encounter, St George ran in five tries and overcame South Sydney 19-12 to claim the 1949 premiership in front of 56,534 people.
The Dragons were led masterfully by their captain, Norman 'Johnny' Hawke. Controlling all aspects of the match, Hawke took the game away from Souths who only got back into the contest when Hawke was forced from the field with injury. Also injured was Saints forward George Jardine who played the match with a broken wrist.
Hawke returned to the field after treatment and was later dubbed 'Man of the Match' and 'the Player's Player'. The Dragons' wingers, season's top try scorer Ron Roberts (25 tries) and newcomer Noel Pidding scored two tries each.
St George 19 (Tries: Roberts 2, Pidding 2, McCoy. Goals: McCoy, Pidding)
defeated
South Sydney 12 (Tries: Graves, Purcell. Goals: Graves 3)
[edit] References
- Rugby League Tables - Notes The World of Rugby League
- Rugby League Tables - Season 1949 The World of Rugby League
- Premiership History and Statistics RL1908
- Finals lineups and results Hunterlink site
