New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1954
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| New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1954 | |
 |
|
| Teams | 10 |
| Premiers |  South Sydney (15th title) |
| Minor premiers |  Newtown (5th title) |
| Matches played | 94 |
| Points scored | 3613 (average 38.436 per match) |
| Top points scorer(s) |  Ron Rowles (221 points) |
| Top try scorer(s) | Ray Preston (34 tries) |
The 1954 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the forty-seventh season of the rugby league competition based in Sydney. Ten teams from across Sydney contested during the season for the J. J. Giltinan Shield.
Contents |
[edit] Teams
 Balmain |
 Canterbury |
 Eastern Suburbs |
 Manly |
 Newtown |
 North Sydney |
 Parramatta |
 South Sydney |
 St. George |
 Western Suburbs |
[edit] Season summary
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 knocked out 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.
In 1954 South Sydney's Les Brennan set the standing record for the highest number of tries in a debut season with 29. Kevin Considine's 34 tries that year stands in second place behind Dave Brown's 38 in 1935 in the tally of tries scored in a season.
[edit] 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-Warringah |
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-Bankstown |
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 |
[edit] Finals
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ||
[edit] 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 Johnston |
| Jim Richards | PR | Don Stait |
| Bernie Purcell | SR | Frank Narvo |
| Jack Rayner (c) | SR | Henry Holloway |
| Les Cowie | LK | Peter Ryan |
| Jack Rayner | 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 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.)
[edit] References
- Rugby League Tables - Season 1954 The World of Rugby League
- Whiticker, Alan & Collis, Ian (2006) The History of Rugby League Clubs, New Holland, Sydney
