New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1969
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| New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1969 | |
 |
|
| Teams | 12 |
| Premiers |  Balmain (11th title) |
| Minor premiers |  South Sydney (15th title) |
| Matches played | 136 |
| Points scored | 4258 (average 31.309 per match) |
| Attendance | 1,788,112 (average 13,148 per match) |
The 1969 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the sixty-second season of professional rugby league football in Australia. Twelve teams contested during the season for the premiership, including six Sydney-based foundation teams and another six from the Sydney area.
Contents |
[edit] Teams
 Balmain Tigers |
 Canterbury Bulldogs |
 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks |
 Eastern Suburbs Roosters |
 Manly Sea Eagles |
 Newtown Jets |
 North Sydney Bears |
 Parramatta Eels |
 Penrith Panthers |
 South Sydney Rabbitohs |
 St. George Dragons |
 Western Suburbs Magpies |
[edit] Ladder
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Sydney |
22 | 18 | 0 | 4 | 489 | 222 | +267 | 36 |
| 2 | Balmain |
22 | 17 | 0 | 5 | 410 | 304 | +106 | 34 |
| 3 |  St. George |
22 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 411 | 323 | +88 | 28 |
| 4 |  Manly-Warringah |
22 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 355 | 298 | +57 | 28 |
| 5 |  Western Suburbs |
22 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 315 | 288 | +27 | 22 |
| 6 |  Parramatta |
22 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 323 | 338 | -15 | 22 |
| 7 |  North Sydney |
22 | 10 | 1 | 11 | 343 | 362 | -19 | 21 |
| 8 |  Canterbury-Bankstown |
22 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 316 | 349 | -33 | 20 |
| 9 |  Eastern Suburbs |
22 | 8 | 1 | 13 | 307 | 409 | -102 | 17 |
| 10 |  Penrith |
22 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 311 | 398 | -87 | 13 |
| 11 |  Newtown |
22 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 279 | 421 | -142 | 13 |
| 12 |  Cronulla-Sutherland |
22 | 5 | 0 | 17 | 301 | 448 | -147 | 10 |
[edit] Finals
In the Preliminary Final, Balmain trailed 12-14 against Manly-Warringah until late in the match when winger George Ruebner charged for the corner post to snatch a win in dramatic fashion.
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| Semi Finals | ||||||||
 Manly-Warringah |
19-10 |  St. George |
30 August 1969 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Keith Page | 40,977 | ||
 South Sydney |
14-13 |  Balmain |
6 September 1969 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Keith Page | 44,159 | ||
| Preliminary Final | ||||||||
| Balmain |
15-14 | Manly-Warringah |
13 September 1969 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Keith Page | 41,410 | ||
| Grand Final | ||||||||
| South Sydney |
2-11 | Balmain |
20 September 1969 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Keith Page | 58,825 | ||
[edit] Grand Final
| Balmain Tigers | Position | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
|---|---|---|
| Robert Smithies | FB | Eric Simms |
| George Reubner | WG | Michael Cleary |
| Allan Fitzgibbon | CE | Bob Honan |
| Terry Parker | CE | Kerry Burke |
| Len Killeen | WG | Brian James |
| Keith Outten | FE | Denis Pittard |
| Dave Bolton | HB | Bob Grant |
| Garry Leo | PR | John Sattler |
| Peter Boulton | HK | Elwyn Walters |
| Barry McTaggart | PR | John O'Neill |
| John Spencer | SR | Bob McCarthy |
| Joseph Walsh | SR | Bob Moses |
| Peter Provan (c) | LK | Ron Coote |
| Sid Williams | Reserve | Paul Sait |
| Leo Nosworthy | Coach | Clive Churchill |
Balmain were not given a chance of winning the Premiership after the retirement of Keith Barnes. Souths had won the last two premierships, beaten the Tigers in the Major Semi-Final to advance to the Grand Final and boasted 11 internationals in their side.
A determined side of Tigers as underdogs outplayed the unbackable Souths who were over confident, beating the Rabbitohs 11-2. It was the biggest shock in post-war rugby league and also called "the lay down grand final" because of the Tigers' ploy of feigning injury to stop the Rabbitohs' flowing play.
Balmain 11 (Tries: Williams. Goals: Killeen 2. Field Goal: D Bolton 2)
South Sydney 2 (Goals: Simms 1.)
[edit] References
- Rugby League Tables - Season 1969 The World of Rugby League
