- 1947 NSWRFL season
-
1947 NSWRFL season Teams 10 Premiers Balmain[1] (10th title) Minor premiers Canterbury (3rd title) Matches played 95 Points scored 3238 (total)
34.084 (per match)Top point scorer(s) Pat Devery (142) Top try scorer(s) Bob Lulham (28) The 1947 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the fortieth season of Sydney's top-level rugby league football competition, Australia's first. The addition of two teams, Manly-Warringah and Parramatta, saw ten teams from across the city contest during the 1947 premiership, the first expansion of the League since Canterbury's introduction in 1935. The season culminated in a grand final between the Balmain and Canterbury-Bankstown clubs.[2]
Contents
Season summary
For the first time since NSWRFL season 1937, more than eight clubs competed in the Sydney premiership due to the admission of Manly-Warringah and Parramatta to the first grade competition.
Mid way through the season the Balmain club looked out of touch winning only 6 of their first 12 games. Five consecutive wins to end the regular season left them in position to make a finals assault. Balmain's Bob Lulham's set a new record for the highest number of tries by a player in a debut season with a tally of 28 tries in 18 matches. This remains that club's standing record for tries in a season.
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 admitted in 1947
- 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
Balmain Canterbury-Bankstown Eastern Suburbs Manly-Warringah Newtown North Sydney Parramatta South Sydney St. George Western Suburbs Ladder
Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts 1 Canterbury 18 13 1 4 366 272 +94 27 2 Balmain 18 12 0 6 342 265 +77 24 3 Newtown 18 11 1 6 375 302 +73 23 4 St. George 18 11 0 7 353 272 +81 22 5 Western Suburbs 18 11 0 7 295 253 +42 22 6 North Sydney 18 9 1 8 287 278 +9 19 7 South Sydney 18 9 0 9 314 328 -14 18 8 Eastern Suburbs 18 5 1 12 270 316 -46 11 9 Manly-Warringah 18 4 0 14 242 364 -122 8 10 Parramatta 18 3 0 15 230 424 -194 6 Finals
Home Score Away Match Information Date and Time Venue Referee Crowd Playoff St. George 5 - 10 Western Suburbs 27 August 1947 Sydney Sports Ground 13,552 Semi Finals Canterbury 25 - 15 Newtown 30 August 1947 Sydney Cricket Ground George Bishop 36,303 Balmain 27 - 16 Western Suburbs 6 September 1947 Sydney Sports Ground Tom McMahon 29,375 Final Canterbury 19 - 25 Balmain 13 September 1947 Sydney Sports Ground Jack O'Brien 34,994 Grand Final Canterbury 9 - 13 Balmain 20 September 1947[3] Sydney Sports Ground Jack O'Brien 29,292 Grand final
Canterbury-Bankstown Position Balmain Richard Johnson FB Jack McCullough Jeff Simmonds WG Robert Lulham Eddie Tracy CE Pat Devery Norm Young CE Joe Jorgenson Morrie Murphy WG Arthur Patton Ray Hasson FE George Williams Bruce Hopkins HB Des Bryan Eddie Burns PR Jack Branighan Roy Kirkaldy HK Herb Gilbert Jnr Henry Porter (c) PR Jack Spencer Alister Clarke SR Sid Ryan Ken Charlton SR Harry Bath Len Holmes LK Tom Bourke (c) Ross McKinnon Coach Norm Robinson The Tigers had strung together seven consecutive wins including a preliminary final victory over minor premiers Canterbury in their attempt at a second straight premiership. Canterbury exercised their "right of challenge" after losing the final and called for a Grand Final decider.
The formidable Canterbury front row of Eddie Burns, Roy Kirkaldy and Henry Porter were combining in their tenth season for close to 100 appearances as a scrum front trio. They led a punishing Berries defence and gave their side a better-than-even chance of possession in the scrum contests.
Balmain's international star centre and Kangaroo captain Joe Jorgenson had played and coached on a country contract in Junee in 1947 but returned to the Tigers reserve-grade in time for the semi-finals. The Grand Final marked his sole first-grade appearance of the season. Balmain's Test five-eighth Pat Devery was the nominated match kicker but after several misses he passed over to Jorgenson who kicked three penalties to keep Balmain in the game and trailing 9-6 with ten minutes to go.
Then Jorgenson crashed over for a try under the posts and after receiving medical attention he converted his own goal to give the Tigers an 11-9 lead. A final 45 yard penalty goal then sealed the match for the Tigers at 13-9 with Jorgenson scoring all of Balmain's points and being chaired victorious from the field.
Balmain 13 (Tries: Jorgenson. Goals: Jorgenson 5 )
defeated
Canterbury-Bankstown 9 (Tries: Hasson. Goals: Johnson 2, Hasson)
References
- ^ Premiership Roll of Honour at rl1908.com
- ^ "Canterbury wants Kilham back". The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia): pp. 8. 1947-09-15. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZH0QAAAAIBAJ&sjid=wZMDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5775,1981252. Retrieved 2009-11-20.
- ^ 1947 Grand Final at nrlstats.com
- Rugby League Tables - Notes The World of Rugby League
- Rugby League Tables - Season 1947 The World of Rugby League
- Premiership History and Statistics RL1908
- Finals lineups and results Hunterlink site
- Balmain Official History Tigers History Site
- Whiticker, Alan(2004) Captaining the Kangaroos, New Holland, Sydney
- Results:1941-1950 at rabbitohs.com.au
- 1947 Labor Daily Cup at rleague.com
- 1947 NSWRFL season at rugbyleagueproject.com
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