New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1973

Infobox rugby league season
year = 1973
competition = New South Wales Rugby Football League


imagesize = 125px
caption =
teams = 12
premiers =
count = 2nd
minor premiers =
mpcount = 3rd
matches = 139
points = 4234
attendance = 1390810
top points scorer = (183)
top try scorer = (18)
1973's New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the sixty-sixth season of the rugby league competition based in Sydney. Twelve teams from across the city, including six foundation clubs, competed for the J J Giltinan Shield and WD & HO Wills Cup during the season, which culminated in a grand final between the Manly-Warringah and Cronulla-Sutherland clubs.

eason Summary

Twenty-two regular season rounds were played from March until August, resulting in in a top four of Manly, Cronulla, St. George and Newtown who went on to battle it out in the finals.

The 1973 Rothmans Medal was awarded to Cronulla-Sutherland forward Ken Maddison. "Rugby League Week" awarded their player of the year award to Manly-Warringah's halfback Johnny Mayes.

Teams

Grand Final

After Cronulla's 14-4 loss in the major semi-final, Manly expected the Sharks would be fired up for the Grand Final. And they were. Ian Heads wrote in the Sunday Telegraph the next day that "It was a Grand Final as tough and dirty as any bar-room brawl" [Sydney Sunday Telegraph 16 Sept 1973] . Alan Clarkson wrote in the Sun Herald "The fare served up in the first half belonged in the Colosseum" [Sydney Sun Herald 16 Sept 1973] . The first half was not how the game's administrators would have wished to show-case rugby league, every tackle was loaded with menace and meant to damage. But from the melee Bob Fulton emerged and showed his unrivalled skill. Heads and Clarkson wrote of his "towering genius" and "football brilliance" respectively.

Manly's English import Malcolm Reilly himself never one to take a backward step, was the first victim of the carnage. In the opening minute a Cronulla forward set his sights on Reilly and didn't miss his target. Reilly was in agony from a badly bruised hip and left the field for pain-killers, to return for revenge. He then created mayhem but bowed out in the 25th minute and was replaced by John Bucknall.

After an all-in brawl in the first half, Referee Keith Page eventually called all 26 players in for a mass caution, advising that he would send the next infringer off.

Then Fulton took over in the 29th and 58th minutes. 'Bozo' demonstrated power and pace in both tries. The first came from a brilliant Fred Jones pass which saw Fulton split Eric Archer and Steve Rogers just 25 metres from the line. Manly took a 5-0 scoreline to the half time break.

The second Fulton try came after Eadie took a pass from five-eighth. Ian Martin then looked for Fulton and set him up perfectly.

Cronulla had to wait a long time before they dented the Manly line. It was in the 70th minute that the crack appeared. Trailing 8-2, the Sharks struck when lock Greg Pierce positioned replacement fullback Rick Bourke for a try. Eadie stretched the lead to three points from a penalty kick and then the Sharks rallied and bombarded Manly. However the Manly defence of John Mayes, Terry Randall, Peter Peters, Eadie and Fulton were up to the task.

Manly-Warringah 10 (Tries: Fulton 2. Goals: Eadie 2. )

Cronulla 7 (Tries: Bourke. Goals: Rogers )

References

* [http://www.stats.rleague.com/rl/snotes.html Rugby League Tables - Notes] "The World of Rugby League"
* [http://www.stats.rleague.com/rl/seas/1973.html Rugby League Tables - Season 1973] "The World of Rugby League"
* [http://www.rl1908.com/premiership.htm Premiership History and Statistics] "RL1908"
* Clarkson, Alan (1997) "The Greatest Games We Ever Played" (Essay Collection, ed Geoff Prenter) Ironbark Publishing, Sydney

Footnotes

External links

* [http://www.eraofthebiff.com/mm06.html 1973 Grand Final at eraofthebiff.com]
* [http://www.rabbitohs.com.au/The-Club/Tradition/Results---1971-1980.html Results:1971-80 at rabbitohs.com.au]
* [http://www.rleague.com//db/year/1973/j_j_giltinan_shield_and_wd_ho_wills_cup/index.php 1973 J J Giltinan Shield and WD & HO Wills Cup at rleague.com]
* [http://rugbyleagueproject.com/competitions/NSWRL_1973.html NSWRFL season 1973 at rugbyleagueproject.com]