1961 NSWRFL season

1961 New South Wales Rugby Football League
Teams 10
Premiers St. George (8th title)
Minor premiers Western Suburbs (4th title)
Matches played 94
Points scored 2830 (total)
30.106 (per match)
Attendance 1,035,273 (total)
11,014 (per match)
Top point scorer(s) Bob Landers (164)
Top try scorer(s) Johnny King (20)

The 1961 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the 54th season of the rugby league competition based in Sydney. Ten teams from across the city competed for the J J Giltinan Shield and WD & HO Wills Cup during the season, which culminated in a grand final between St. George and Western Suburbs.

Season summary

Ten Sydney-based clubs participated in the competition with each team meeting all others twice in eighteen regular premiership rounds to reach a top four who battled out four finals.

In round 1, Sydney's Nine Network made the first live telecast of an Australian rugby league match between the Balmain Tigers and the North Sydney Bears from North Sydney Oval on 15 April 1961.[1] The second half of the match was beamed live with former international Ray Stehr the first commentator. There were only two cameras to capture the action, one positioned on each 25-yard line and cameramen frantically switched lenses depending on where play was located.[2]

The St. George Dragons won their eighth premiership, defeating the Western Suburbs Magpies in the Grand Final. The Magpies again won the NSWRFL Club Championship this season.

Also this season the Jersey Flegg Championship was introduced.

The 1961 season also saw the retirement from the League of future Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame inductee, Keith Holman.

Teams

Balmain
54th season
Ground: Leichhardt Oval
Coach: Harry Bath
Captain: Keith Barnes
Canterbury-Bankstown
27th season
Ground: Belmore Sports Ground
Coach: Eddie Burns
Captain: Ray Gartner
Eastern Suburbs
54th season
Ground: Sydney Sports Ground
Coach: Dick Dunn
Captain: Terry Fearnley
Manly-Warringah
15th season
Ground: Brookvale Oval
Coach: Ken Arthurson
Captain: Rex Mossop
Newtown
54th season
Ground: Henson Park
Coach: Charles Cahill
Captain: Tony Brown
North Sydney
54th season
Ground: North Sydney Oval
Coach: Robert Sullivan
Captain: Brian Carlson
Parramatta
15th season
Ground: Cumberland Oval
Captain-Coach: Ron Boden
South Sydney
54th season
Ground: Redfern Oval
Coach: Denis Donoghue
Captain: Darrel Chapman
St. George
41st season
Ground: Jubilee Oval
Coach: Ken Kearney
Captains: Brian Clay / Billy Wilson
Western Suburbs
54th season
Ground: Pratten Park
Coach: Jack Fitzgerald
Captain: Neville Charlton

Ladder

Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 Western Suburbs 181503390181+20930
2 St. George 181503367167+20030
3 Manly 181008294209+8520
4 Balmain 181008281292-1120
5 Eastern Suburbs 18918290211+7919
6 North Sydney 18909273298-2518
7 South Sydney 187011237325-8814
8 Canterbury 186111197284-8713
9 Newtown 185013236436-20010
10 Parramatta 183015203365-1626

Finals

Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Crowd
Semi Finals
Manly-Warringah 5-10 Balmain 27 August 1961 Sydney Sports Ground Darcy Lawler 20,842
Western Suburbs 4-9 St. George 2 September 1961 Sydney Cricket Ground Darcy Lawler 47,964
Preliminary Final
Western Suburbs 7-5 Balmain 9 September 1961 Sydney Cricket Ground Darcy Lawler 40,726
Grand Final
St. George 22-0 Western Suburbs 16 September 1961 Sydney Cricket Ground Darcy Lawler 61,196

Grand Final

St George Position Western Suburbs
Brian Graham FB Don Parish
Johnny King WG Dave Barsley
Dave Brown CE Bill Brown
Reg Gasnier CE Billy Martin
Eddie Lumsden WG Peter Dimond
Brian Clay FE Keith Holman
Bob Bugden HB Arthur Summons
Kevin Brown PR Neville Charlton (c)
Peter Armstrong HK Noel Kelly
Billy Wilson (c) PR Mark Patch
Kevin Ryan SR Bill Carson
Norm Provan SR John Hayes
Johnny Raper LK Kel O'Shea
Ken Kearney Coach Jack Fitzgerald

Wests beat St George for the minor premiership on for-and-against and they were both ten points clear of their nearest rivals. If the Dragons run was to be stopped, this was the chance in legendary half Keith Holman's last match.

With misty rain on the day of the decider, Wests were knuckling down for another tight forward struggle as had been the case the major semi final also played in the wet. However, Saints stunned the Magpies as they ignored the conditions and threw the ball around.

The Dragons backline ran riot. Eddie Lumsden had a tremendous match, scoring three tries while Johnny King also scored another. Brian Clay, the best player on the field, cut loose against the veteran Holman who was playing in the unaccustomed five-eighth role. In every attacking raid there was an abundance of St George players backing up as the Wests' defence became more and more compressed.

St George scored three tries in a window of fifteen minutes to lead 15-0 at the 26-minute mark. The first was scored after nine minutes when Norm Provan from dummy-half passed to Johnny Raper who sent Clay away to the corner. Close to the sideline and fifteen metres before the try line, Clay called Lumsden inside him and snapped a reverse flick pass into the winger's hands enabling him to score untouched.

At the 21-minute mark from a St George scrum win Raper took the ball and ran toward King, he drew three defenders then lofted the ball to King who scored in the corner. Five minutes later a classic backline got the ball through the hands to Dave Brown who drew Barnsley in leaving Lumsden unmarked for his second try.

They took a 17-nil lead to the half-time break and the match appeared theirs. Fifteen minutes into the second half Lumsden scored again. St George then proceeded to lock up the game and Wests could not overcome the tough Dragons defence.

St George won their sixth Grand Final in a row, stunning Western Suburbs by 22-0. This victory enabled them to beat the previous record of Grand Final wins in a row, held by the South Sydney Rabbitohs. It was Bob Bugden's last match for the Dragons. He had featured in all six wins.

St. George 22 (Tries: Lumsden 3, King. Goals: Graham 5.)

Western Suburbs 0

Footnotes

  1. Sean Fagan. "History of Rugby League". nrl.com. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  2. Big League, July 13, 2006 p.7

References

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