1952 NSWRFL season

1952 New South Wales Rugby Football League
Teams 10
Premiers Western Suburbs (4th title)
Minor premiers Western Suburbs (3rd title)
Matches played 95
Points scored 3217 (total)
33.863 (per match)
Top point scorer(s) Ron Rowles (178)
Top try scorer(s) Peter O'Brien (20)

1952's New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the 45th season of the rugby league competition based in Sydney. Ten teams from across Sydney contested for the J. J. Giltinan Shield during the season which culminated in a final between Western Suburbs and South Sydney.

Teams

The tail-end of the season was played without footballers who were selected to go on the Australian national team's 1923-53 Kangaroo tour.

Balmain
45th season
Ground: Leichhardt Oval
Coach: Arthur Patton
Captain: Stan Ponchard
Canterbury-Bankstown
18th season
Ground: Belmore Oval
Coach: Alby Why
Captain: Ken Charlton
Eastern Suburbs
45th season
Ground: Sydney Sports Ground
Coach: Ernie Norman
Captain: Ferris Ashton
Manly-Warringah
6th season
Ground: Brookvale Oval
Captain-Coach: Wally O'Connell
Newtown
45th season
Ground: Erskineville Oval
Coach: Frank Johnson
Captain: Gordon Clifford
North Sydney
45th season
Ground: North Sydney Oval
Coach: Ross McKinnon
Captain: Bob Sullivan
Parramatta
6th season
Ground: Cumberland Oval
Coach: Vic Hey
Captain: Ian Johnston
South Sydney
45th season
Ground: Redfern Oval
Captain-Coach: Jack Rayner
St. George
32nd season
Ground: Jubilee Oval
Captain-coach: Johnny Hawke
Western Suburbs
45th season
Ground: Pratten Park
Coach: Tom McMahon
Captain: Peter McLean

Ladder

Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 Western Suburbs 181413331264+6729
2 St. George 181305375279+9626
3 South Sydney 181206344189+15524
4 North Sydney 181107384247+13722
5 Manly 181107334261+7322
6 Balmain 188010351256+9516
7 Newtown 186012210341-13112
8 Eastern Suburbs 186012259397-13812
9 Canterbury 185112214386-17211
10 Parramatta 183015241423-1826

Finals

The 1952 season saw North Sydney reach the finals for the first time since 1943.[1]

Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Crowd
Playoff
North Sydney 36-8 Manly-Warringah 27 August 1952 Sydney Cricket Ground 8,770
Semi Finals
Western Suburbs 10-18 South Sydney 30 August 1952 Sydney Cricket Ground Jack O'Brien 34,181
St. George 9-21 North Sydney 6 September 1952 Sydney Cricket Ground George Bishop 41,976
Preliminary Final
South Sydney 26-12 North Sydney 13 September 1952 Sydney Cricket Ground Jack O'Brien 44,166
Final
Western Suburbs 22-12 South Sydney 20 September 1952 Sydney Cricket Ground George Bishop 41,060

Grand Final

South Sydney Position Western Suburbs
Don Murdoch FB George Bain
John Graves WG Bill Callinan
Malcolm Spencer CE Col Ratcliff
Frank Threlfo CE Gerry Lowe
Cliff Smailes WG Jack Fitzgerald
Norm Spillane FE Dev Dines
Ken Brogan HB Leo Trevena
Denis Donoghue PR Kevin Hansen
Ernie Hammerton HK Hec Farrell
Bryan Orrock PR William Horder
Ken Macreadie SR Don Schofield
Jack Rayner (Ca./Co.) SR Ron Watson
Ray Neilson LK Peter McLean (c)
Coach Tom McMahon

The rl1908 reference[2] transcribes Sean Fagan's 2002 interview with Souths captain-coach Jack Rayner fuelling the suggestion that dubious refereeing decisions cost the Rabbitohs the 1952 title and prevented Souths from stringing together all six premierships of 1950 to 1955. However it can't be argued that the Western Suburbs club were themselves a force of the 1950s and their 1952 achievement was undeniably remarkable as they played the whole second half of the season and the finals without their stars Frank Stanmore, Keith Holman and Arthur Collinson who had all left with the touring Kangaroos to England and France.

Wests finished as minor premiers due in great part to their undefeated nine-game streak in the first full round of the 1952 season. In the Final they met Souths who were seeking their third premiership in a row.

The controversy centered on a disallowed Rabbitohs try early in the game. Souths' Frank Threlfo made a break and slipped the ball to Ken Macreadie who was in under the posts. Referee George Bishop ruled the pass forward and disallowed the try. In the interview Rayner also comments on the lopsided penalty count.[2]

However the record-books show that Wests scored six tries to two, winning the match 22-12 and club's fourth premiership. Wests' Hec Farrell and Souths' Bryan Orrock were sent-off for fighting and went before the judiciary charged with kicking.[3] Wests' coach Tom McMahon became the first coach to win a premiership in his debut coaching season.

Ironically, ten years later Wests would again threaten to break a string of premiership wins - the 1962 and 1963 Magpie sides both came close to ceasing St. George's long run - but again a referreeing controversy would affect the outcome. The 1963 Grand Final has been said to have been decided by questionable calls from referee Darcy Lawler and on that occasion Wests would be on the wrong end of those rulings.

Western Suburbs 22 (Tries: Schofield 2, Fitzgerald, Dines, Bain, McLean. Goals: Bain 2.)

South Sydney 12 (Tries: Smailes, Macreadie. Goals: Graves 3.)

Footnotes

  1. "North may pay record bonus". The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia). 1952-09-08. Retrieved 2009-12-05.
  2. 1 2 rl1908.com Rayner Interview
  3. "Two R.L. men cautioned". The Sydney Morning Herald. 1952-09-23. p. 8. Retrieved 2009-11-20.

References

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