1934 NSWRFL season

1934 New South Wales Rugby Football League
Teams 8
Premiers Western Suburbs (2nd title)
Minor premiers Eastern Suburbs (5th title)
Matches played 60
Points scored 1823 (total)
30.383 (per match)
Top point scorer(s) Dave Brown (121)
Top try scorer(s) Dave Brown (11)
Fred Gardner (11)
Vic Hey (11)

The 1934 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the 27th season of Sydney's top-grade rugby league football club competition, Australia's first. Eight teams from across the city contested the premiership during the season which lasted from April until September and culminated in Western Suburbs' victory over Eastern suburbs in the premiership final.[1]

Season summary

At the height of The Depression, the New South Wales Rugby Football League again banned radio broadcasts of matches, blaming them for a severe drop in crowd numbers.

In Round 2 the University club began a losing streak which would run until the 14th round of the 1936 season, marking the record for the most consecutive losses in premiership history at 42.

Teams

Balmain
27th season
Ground: Leichhardt Oval
Coach: George Robinson
Captain: Syd Christensen		 Eastern Suburbs
27th season
Ground: Trumper Oval, Sports Ground
Coach: Arthur Halloway
Captain: Dave Brown
Newtown
27th season
Ground: Marrickville Oval
Coach: Charles "Boxer" Russell
Captain: Keith Ellis
North Sydney
27th season
Ground: North Sydney Oval
Coach: Herman Peters
Captain: Doug Deitz
St. George
14th season
Ground: Earl Park
Coach: Albert Johnston
Captain: Harry Kadwell		 South Sydney
27th season
Ground: Sports Ground
Coach: Charlie Lynch
Captain: George Treweek
University
15th season
Captain-Coach: Gordon Favelle		 Western Suburbs
27th season
Ground: Pratten Park
Captain-coach: Frank McMillan

Ladder

The geographical locations of the teams that contested the 1934 premiership across Sydney.
Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 Eastern Suburbs 141202308165+14324
2 Western Suburbs 141202263158+10524
3 St. George 14905251166+8518
4 South Sydney 14806213149+6416
5 Newtown 14509192229-3710
6 North Sydney 14509194234-4010
7 Balmain 144010206275-698
8 University 141013113364-2512

Finals

In the two semi finals, the top two ranked teams Western Suburbs and Eastern Suburbs beat their lower-ranked opponents St. George and South Sydney. The two winners then played in a final in which Western beat Eastern Suburbs.

Semi-finals Final
3 September 1934 - Sports Ground
  Western Suburbs 16  
  St. George 6  
 
16 September 1934 - Sports Ground[2]
      Western Suburbs 15
    Eastern Suburbs 12
9 September 1934 - Sports Ground
  Eastern Suburbs 19
  South Sydney 6  

Premiership Final

Western Suburbs Position Eastern Suburbs
Frank McMillan (Ca./Co.) FB Tom Dowling
Alan Ridley WG John Lane
Charlie Cornwell CE Dave Brown (c)
Stan Tancred CE Jack Beaton
Alan Brady WG Harry Thompson
Vic Hey FE Ernie Norman
Les Mead HB Viv Thicknesse
Jack McConnell PR Ray Stehr
Bob Lindfield HK Tom McLachlan
Alan Blake PR Max Nixon
Vince Sheehan SR Harry Pierce
Max Gray SR Joe Pearce
Ray Hancock LK Andy Norval

After a hurried conference on Saturday, 1 September 1934, the league postponed the final for a week because of heavy rain and adverse ground conditions. It was the first postponement in the competition's twenty-seven-year history. Eastern Suburbs players Viv Thicknesse and Stan Tancred made a return for the final which was refereed by J Murphy before a crowd of 25,174.

Western Suburbs captain Frank McMillan won the toss and ran with the wind before Les Mead opened with a penalty goal. Regular stoppages for infringements ensued before Jack Beaton kicked accurately to level the match at 2–2. Western Suburbs Test winger Alan Ridley scored the first try of the match, crashing over on the right wing after powering through the defence. McMillan's conversion made it 7–2, with the score remaining unchanged at halftime.

After the break, Thicknesse hit back for Eastern Suburbs and crossed after excellent lead up work by Joe Pearce. Beaton missed the conversion but Dave Brown steered through a penalty from a scrum infringement shortly after and the scores were level at 7–7. Rain began to fall as Western Suburbs gathered momentum. The play shifted to Easts' line and Vince Sheehan crossed for an unconverted try and Western Suburbs led 10–7. Eastern Suburbs continued to defend grimly before Western Suburbs surged to a comfortable 15–7 lead. Vic Hey received a lobbed pass and got the ball to Alan Ridley who scored under the upright for Mead to convert. The Roosters' chances came in the final stages and Andy Norval crossed for his team's second try, although the referee appeared to miss a blatant knock-on. Beaton converted but it was all too late, with Western Suburbs claiming their second premiership.

Frank McMillan 1934 premiership winning captain, to his right Alan Brady & Charlie Cornwell

A great victory by a great team who upset the star-studded Eastern Suburbs, who went on to win the next three titles. Alan Ridley played one of the best games for Western Suburbs along with team-mates Mead, Hey, Brady, Tancred. Current test skipper Frank McMillan (141 games) and hooker Bob Lindfield (138 matches) announced their retirement after the victory and were chaired from the field by team-mates.

Western Suburbs 15 (Tries: Alan Ridley 2, Vince Sheehan. Goals: Les Mead 2, Frank McMillan)

Eastern Suburbs 12 (Tries: Andy Norval, Viv Thicknesse. Goals: Jack Beaton 2, Dave Brown)

References

  1. ↑ Premiership Roll of Honour at rl1908.com
  2. ↑ Wests def. Sydney Roosters (15-12) - 08-Sep-1934 at nrlstats.com
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