1936 NSWRFL season
| 1936 New South Wales Rugby Football League | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 9 |
| Premiers |
 Eastern Suburbs (6th title) |
| Minor premiers |
Eastern Suburbs (7th title) |
| Matches played | 63 |
| Points scored |
1956 (total) 31.048 (per match) |
| Top point scorer(s) |
 Syd Christensen (123) |
| Top try scorer(s) |
Fred Tottey (25) |
The 1936 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the 29th season of Sydney's top-level rugby league football club competition, Australia's first. Nine teams from across the city contested the premiership during the season, which lasted from April until September, and culminated in Eastern Suburbs' victory over Balmain in the final.[1]
Season summary
In round 14 of the University club ended a losing streak which had begun round 2, 1934 and marked the most consecutive losses in NSWRL/NRL premiership history at 42. Eastern Suburbs went through 1936 undefeated – a feat achieved by teams in only five other seasons before or since.
The first premiership game of Rugby League was played at Henson Park on 1 April 1936, when Newtown defeated University 20-0.
For the first time since 1919 and only the second since the competition began South Sydney lost more games than it won.[2]
Teams
- Balmain, formed on January 23, 1908 at Balmain Town Hall
- Canterbury-Bankstown
- Eastern Suburbs, formed on January 24, 1908 at Paddington Town Hall
- Newtown, formed on January 14, 1908
- North Sydney, formed on February 7, 1908
- South Sydney, formed on January 17, 1908 at Redfern Town Hall
- St. George, formed on November 8, 1920 at Kogarah School of Arts
- University, formed in 1919 at Sydney University
- Western Suburbs, formed on February 4, 1908
 29th season Ground: Leichhardt Oval Coach: Joe Busch Captain: Syd Christensen |
 2nd season Ground: Belmore Sports Ground Coach: Frank Burge Captain: Alan Brady |
Eastern Suburbs 29th season Ground: Sydney Sports Ground Coach: Arthur Halloway Captain: Dave Brown |
 29th season Ground: Henson Park Coach: Bill Kelly Captain: Hans Mork |
 29th season Ground: North Sydney Oval Coach: Jim Craig Captain: Rex Harrison |
South Sydney 29th season Ground: Sydney Sports Ground Coach: Dave Watson Captain: Eric Lewis |
| St. George 16th season Ground: Earl Park Coach: Arthur Justice / Eddie Root Captain: Eddie Root |
 17th Season Coach: Bob Williams Captain: Leo Reddy |
Western Suburbs 29th season Ground: Pratten Park Coach: Frank McMillan Captain: Cliff Pearce |
Ladder
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eastern Suburbs |
13 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 335 | 145 | +190 | 28 |
| 2 | Balmain |
13 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 268 | 161 | +107 | 22 |
| 3 |  Canterbury |
14 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 345 | 243 | +102 | 22 |
| 4 |  North Sydney |
13 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 210 | 161 | +49 | 19 |
| 5 |  Newtown |
14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 203 | 226 | -23 | 16 |
| 6 |  Western Suburbs |
13 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 199 | 203 | -4 | 15 |
| 7 |  South Sydney |
13 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 187 | 185 | +2 | 14 |
| 8 |  St. George |
13 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 141 | 228 | -87 | 10 |
| 9 |  University |
14 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 99 | 414 | -315 | 4 |
Finals
In the two semi finals, the top two ranked teams Eastern Suburbs and Balmain beat their lower-ranked opponents North Sydney and Canterbury-Bankstown. Both Eastern Suburbs and Balmain then played off for the premiership in the Final.
| Semi-finals | Final | ||||||
| September 1936 - Sports Ground | |||||||
| Balmain |
16 | ||||||
| North Sydney |
3 | ||||||
| 12 September 1936 - Sports Ground | |||||||
| Eastern Suburbs |
32 | ||||||
| Balmain |
12 | ||||||
| September 1936 - Sports Ground | |||||||
| Eastern Suburbs |
25 | ||||||
| Canterbury-Bankstown |
13 | ||||||
Premiership Final
| Balmain | Position | Eastern Suburbs |
|---|---|---|
| Frank Johnston | FB | Tom Dowling |
| Sid Goodwin | WG | Rod O'Loan |
| Gus Reeves | CE | Dave Brown (c) |
| Eddie Lockhart | CE | Jack Lynch |
| Jack Redman | WG | Fred Tottey |
| Syd Christensen (c) | FE | Ernie Norman |
| Tom Grahame | HB | Viv Thicknesse |
| Dave Manning | PR | Jack Coote |
| Bill Alexander | HK | Tom McLachlan |
| Frank Griffiths | PR | Ray Stehr |
| Bill Johnson | SR | Harry Pierce |
| Edmund Beaver | SR | Joe Pearce |
| Roy Palmer | LK | Andy Norval |
| Joe Busch | Coach | Arthur Halloway |
In front of a crowd of 14,395 at the Sydney Cricket Ground Easts were vying for back-to-back premierships and took on Balmain.
The match, officiated by referee Lal Deane was tight in the first half with a scoreline favouring Easts 8-6 at the break. In the second half Easts ran away with the game, scoring eight tries all up to Balmain's two.
The game marked the end of sterling career for Tiger's champion and former international Joe "Chimpy" Busch, and was a suitable farewell for the Roosters' captain and star, Dave Brown, who headed to the English club Warrington for the 1937 and 1938 seasons.
Eastern Suburbs 32 (Tries: Fred Tottey 2, Rod O’Loan, Dave Brown, Ray Stehr, Ernie Norman, Jack Lynch, Andy Norval. Goals: Jack Lynch 2, Dave Brown 2 )
defeated
Balmain 12 (Tries: Frank Griffiths, Sid Goodwin. Goals: Sid Christensen 2, Bill Johnson)
References
- ↑ Premiership Roll of Honour at rl1908.com
- ↑ South Sydney: Season Summary
- Rugby League Tables - Notes The World of Rugby League
- Rugby League Tables - Season 1936 The World of Rugby League
- Premiership History and Statistics RL1908
- Results: 1931-40 at rabbitohs.com.au
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