1941 NSWRFL season
The 1941 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the thirty-fourth season of Sydney’s top-level rugby league competition, Australia’s first. Eight teams from across the city contested the premiership during the season, which lasted from April until August, culminating in Eastern Suburbs’ loss to St. George in the grand final.[1]
| 1941 New South Wales Rugby Football League | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 8 |
| Premiers |  St. George (1st title) |
| Minor premiers |  Eastern Suburbs (10th title) |
| Matches played | 59 |
| Points scored | 1933 |
| Top points scorer(s) | Neville Smith (84) |
| Top try-scorer(s) | Percy Dermond (13) Sel Lisle (13) |
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
- Western Suburbs, formed on February 4, 1908
 34th season Ground: Leichhardt Oval Coach: Bill Kelly Captain: Sid Goodwin |
 7th season Ground: Belmore Sports Ground Captain-coach: Ron Bailey |
Eastern Suburbs 34th season Ground: Sydney Sports Ground Captain-coach: Ray Stehr |
 34th season Ground: Henson Park Captain-Coach: Percy Williams |
 34th season Ground: North Sydney Oval Coach: Arthur Halloway Captain: Rex Harrison |
South Sydney 34th season Ground: Sydney Sports Ground Coach: Jim Tait Captain: Bob Banham |
St. George 21st season Ground; Hurstville Oval Captain-coach: Neville Smith |
Western Suburbs 34th season Ground: Pratten Park Captain-Coach: Les Mead |
Ladder
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eastern Suburbs |
14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 217 | 160 | +57 | 18 |
| 2 |  Balmain |
14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 243 | 205 | +38 | 18 |
| 3 |  Canterbury-Bankstown |
14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 205 | 182 | +23 | 18 |
| 4 | St. George |
14 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 307 | 248 | +59 | 17 |
| 5 |  Newtown |
14 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 219 | 242 | -23 | 14 |
| 6 |  Western Suburbs |
14 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 247 | 226 | +21 | 12 |
| 7 |  South Sydney |
14 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 193 | 277 | -84 | 8 |
| 8 |  North Sydney |
14 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 171 | 262 | -91 | 7 |
Owing to the fact that three clubs were equal on points at the end of the home-and-away season, no club had the right of challenge in the finals.
Finals
Eastern Suburbs and St. George won their respective semi finals, allowing them to meet in the Final.
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| Semi Finals | ||||||||
| Eastern Suburbs |
24–22 | Canterbury-Bankstown |
16 August 1941 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Tom McMahon | 21,000 | ||
| Balmain |
8–32 | St. George |
23 August 1941 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Tom McMahon | 26,790 | ||
| Final | ||||||||
| Eastern Suburbs |
14–31 | St. George |
30 August 1941 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Tom McMahon | 39,957[2] | ||
Premiership final
| Eastern Suburbs | Position | St. George |
|---|---|---|
| Doug Bartlett | FB | Jack Wedgwood |
| Owen Campbell | WG | Percy Dermond |
| Dick Dunn | CE | Gordon Hart |
| Dave Brown | CE | Jack Gilbert |
| Brian Walsh | WG | Noel Jones |
| Fred May | FE | Roy Hasson |
| Sel Lisle | HB | Albert McAndrew |
| Jack Arnold | PR | Charlie Montgomery |
| Noel Hollingdale | HK | Herb Gilbert Jnr |
| Ray Stehr (Ca./Co.) | PR | Lindsay Spencer |
| Don Gulliver | SR | Neville Smith (Ca./Co.) |
| Sid Pearce | SR | Len Kelly (v.capt) |
| Wal Bamford | LK | Bill Tyquin |
| Reserve | Bill Collier | |
| Reserve | Jim Hale | |
In a tough encounter the Dragons won their first ever premiership in their twenty-first season in the competition. St. George captain-coach Neville Smith was knocked out after a heavy tackle early in the match. Smith recovered and scored 13 points through one try and five goals.
Along with Smith, St. George centre Gordon Hart also gave a sparkling display of free-running rugby league. Recently enlisted in the AIF, Hart had been given permission to leave barracks to participate in the finals.[3]
In another incident Easts’ prop Jack Arnold and Saints’ lock Bill Tyquin were sent off after an almighty punch up. Tyquin, a Queensland representative who would later captain Australia, played only the 1941 war-time season in Sydney while he was stationed there on duty with the AIF.
It was to prove to be the final match in the stellar, record-setting career of Easts’ Dave Brown who at twenty-nine years of age announced his retirement at game’s end.
St. George 31 (Tries: Campbell 2, Hanson 2, Smith, Kelly, Hart. Goals: Smith 5)
defeated
Eastern Suburbs 14 (Tries: Dermond 2, Brown, Bamford. Goals: Brown 1)
References
- Premiership Roll of Honour Archived 2007-04-28 at the Wayback Machine at rl1908.com
- North, Sam (25 September 1992). "1941: The Saints surprised them then, too". The Sydney Morning Herald. Australia: Fairfax. p. 1. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
- ‘Just one member of historic Saints side present and accounted for’
External links
- Rugby League Tables - Notes AFL Tables
- Rugby League Tables - Season 1941 AFL Tables
- Premiership History and Statistics RL1908
- Results: 1941-50 at rabbitohs.com.au
- 1941 Final at nrlstats.com
- 1941 Final at Dragons History site