1954 NSWRFL season

Rugby league competition March 2024 1954 New South Wales Rugby Football League 125px 10 16x16px South Sydney 15th 16x16px Newtown 5th 94 3613 16x16px Ron Rowles (221) 16x16px Ray Preston (34) Parramatta 3rd 1953 NSWRFL season 1953 1955 NSWRFL season 1955 The 1954 NSWRFL season was the forty-seventh season of the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership competition, based in Sydney. Ten rugby league football teams from across the city competed for the J. J. Giltinan Shield during the season, which culminated in the first "mandatory" grand final, played between South Sydney and Newtown. Season summary During the pre-season, Queensland and Australian international representative forward, Harold "Mick" Crocker signed a then record one-year deal for an Australian to move south and play for Sydney club Parramatta.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=jrtVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UbMDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2006,4068956 Crocker will play here 20 January 1954 The Sydney Morning Herald 1954 marked the first season when a Grand Final was scheduled to determine the premiership winner. Prior to that the season victors were either the minor premiers or decided by a final that followed two semi-finals. A Grand Final was only played if the minor-premier was defeated in a semi-final or final and exercised their right to challenge via a Grand Final. The scheduled Grand Final was a response to the fiasco of the 1951 season finale,108, 116 9780646050980 History of the NSW Rugby League Finals Haddan Steve 1991 First when the NSWRFL had been unable to obtain use of any of the Moore Park groundsThe Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Showground and Sydney Sports Ground on the Saturday when a Grand Final would have been played, and had to play on a Sunday.R.L. Problem Over Grand Final The Daily Telegraph 24 August 1951 20 Since this season a Grand Final has been played every year to determine the premiership winner. In a New South Wales versus England match at the Sydney Cricket Ground, referee Aub Oxford watched in disbelief the players fighting around him like street-brawlers before turning his back and walking from the field. Oxford never refereed again and the match remains the only top-level game ever abandoned in rugby league history. Teams Balmain100px|center 47th seasonGround: Leichhardt Oval Coach: Norm RobinsonCaptain: Jack FifieldCanterbury-Bankstown100px|center 20th seasonGround: Belmore Sports Ground Coach: Jack HampsteadCaptain: Leo TrevenaEastern Suburbs100px|center 47th seasonGround: Sydney Sports Ground Captain-Coach: Ferris Ashton Manly-Warringah100px|center 8th seasonGround: Brookvale Oval Coach: Ray NormanCaptain: Roy BullNewtown100px|center 47th seasonGround: Henson Park Coach : Col GeelanCaptain: Col Geelan, Jim EvansNorth Sydney100px|center 47th seasonGround: North Sydney Oval Coach: Rex HarrisonCaptain: Bob SullivanParramatta100px|center 8th SeasonGround: Cumberland Oval Captain-Coach: Charlie GillSouth Sydney100px|center 47th seasonGround: Redfern Oval Captain-coach: Jack RaynerSt. George100px|center 34th seasonGround: Jubilee Oval Captain-Coach: Ken Kearney Western Suburbs100px|center 47th seasonGround: Pratten Park Captain-Coach: Keith Holman Ladder TeamPldWDLPFPAPDPts1 16x16px Newtown181521439215+224322 16x16px South Sydney181413473255+218293 16x16px St. George181116345292+53234 16x16px North Sydney181026415320+95225 16x16px Manly181017391343+48216 16x16px Balmain18918346345+1197 16x16px Western Suburbs186111287374-87138 16x16px Canterbury184014233465-23289 16x16px Eastern Suburbs183114257493-236710 16x16px Parramatta183015282366-846 Records set in 1954 South Sydney's Les Brennan set the standing record for the highest number of tries in a debut season with 29. Newtown winger Ray Preston's 34 tries remains second only to Dave Brown's 38 in 1935.https://web.archive.org/web/20181206145557/https://afltables.com/rl/scorers/misc.html#mts 6 December 2018 http://afltables.com/rl/scorers/misc.html#mts Rugby League Tables Most Individual Tries in a Season AFL Tables Preston and Kevin Considine combined for fifty-six tries during the season – easily a record for a pair of club wingers.Preston, Ray Whitticker Alan Hudson Glen The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players 1999 432 1875169768 In the last round on 21 August, Western Suburbs set a record for the highest losing score when they lost to Balmain 32–37. This was to be one of only two cases before the introduction of the 10-metre ruck rule in 1993 that a team scored over thirty points and lost the match.https://web.archive.org/web/20240904092505/https://afltables.com/rl/teams/all/overall_gr.html#10 4 September 2024 http://afltables.com/rl/teams/all/overall_gr.html#10 Rugby League Tables Highest Losing Scores AFL Tables Finals HomeScoreAwayMatch informationDate and timeVenueRefereeCrowd Semifinals 23x23px St. George15–14 23x23px North Sydney28 August 1954Sydney Cricket GroundJack O'Brien32,397 23x23px Newtown14–24 23x23px South Sydney4 September 1954Sydney Cricket GroundDarcy Lawler38,520 Preliminary final 23x23px Newtown27–13 23x23px St. George11 September 1954Sydney Cricket GroundDarcy Lawler32,303 Grand final 23x23px South Sydney23–15 23x23px Newtown18 September 1954Sydney Cricket GroundJack O'Brien45,759 Grand Final South SydneyPositionNewtown 13. Clive Churchill FB Gordon Clifford 12. Ian Moir WG 2. Kevin Considine 9. Martin Gallagher CE 6. Dick Poole 7. Greg Hawick CE 4. Brian Clay 11. Les Brennan WG 3. Ray Preston 8. John Dougherty FE 53. Ray Kelly 21. Ray Mason HB 7. Bobby Whitton Denis Donoghue PR 12. Jim Evans (c) 2. Ernie Hammerton HK 46. Frank Johnson 3. Jim Richards PR 11. Don Stait18. Bernie Purcell SR 10. Frank Narvo 4. Jack Rayner (Ca./Co.) SR 9. Henry Holloway 6. Les Cowie LK 8. Peter Ryan Coach Col Geelan In spite of Newtown finishing as minor premiers they hadn't beaten South Sydney in either regular season encounter. Souths had also won their semi-final meeting 24–14. In this, the NSWRFL's first Grand Final scheduled to determine the premiership winner, Souths were the victors. Legendary fullback Clive Churchill was outstanding setting up three of his side's five tries. The Bluebags stayed in the contest through the kicking boot of their Test fb Gordon "Punchy" Clifford. South Sydney 23 (tries: Cowie 2, Moir, Hawick, Dougherty. Goals: Purcell 4.) Newtown 15 (tries: Narvo. Goals: Clifford 6.) Player statistics The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 18. Top 5 point scorers PointsPlayerTriesGoalsField goals221Manly Ron Rowles13910168North Sydney Alan Arkey0840149South Sydney Bernie Purcell9610133Western Suburbs George Bain1650131Newtown Gordon Clifford1631 Top 5 try scorers TriesPlayer33Newtown Ray Preston28South Sydney Les Brennan19South Sydney Ian Moir19St. George Kevin Hole16Newtown Kevin Considine Top 5 goal scorers GoalsPlayer91Manly Ron Rowles84North Sydney Alan Arkey65Western Suburbs George Bain63Newtown Gordon Clifford61South Sydney Bernie Purcell Post-season Following the grand final, nine players from the NSWRFL were selected in a squad of eighteen to represent Australia in the 1954 Rugby League World Cup in France. Notes References External links Whiticker, Alan & Collis, Ian (2006) The History of Rugby League Clubs, New Holland, Sydney Results: 1951-60 at rabbitohs.com.au 1954 J J Giltinan Shield at rleague.com NSWRFL season 1954 at rugbyleagueproject.org Category:New South Wales Rugby League premiership NSWRFL season