1902 Metropolitan Rugby Union season

The 1902 Metropolitan Rugby Union season was the 29th season of the Sydney Rugby Premiership. It was the third season run for clubs that represented a district. Eight clubs (seven representing a district, the remaining club representing Sydney University) competed from May till August 1902. The season culminated in the third district premiership, which was won by Western Suburbs. Western Suburbs were crowned premiers by virtue of finishing the season on top of the table.

1902 Sydney Rugby Premiership
Duration17 May to 30 August
Teams8
Premiers Western Suburbs (1st title)
Minor Premiers Western Suburbs (1st title)
Runners-up Sydney University
Wooden Spoon Balmain (2nd spoon)
Top point-scorer(s) Stanley Wickham (60)
Top try-scorer(s) Patrick Higgins (11)
Second Grade
Number of teams8
Premiers Glebe
Runners-up Eastern Suburbs
Boroughs Competition
Number of teams16
PremiersManly
Runners-up Glebe

Teams

Eight clubs contested the season; seven clubs representing a district and one club representing Sydney University.[1]

Balmain

Formed on 26 March 1900
 Ground: Birchgrove Oval
 Captain: Walter Davis
Eastern Suburbs

Formed on 22 March 1900
 Ground: Rushcutters Bay Oval
 Captain: Percy Macnamara
Glebe

Formed on 15 March 1900
 Ground: Wentworth Park
 Captain: William Howe

Newtown

Formed on 22 March 1900
 Captain: Harold Judd
North Sydney

Formed on 23 March 1900
 Ground: North Sydney Oval
 Captain: Jack O'Donnell
South Sydney

Formed on 26 March 1900
 Ground: RAS Showground
 Captain: J Bourke

Sydney University

Formed on 19 August 1865
 Ground: University Oval
 Captain: Harry Blaney
Western Suburbs

Formed on 22 March 1900
 Captain: Stanley Wickham

Season Summary

The 1902 Sydney Rugby Premiership saw a popular win for the Western Suburbs District Football Club. The club had experienced the unfortunate and sad loss of their captain, William Shortland, at the end of the previous season.[2] During the season, the team recovered from this huge loss to display improvement in defence, with only 4 tries scored against them over the final 7 rounds. Three-Quarter, Stanley Wickham demonstrated the importance of having a great goal kicker in the team, scoring 11 field goals during the season with 5 scored in one game against South Sydney.[3]

Glebe opened the season in magnificent form defeating the two teams that eventually finished above them on the ladder. However, as the season progressed the team was required to shift players around due to injuries to important members of the team. As a result, over the final four rounds Glebe drew with North Sydney, drew with Western Suburbs and lost the penultimate match to University 6 to 4. This meant that they were out of contention for the premiership in the final round.[4]

The final round of the season had been originally scheduled for 26 July and was postponed to the end of August due to heavy and persistent rain.[5] This meant that for the last round of games for the season, the two teams in contention for the premiership would face each other in a "final". In order that representatives in both teams be able to depart on time for the intercolonial matches in Queensland, the game was scheduled for Wednesday, 27 August at 2pm. Again rain interfered with the quality of the game which resulted in Western Suburbs winning against Sydney University 4 points to 3.[4]

At the conclusion of the season, the rugby world lost another significant player with the death of former University captain Horace Jones. Jones had previously captained the NSW team in intercolonial matches and had retired from rugby at the end of the 1901 season due to ill health. His cause of death was sarcoma, a soft tissue cancer.[6]

Ladder
Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1 Western Suburbs 141013014870+7821
2 Sydney University 1410040152108+4420
3 Glebe 14833015588+6719
4 North Sydney 14824013656+8018
5 Eastern Suburbs 14617086132-4613
6 Newtown 1452709189+212
7 South Sydney 143110056147-917
8 Balmain 141013063197-1342

[7]

Ladder Progression
  • Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished first on the ladder in that round.
  • Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished in last place on the ladder in that round
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
1 Western Suburbs 0224681012121416171921
2 Sydney University 2244681010121416182020
3 Glebe 2466681012141617181819[8]
4 North Sydney 01357779111314141618
5 Eastern Suburbs 2444446688810[9]1213[8]
6 Newtown 23566668881010[9]1012
7 South Sydney 00013555555777
8 Balmain 00022222222222

Statistics

Points
Player Pl T G FG Pts
1 Stanley Wickham 14071160
2 Harry Blaney 14213347
3 Frank Row 11018040
4 Patrick Higgins 12110033
5 Nigel Barker 13100030
6 Aub Johnstone 1317330
7 EC Deering 1490027
8 James Joyce 1322323
9 Thomas Comber 1025122
10 Humphrey Oxenham 1370021

[7]

Tries
Player Pl T
1 Patrick Higgins 1211
2 Nigel Barker 1310
3 EC Deering 149
4 Humphrey Oxenham 137
5 Ed Halloren 127
6 George Roberts 127
7 R Wickham 126
8 RH Carlisle 145
9 Victor Harris 134
10 C Rundle 104

[7]

Lower Grades

The MRFU also conducted Second Grade and Boroughs competitions this season.[10]

Second Grade

The eight First grade clubs entered a team each into the Second Grade competition. The season concluded with a final game between Glebe and Eastern Suburbs that was practically a final. The game ended in a draw. However, Glebe were declared premiers as they were one point ahead of Eastern Suburbs on the ladder.[4]

Boroughs Competition

Sixteen teams participated in the first Boroughs Competition. This was a competition for teams that did not necessarily represent a district. Non-district teams acted as a feeder club for the larger district teams. These teams were: Manly, Glebe, Gipps, Willoughby, Surry Hills, Rockdale, Balmain, Newtown, Leichhardt, Burwood, Marrickville, University, Annandale, North Sydney, Mosman and Parramatta. At the conclusion of the season, Manly sat undefeated at the top of the table and were thus declared Premiers.[7]

Participating Clubs
Club Grade
1st 2nd B.
Annandale Football ClubY
Balmain District Football ClubYYY
Burwood Football ClubY
Eastern Suburbs District Rugby Football ClubYY
Gipps Football ClubY
Glebe District Football ClubYYY
Leichhardt Football ClubY
Manly Football ClubY
Marrickville Football ClubY
Mosman Football ClubY
Newtown District Football ClubYYY
North Sydney District Rugby Football ClubYYY
Parramatta Rugby Football ClubY
Rockdale Football ClubY
South Sydney District Football ClubYY
Surry Hills Football ClubY
Sydney University Football ClubYYY
Western Suburbs District Rugby Football ClubYY
Willoughby Football ClubY

Footnotes
  1. "RUGBY FOOTBALL NOTES". Referee (Sydney, NSW : 1886 - 1939). 14 May 1902. p. 8. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  2. "RUGBY FOOTBALL NOTES". Referee (Sydney, NSW : 1886 - 1939). 18 September 1901. p. 8. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  3. "RUGBY FOOTBALL NOTES". Referee (Sydney, NSW : 1886 - 1939). 25 June 1902. p. 8. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  4. "RUGBY FOOTBALL NOTES". Referee (Sydney, NSW : 1886 - 1939). 3 September 1902. p. 8. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  5. "RUGBY FOOTBALL NOTES". Referee (Sydney, NSW : 1886 - 1939). 30 July 1902. p. 8. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  6. "FOOTBALL NOTES". Referee (Sydney, NSW : 1886 - 1939). 24 September 1902. p. 8. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  7. "FOOTBALL STATISTICS, 1902". Referee (Sydney, NSW : 1886 - 1939). 17 September 1902. p. 8. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  8. No game was played between Glebe and Eastern Suburbs with an agreement made to declare the game as a draw.
  9. Newtown forfeited the game against Eastern Suburbs.
  10. "FOOTBALL NOTES". Referee (Sydney, NSW : 1886 - 1939). 23 April 1902. p. 8. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
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References
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