1912 NSWRFL season

The 1912 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the fifth season of Sydney’s rugby league club competition, Australia’s first. Eight teams from across the city contested during the season for the premiership and the Royal Agricultural Society Challenge Shield.

1912 NSWRFL season
LeagueNew South Wales Rugby Football League
Duration4 May to 24 August
Teams8
Matches played56
Points scored1262
Premiers Eastern Suburbs[1] (2nd title)
Minor Premiers Eastern Suburbs (1st title)
Runners-up Glebe
Top point-scorer(s) Dally Messenger (80)
Top try-scorer(s) Roy Algie (12)
Second Grade
Number of teams17
Premiers Glebe
Runners-upRedfern
Third Grade
Number of teams20 (1 disqualified)
Premiers South Sydney
Runners-upSouth Sydney Federals

Season summary

From 1912 to 1925, the team finishing on top of the ladder after the home-and-away rounds was automatically deemed premiers unless two clubs were on equal points at this point in which case a final was held. This move by the New South Wales Rugby League may well have been in response to Eastern Suburbs’ victory in the season before, where they overcame minor premiers Glebe in two successive finals to claim the premiership.

With four rounds remaining in the 1912 season, Eastern Suburbs and Glebe were clearly ahead of the rest of the teams and it looked unlikely that they would be caught. The two clubs were matched up against each other in Round 11 at the Sydney Sports Ground in what would ultimately decide the fate of the premiership, with Glebe just two points behind Eastern Suburbs on the ladder. In front of 25,000 people, the two clubs played out a closely fought match in muddy conditions. Dally Messenger was able to break a 4–4 deadlock late in the match by kicking a field goal after a scrum win close to the sideline and win the game 6–4 for Eastern Suburbs.

With a four-point premiership lead and only three rounds to play, Eastern Suburbs, who had only lost one game before in the season to eventual third-placed Newtown, looked uncatchable. That turned out to be the case, with Eastern Suburbs winning their remaining three games to take away the premiership.

Also this season Pratten Park became the Western Suburbs club’s homeground.

Teams

The teams remained unchanged from the previous season.

Annandale
3rd season
Ground: Wentworth Park
Coach:
Captain: Ray Norman
Balmain
5th season
Ground: Birchgrove Oval
Coach: Bob Graves
Captain: Bob Craig		 Eastern Suburbs
5th season
Ground: Sydney Sports Ground
Captain-Coach: Dally Messenger		 Glebe
5th season
Ground: Wentworth Park
Captain-Coach: Chris McKivat
Newtown
5th season
Ground: Erskineville Oval
Captain-Coach: Bill Noble
North Sydney
5th season
Ground: North Sydney Oval
Coach:
Captain: Albert Broomham		 South Sydney
5th season
Ground: Sydney Sports Ground
Coach:
Captain: Arthur Butler		 Western Suburbs
5th season
Ground: Pratten Park
Captain-Coach: Tedda Courtney

Ladder
The geographical locations of the teams that contested the 1912 premiership across Sydney.
Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 Eastern Suburbs 14130123086+14426
2 Glebe 14110319983+11622
3 Newtown 14905178132+4618
4 South Sydney 14806207137+7016
5 Balmain 14608138168-3012
6 North Sydney 14608124197-7312
7 Annandale 14201286134-484
8 Western Suburbs 141013100325-2252

Premiers

Eastern Suburbs won the premiership when they beat Norths at North Sydney Oval 15-10 on 17 August. The premiership squad was:[2]

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References
  1. Premiership Roll of Honour Archived 2011-05-14 at the Wayback Machine at rl1908.com
  2. Haddan, Stephen (1991). History of the NSW Rugby League Finals. Australia. p. 22. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
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