1918 NSWRFL season

The 1918 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the eleventh season of Sydney’s professional rugby league club competition, Australia’s first. Eight teams from across the city contested during the season, with South Sydney finishing on top of the ladder to claim the premiership.[1]

1918 New South Wales Rugby Football League
Teams8
Premiers South Sydney (4th title)
Minor premiers South Sydney (4th title)
Matches played56
Points scored1345
Top points scorer(s) Harold Horder (87)
Top try-scorer(s) Frank Burge (24)

Season summary

The quality of the competition in 1918 suffered due to the loss of players fighting in World War I.[2] South Sydney and Western Suburbs dominated the season, dropping just two and three games respectively. With just three rounds to go, both sides met each square on 18 points each. A win for South Sydney would virtually guarantee them the premiership unless they dropped their final two games. At the end of the day, South Sydney prevailed 11–3 and went on to win all their remaining matches, taking away their fourth premiership from eleven seasons.

The season also saw the struggling Dales fail to win a game from fourteen starts. It was the first winless season in NSWRFL history and signalled the end for the club, who would play only a further two seasons in the premiership.

The Western Suburbs club claimed their first title by winning the knockout competition, the City Cup.

Teams

The lineup of teams remained unchanged from the previous season.

Annandale
9th season
Ground:Wentworth Park
Coach:
Captain: Arthur Butler
Balmain
11th season
Ground: Birchgrove Oval
Captain-Coach: Arthur Halloway		 Eastern Suburbs
11th season
Ground: Sydney Sports Ground
Coach: Sandy Pearce
Captain: Sandy Pearce 		Glebe
11th season
Ground: Wentworth Park
Coach: Chris McKivat
Captain: Albert Burge
Newtown
11th season
Ground: Erskineville Oval
Coach:
Captain: George Bain
North Sydney
11th season
Ground: North Sydney Oval
Coach: George Green
Captain: Cec Blinkhorn 		South Sydney
11th season
Ground: RAS Showground
Coach: Arthur Hennessy
Captain: Howard Hallett 		Western Suburbs
11th season
Ground: St. Luke's Oval
Coach:Tedda Courtney
Captain: Herb Gilbert

Ladder
The geographical locations of the teams that contested the 1918 premiership across Sydney.
Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 South Sydney 141202257121+13624
2 Western Suburbs 141103182102+8022
3 Glebe 14905212128+8418
4 Balmain 14815215148+6717
5 Eastern Suburbs 14806160153+716
6 North Sydney 14329131202-718
7 Newtown 14239115175-607
8 Annandale 14001473316-2430
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References
  1. Premiership Roll of Honour Archived 2011-05-14 at the Wayback Machine at rl1908.com
  2. Middleton, David (30 September 2013). "Ten of the most dominant seasons in rugby league history from historian David Middleton". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
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