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
Teams8
Premiers St. George (1st title)
Minor premiers Eastern Suburbs (10th title)
Matches played59
Points scored1933
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
Balmain
34th season
Ground: Leichhardt Oval
Coach: Bill Kelly
Captain: Sid Goodwin
Canterbury-Bankstown
7th season
Ground: Belmore Sports Ground
Captain-coach: Ron Bailey		 Eastern Suburbs
34th season
Ground: Sydney Sports Ground
Captain-coach: Ray Stehr
Newtown
34th season
Ground: Henson Park
Captain-Coach: Percy Williams
North Sydney
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
The geographical locations of the teams that contested the 1941 premiership across Sydney.
Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 Eastern Suburbs 14905217160+5718
2 Balmain 14905243205+3818
3 Canterbury-Bankstown 14905205182+2318
4 St. George 14815307248+5917
5 Newtown 14626219242-2314
6 Western Suburbs 14608247226+2112
7 South Sydney 144010193277-848
8 North Sydney 143110171262-917

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 BartlettFBJack Wedgwood
Owen CampbellWGPercy Dermond
Dick DunnCEGordon Hart
Dave BrownCEJack Gilbert
Brian WalshWGNoel Jones
Fred MayFERoy Hasson
Sel LisleHBAlbert McAndrew
Jack ArnoldPRCharlie Montgomery
Noel HollingdaleHKHerb Gilbert Jnr
Ray Stehr (Ca./Co.)PRLindsay Spencer
Don GulliverSRNeville Smith (Ca./Co.)
Sid PearceSRLen Kelly (v.capt)
Wal BamfordLKBill Tyquin
ReserveBill Collier
ReserveJim 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)

St. George's 1941 Premiership-winning team.
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References
  1. Premiership Roll of Honour Archived 2007-04-28 at the Wayback Machine at rl1908.com
  2. North, Sam (25 September 1992). "1941: The Saints surprised them then, too". The Sydney Morning Herald. Australia: Fairfax. p. 1. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
  3. ‘Just one member of historic Saints side present and accounted for’
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