1964 NSWRFL season

The 1964 NSWRFL season was the fifty-seventh season of Sydney's professional rugby league football competition, the New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership, Australia's first. Ten clubs from across the city competed for the J. J. Giltinan Shield and the WD & HO Wills Cup during the season, which culminated in a grand final between St. George and Balmain.

1964 New South Wales Rugby Football League
Teams10
Premiers St. George (11th title)
Minor premiers St. George (10th title)
Matches played94
Points scored2736
Attendance1197569
Top points scorer(s) Fred Griffiths (160)
Top try-scorer(s) Reg Gasnier (18)

Teams
Balmain
57th season
Ground: Leichhardt Oval
Coach: Harry Bath
Captain: Keith Barnes
Canterbury-Bankstown
30th season
Ground: Belmore Oval
Coach: Clive Churchill
Captain: Les Johns 		Eastern Suburbs
57th season
Ground: Sydney Sports Ground
Capt./Coach: Nat Silcock Jr.[1]		 Manly-Warringah
18th season
Ground: Brookvale Oval
Coach: Russell Pepperell
Captain: Barry O'Connell
Newtown
57th season
Ground: Henson Park
Coach: Allan Ellis
Captain: Tony Brown
North Sydney
57th season
Ground: North Sydney Oval
Captain-Coach: Fred Griffiths		 Parramatta
18th season
Ground: Cumberland Oval
Coach: Ken Kearney
Captain: Ron Lynch		 South Sydney
57th season
Ground: Redfern Oval
Coach: Bernie Purcell
Captains: Darrel Chapman , Jim Lisle
St. George
44th season
Ground: Kogarah Jubilee Oval
Captain-coach: Norm Provan
 Western Suburbs
57th season
Ground: Pratten Park
Coach: Jack Fitzgerald
Captain: Noel Kelly

Ladder
Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 St. George 181503393154+23930
2 Parramatta 181404274188+8628
3 Balmain 181206247192+5524
4 North Sydney 181116334257+7723
5 South Sydney 181107304250+5422
6 Newtown 18909236268-3218
7 Western Suburbs 18819259274-1517
8 Manly-Warringah 185112229331-10211
9 Eastern Suburbs 182016190351-1614
10 Canterbury-Bankstown 181116168369-2013

Finals
Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee Crowd
Semi Finals
Balmain 11–9 North Sydney 29 August 1964 Sydney Cricket Ground Jack Bradley 35,082
St. George 42–0 Parramatta 5 September 1964 Sydney Cricket Ground Col Pearce 33,659
Preliminary Final
Parramatta 7–16 Balmain 12 September 1964 Sydney Cricket Ground Col Pearce 35,389
Grand Final
St. George 11–6 Balmain 19 September 1964 Sydney Cricket Ground Col Pearce 61,369

Grand Final
St. George Position Balmain
Graeme LanglandsFBKeith Barnes (c)
Johnny KingWGDick Quinn
Reg GasnierCEBrian Dunlop
Billy SmithCERobert Ridley
Eddie LumsdenWGBob Mara
Brian ClayFEJack Danzey
George EvansHBBilly Bischoff Jr.
Monty PorterPRBob Boland
Peter ArmstrongHKDick Wilson
Kevin RyanPRGeorge Piper
Elton RasmussenSRRon Clothier
Norm Provan (Ca./Co.)SRPeter Provan
Johnny RaperLKDennis Tutty
CoachHarry Bath

St. George captain-coach Norm Provan was matching up against his younger brother (and former Dragon) Peter, who had moved to the Tigers in 1961.

The Tigers’ defence was strong throughout a dour first half and for the first time in nine grand finals the Dragons trailed at half-time (4–2) with Balmain in the lead after penalty goals from Keith "Golden Boots" Barnes.

The turning point of the match came five minutes into the second half. The Tigers were defending their own line with some desperate tackling when they received a relieving penalty from referee Pearce. Balmain's Bob Boland put in a big punt which at first looked like a good touch finder. To Balmain's horror, Graeme Langlands stretched and then caught the ball with his boots only an inch or two from the touchline. The champion fullback then raced cross-field towards the Balmain line and sent a cut-out pass to Billy Smith 25 yards out from the tryline. The centre made further inroads before channeling a pass to Johnny King who sped down the left wing for 20 yards to score a diving try.

Test winger Johnny King thus kept intact his grand final record with this being his fifth successive try in a decider.

Eighteen-year-old Dennis Tutty stood out for the Tigers, providing reliable cover defence that stopped the Dragons on numerous occasions. For St. George, Smith and Langlands had strong games with Langlands tallying 72 points in his last four games of the season. Brian Clay had by now reclaimed his five-eighth position from Bruce Pollard and excelled just as he had in his five previous Grand Final appearances.

St. George 11 (Tries: King. Goals: Langlands 4.)

Balmain 6 (Goals: Barnes 3.)

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References
  1. "Nat Silcock". yesterdayshero.com.au. SmartPack International. Archived from the original on 8 September 2013. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
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