The 1954 NSWRFL season was the forty-seventh season of the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership competition, based in Sydney. Ten rugby league football teams from across the city competed for the J. J. Giltinan Shield during the season, which culminated in the first "mandatory" grand final, played between South Sydney and Newtown.
Season summary During the pre-season, Queensland and Australian international representative forward, Harold "Mick" Crocker signed a then record one-year deal for an Australian to move south and play for Sydney club Parramatta.
1954 marked the first season when a Grand Final was scheduled to determine the premiership winner. Prior to that the season victors were either the minor premiers or decided by a final that followed two semi-finals. A Grand Final was only played if the minor-premier was defeated in a semi-final or final and exercised their right to challenge via a Grand Final. The scheduled Grand Final was a response to the fiasco of the 1951 season finale, when the NSWRFL had been unable to obtain use of any of the Moore Park grounds on the Saturday when a Grand Final would have been played, and had to play on a Sunday.
Since this season a Grand Final has been played every year to determine the premiership winner.
In a New South Wales versus England match at the Sydney Cricket Ground, referee Aub Oxford watched in disbelief the players fighting around him like street-brawlers before turning his back and walking from the field. Oxford never refereed again and the match remains the only top-level game ever abandoned in rugby league history.
Teams Balmain 47th seasonGround: Leichhardt Oval Coach: Norm RobinsonCaptain: Jack FifieldCanterbury-Bankstown 20th seasonGround: Belmore Sports Ground Coach: Jack HampsteadCaptain: Leo TrevenaEastern Suburbs 47th seasonGround: Sydney Sports Ground Captain-Coach: Ferris Ashton Manly-Warringah 8th seasonGround: Brookvale Oval Coach: Ray NormanCaptain: Roy BullNewtown 47th seasonGround: Henson Park Coach : Col GeelanCaptain: Col Geelan, Jim EvansNorth Sydney 47th seasonGround: North Sydney Oval Coach: Rex HarrisonCaptain: Bob SullivanParramatta 8th SeasonGround: Cumberland Oval Captain-Coach: Charlie GillSouth Sydney 47th seasonGround: Redfern Oval Captain-coach: Jack RaynerSt. George 34th seasonGround: Jubilee Oval Captain-Coach: Ken Kearney Western Suburbs 47th seasonGround: Pratten Park Captain-Coach: Keith Holman
Ladder TeamPldWDLPFPAPDPts1 Newtown181521439215+224322 South Sydney181413473255+218293 St. George181116345292+53234 North Sydney181026415320+95225 Manly181017391343+48216 Balmain18918346345+1197 Western Suburbs186111287374-87138 Canterbury184014233465-23289 Eastern Suburbs183114257493-236710 Parramatta183015282366-846
Records set in 1954 South Sydney's Les Brennan set the standing record for the highest number of tries in a debut season with 29. Newtown winger Ray Preston's 34 tries remains second only to Dave Brown's 38 in 1935. Preston and Kevin Considine combined for fifty-six tries during the season – easily a record for a pair of club wingers. In the last round on 21 August, Western Suburbs set a record for the highest losing score when they lost to Balmain 32–37. This was to be one of only two cases before the introduction of the 10-metre ruck rule in 1993 that a team scored over thirty points and lost the match.
Finals HomeScoreAwayMatch informationDate and timeVenueRefereeCrowd Semifinals St. George15–14 North Sydney28 August 1954Sydney Cricket GroundJack O'Brien32,397 Newtown14–24 South Sydney4 September 1954Sydney Cricket GroundDarcy Lawler38,520 Preliminary final Newtown27–13 St. George11 September 1954Sydney Cricket GroundDarcy Lawler32,303 Grand final South Sydney23–15 Newtown18 September 1954Sydney Cricket GroundJack O'Brien45,759
Grand Final South SydneyPositionNewtown 13. Clive Churchill FB Gordon Clifford 12. Ian Moir WG 2. Kevin Considine 9. Martin Gallagher CE 6. Dick Poole 7. Greg Hawick CE 4. Brian Clay 11. Les Brennan WG 3. Ray Preston 8. John Dougherty FE 53. Ray Kelly 21. Ray Mason HB 7. Bobby Whitton Denis Donoghue PR 12. Jim Evans (c) 2. Ernie Hammerton HK 46. Frank Johnson 3. Jim Richards PR 11. Don Stait18. Bernie Purcell SR 10. Frank Narvo 4. Jack Rayner (Ca./Co.) SR 9. Henry Holloway 6. Les Cowie LK 8. Peter Ryan Coach Col Geelan In spite of Newtown finishing as minor premiers they hadn't beaten South Sydney in either regular season encounter. Souths had also won their semi-final meeting 24–14. In this, the NSWRFL's first Grand Final scheduled to determine the premiership winner, Souths were the victors. Legendary fullback Clive Churchill was outstanding setting up three of his side's five tries. The Bluebags stayed in the contest through the kicking boot of their Test Gordon "Punchy" Clifford.
South Sydney 23 (tries: Cowie 2, Moir, Hawick, Dougherty. Goals: Purcell 4.)
Newtown 15 (tries: Narvo. Goals: Clifford 6.)
Player statistics The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 18.
Top 5 point scorers PointsPlayerTriesGoalsField goals221 Ron Rowles13910168 Alan Arkey0840149 Bernie Purcell9610133 George Bain1650131 Gordon Clifford1631 Top 5 try scorers TriesPlayer33 Ray Preston28 Les Brennan19 Ian Moir19 Kevin Hole16 Kevin Considine
Top 5 goal scorers GoalsPlayer91 Ron Rowles84 Alan Arkey65 George Bain63 Gordon Clifford61 Bernie Purcell
Post-season Following the grand final, nine players from the NSWRFL were selected in a squad of eighteen to represent Australia in the 1954 Rugby League World Cup in France.
Notes
References
External links Whiticker, Alan & Collis, Ian (2006) The History of Rugby League Clubs, New Holland, Sydney Results: 1951-60 at rabbitohs.com.au 1954 J J Giltinan Shield at rleague.com NSWRFL season 1954 at rugbyleagueproject.org