The 1900 Metropolitan Rugby Union season was the 27th season of the Sydney Rugby Premiership. It was the first season run for clubs that represented a district. Eight clubs (seven representing a district, the remaining club representing Sydney University) competed from May till August 1900. The season culminated in the first district premiership, which was won by Glebe. Glebe were crowned premiers by virtue of finishing the season on top of the table.

Background As early as 1893 it had been suggested to change the current structure of the premiership to a district-based formula. The idea was that district teams would distribute the top players amongst more teams creating a more equal competition. This would encourage crowds at matches to grow in size. However, members of the union were reluctant and voted against the proposal. This was based upon the grounds that the current clubs had a strong supporter base that may be lost if their club was barred from the competition. As well, it was believed that crowd sizes were adequate and not in fear of falling. The idea of district competition continued to be discussed over the following seasons.

At a NSWRFU meeting in early August, 1896, a motion was proposed and carried concerning district football. The proposal recommended that the County of Cumberland (Sydney and surrounding suburbs) be separated into eight districts and that the Senior and First Junior matches be played between these clubs. The eight districts proposed were North Sydney, Redfern, Glebe, St. George, Balmain, Paddington, Western Suburbs and East Sydney. The proposal included the University club who would only include players who were undergraduates. Districts were arranged upon electorate lines. The NSWRFU rejected the proposal in a heated and passionate meeting with the votes 44 to 16.

On 26 September 1898, at a meeting of the Metropolitan Rugby Football Union, the following recommendation was proposed, "That the football competition next season shall be competed for by clubs whose members are residents of such districts as may be allowed to each club." A ballot was taken and the recommendation won 22 to 12. A committee was set up to draw up a scheme to divide the Sydney region into eight districts, including Sydney University. However, the change was postponed to start in 1900 due to the eminent arrival of the English team and being able to adequately form a competitive team.

In 1900 a meeting of the Metropolitan Rugby Football Union was held and a recommendation to establish district football in the coming season was made. The motion was carried with a majority in favour. In response, existing clubs indicated their support for the new competition by either disbanding the current club or removing themselves from the senior competition. Meetings were held across the city over the coming months to form the various district clubs.

Teams Eight clubs contested the season; seven clubs representing a district and one club representing Sydney University. The 'Varsity were allowed to continue in the Premiership with the restriction that all players were required to be either current or former students. Each of the district clubs were newly formed with the foundations in former clubs. Balmain Formed on 26 March 1900 Ground: Birchgrove Oval Captain: E MulletEastern Suburbs Formed on 22 March 1900 Ground: Rushcutters Bay Oval Captain: Percy MacnamaraGlebe Formed on 15 March 1900 Ground: Wentworth Park Captain: Ernest McMahonNewtown Formed on 22 March 1900 Captain: George HayNorth Sydney Formed on 23 March 1900 Ground: North Sydney Oval Captain: Paddy LaneSouth Sydney Formed on 26 March 1900 Ground: RAS Showground Captain: J BourkeSydney University Formed on 19 August 1865 Ground: University Oval Captain: Harry Wood & Horace JonesWestern Suburbs Formed on 22 March 1900 Ground: Parramatta Oval Captain: William Shortland

Season summary The 1900 Sydney Rugby Premiership and the move to a district-based structure was deemed a success. Greater public interest in football was seen with crowd attendances at games a positive. At the final round of the season, the top-of-the-table clash between Glebe and Sydney University at University Oval saw approximately 7,000 in attendance.

The winning club, Glebe, demonstrated more consistency during the season than the other clubs. After starting the season with four wins in the first seven rounds, they consistently developed their team until they were regarded as the finest team over the remaining seven rounds. They also benefitted from a very low injury toll to their players. Glebe won the two lower grade competitions to add to their first grade triumph.

Sydney University performed very well to become runners-up considering they had a terrible injury toll. This included their captain HD Wood whose career was ended due to his injuries. Their success was mostly due to players such as Harry Blaney and Frank Futter who scored nearly half of their tries.

For a greater part of the season, North Sydney were favourites for the premiership having only lost one game in the first ten rounds. However, when the club met Glebe in round eleven, they lost the game and three of their players were injured. The next round saw another injury to a player. North Sydney lost the last four remaining games (rounds 11 to 14) and with that the premiership.

Ladder TeamPldWDLBPFPAPDPts1 Glebe141112015657 +99232 Sydney University14815013692 +44173 North Sydney14725013878 +78164 Western Suburbs1471607792 -15155 South Sydney1461706792 -25136 Eastern Suburbs14608087127 -40127 Balmain14329092111 -1988 Newtown144010042146 -1048

Ladder progression

Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished first on the ladder in that round. Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished in last place on the ladder in that round

Team12345678910111213141 Glebe22The game between Glebe and South Sydney that was scheduled for round 2 was postponed due to the ground being unfit for play. The game was not played until prior to round 7. As a result, the points won by Glebe were not applied until round 7.44579111315171921232 Sydney University0224668101113151717173 North Sydney24667911131416161616164 Western Suburbs24466810101010101214155 South Sydney22444The game between Balmain and South Sydney that was scheduled for round 5 was postponed due to the ground being unfit for play. The game was not played until prior to round 10. As a result, the points awarded to both teams for the draw were not applied until round 10.444677911136 Eastern Suburbs0002444688101010127 Balmain000000000355788 Newtown00244688888888

Statistics

Points PlayerPlTGFGPts1 Iggy O'Donnell146143612 Harry Blaney131131433 James Joyce110143424 George Thomas130110245 Stanley Wickham13360236 Leo Finn14180237 Ed Halloren12511218 George Roberts12700219 Charlie White105011910 Frank Futter1360018

Tries PlayerPlT1 Harry Blaney13112 George Roberts1273 Iggy O'Donnell1464 Frank Futter1365 Ed Halloren1256 E Hughes1157 William Shortland1358 Charlie White1059 William Hardcastle12410 Victor Harris144

Lower grades The MRFU also conducted Second Grade and Third Grade competitions for teams representing the district clubs. Glebe were victorious in both lower grade competitions and were thus declared club champions across all three grades. Overall, the club had only lost two games across all three grades, being undefeated in both lower grade competitions.

Second grade All of the clubs competing in the First Grade competition entered a team in Second Grade. Teams were: North Sydney, South Sydney, Eastern Suburbs, Western Suburbs, Newtown, Glebe, Balmain and Sydney university. At the conclusion of the season, Glebe finished the season undefeated at the top of the table and were declared Premiers.

Third grade The same clubs competed in the Third Grade competition. Teams were: North Sydney, South Sydney, Eastern Suburbs, Western Suburbs, Newtown, Glebe, Balmain and Sydney University. At the conclusion of the season, Glebe again finished the season undefeated at the top of the table and were declared Premiers.

Participating clubs ClubGrade1st2nd3rd Balmain District Football ClubYYY Eastern Suburbs District Rugby Football ClubYYY Glebe District Football ClubYYY Newtown District Football ClubYYY North Sydney District Rugby Football ClubYYY South Sydney District Football ClubYYY Sydney University Football ClubYYY Western Suburbs District Rugby Football ClubYYY

Footnotes

References

Sydney Club Rugby History "Football in 1900". Referee (Sydney, NSW: 1886-1939). 1900-08-29.