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1944 NSWRFL season
Rugby league competition
Rugby league competition
| Field | Value | |
|---|---|---|
| year | 1944 | |
| competition | New South Wales Rugby Football League | |
| imagesize | 125px | |
| teams | 8 | |
| premiers | [[File:Balmain colours.svg | 16x16px]] Balmain |
| count | 8th | |
| minor premiers | [[File:Newtown colours.svg | 16x16px]] Newtown |
| mpcount | 4th | |
| matches | 60 | |
| points | 2159 | |
| top point scorer | [[File:Newtown colours.svg | 16x16px]] Tom Kirk (185) |
| top try scorer | [[File:Newtown colours.svg | 16x16px]] Sid Goodwin (22) |
| wooden_spoon | Canterbury-Bankstown | |
| wooden_spoon_count | 2nd | |
| prevseason_link | 1943 NSWRFL season | |
| prevseason_year | 1943 | |
| nextseason_link | 1945 NSWRFL season | |
| nextseason_year | 1945 |
The 1944 NSWRFL season was the thirty-seventh season of the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership, Sydney's top-level rugby league competition, and Australia's first. Eight teams from across the city contested the premiership during the season which culminated in Balmain's victory over Newtown in the grand final.
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
| North Sydney[[File:North Sydney Jersey 1941.png | 100px | center]] | South Sydney[[File:South Sydney Jersey 1930.png | 100px | center]] | St. George[[File:St George Jersey 1943.png | 100px | center]] | Western Suburbs[[File:Western Suburbs Jersey 1944.png | 100px | center]] |
|---|
Ladder
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [[File:Newtown colours.svg | 16x16px]] Newtown | 14 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 379 | 220 | +159 |
| 2 | [[File:Balmain colours.svg | 16x16px]] Balmain | 14 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 402 | 171 | +231 |
| 3 | [[File:St. George colours.svg | 16x16px]] St. George | 14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 230 | 238 | -8 |
| 4 | [[File:South Sydney colours.svg | 16x16px]] South Sydney | 14 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 193 | 287 | -94 |
| 5 | [[File:North Sydney colours.svg | 16x16px]] North Sydney | 14 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 204 | 202 | +2 |
| 6 | [[File:Western Suburbs colours.svg | 16x16px]] Western Suburbs | 14 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 180 | 246 | -66 |
| 7 | [[File:Eastern Suburbs colours.svg | 16x16px]] Eastern Suburbs | 14 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 227 | 360 | -133 |
| 8 | [[File:Canterbury colours.svg | 16x16px]] Canterbury | 14 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 206 | 297 | -91 |
Finals
Newtown looked set for back-to-back titles after finishing as minor premiers. Both Newtown and Balmain won their respective semi-finals with the Bluebags blitzing St George by 55 points to 7, which was to remain the Dragons' largest losing margin until 1994 and the largest margin in a finals match until 2019. However injuries and war duties then ravaged the side including the key losses of Len Smith and Herb Narvo who had starred for them all season. Balmain thus overcame Newtown 19–16 in the final, enabling Newtown a “right of challenge”.
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semifinals | ||||||||||
| [[File:Newtown colours.svg | 23x23px]] Newtown | 55–7 | [[File:St. George colours.svg | 23x23px]] St. George | 26 August 1944 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Tom McMahon | 34,883 | ||
| [[File:Balmain colours.svg | 23x23px]] Balmain | 15–6 | [[File:South Sydney colours.svg | 23x23px]] South Sydney | 2 September 1944 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Jack O'Brien | 28,237 | ||
| Final | ||||||||||
| [[File:Newtown colours.svg | 23x23px]] Newtown | 16–19 | [[File:Balmain colours.svg | 23x23px]] Balmain | 9 September 1944 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Tom McMahon | 41,807 | ||
| Grand Final | ||||||||||
| [[File:Newtown colours.svg | 23x23px]] Newtown | 8–12 | [[File:Balmain colours.svg | 23x23px]] Balmain | url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304215139/http://www.nrlstats.com/archive/match.cfm?MatchID=2112 | date=2012-03-04 }} at nrlstats.com | Sydney Cricket Ground | Jack O'Brien | 24,186 |
Grand Final
| Newtown | Position | Balmain |
|---|---|---|
| Tom Kirk | FB | Dave Parkinson |
| Sid Goodwin | WG | Arthur Patton (c) |
| Lin McLean | CE | Joe Jorgenson |
| Bruce Ryan | CE | Tom Bourke |
| Norm Jacobson | WG | Keith Parkinson |
| Tom Nevin | FE | Stan Ponchard |
| Jack Kadwell | HB | Pat Devery |
| Charlie Montgomery | PR | Jack Hampstead |
| Jimmy Brailey | HK | George Watt |
| Frank Farrell (c) | PR | Colin Campbell |
| Keith Phillips | SR | Athol Smith |
| Leo Ryan | SR | Sid Ryan |
| Charles Cahill | LK | Dawson Buckley |
| Arthur Folwell | Coach | Norm "Latchem" Robinson |
Newtown exercised their “right of challenge” as minor premiers and called for a Grand Final. In a low-scoring affair Balmain's representative centre Joe Jorgenson kicked two late penalty goals to give the Tigers a 12–8 win and their eighth title.
Balmain 12 (Tries: Devery, K Parkinson. Goals: Jorgenson 3)
defeated
Newtown 8 (Tries: Farrell, McLean. Goals: Kirk)
Player statistics
The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 14. Top 5 point scorers
| Points | Player | Tries | Goals | Field Goals | 154 | 89 | 85 | 74 | 60 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Kirk | 2 | 74 | 0 | ||||||
| Joe Jorgenson | 3 | 40 | 0 | ||||||
| Leo Doyle | 5 | 35 | 0 | ||||||
| Frank Dreise | 8 | 25 | 0 | ||||||
| Sid Goodwin | 20 | 0 | 0 |
Top 5 try scorers
| Tries | Player | 20 | 19 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sid Goodwin | ||||||||
| Arthur Patton | ||||||||
| Bernie Burford | ||||||||
| Keith Parkinson | ||||||||
| Tom Bourke | ||||||||
| Jim Armstrong | ||||||||
| Alf Watsford |
Top 5 goal scorers
| Goals | Player | 74 | 40 | 35 | 25 | 20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Kirk | ||||||
| Joe Jorgenson | ||||||
| Leo Doyle | ||||||
| Frank Dreise | ||||||
| Lin Johnson |
References
References
- [http://rl1908.com/clubcomps/Honours.htm Premiership Roll of Honour] {{webarchive. link. (2007-04-28 at ''rl1908.com'')
- [http://afltables.com/rl/teams/st_george/st_george_gr.html#3 St. George: Biggest Losses]
- (15 September 2019). "Parramatta Eels eliminate Brisbane Broncos from the NRL Finals with a thumping 58-0 win". ABC News.
- (16 September 2019). "Fuming Seibold fires off at players, promises review of roster after 'embarrassing' loss".
- (15 September 2019). "Seibold: 'Top to bottom' review needed as Brisbane search for answers".
- (22 April 2019). "Brisbane Broncos' post-Bennett blues still haunting Anthony Seibold".
- link. (2012-03-04 at ''nrlstats.com'')
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