The 1940 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the thirty-third season of Sydney’s top-level rugby league club 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’ victory over Canterbury-Bankstown in the final.[1]
| 1940 New South Wales Rugby Football League | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 8 |
| Premiers |  Eastern Suburbs (8th title) |
| Minor premiers | Eastern Suburbs (9th title) |
| Matches played | 59 |
| Points scored | 1738 |
| Top points scorer(s) |  Tom Kirk (99) |
| Top try-scorer(s) |  Jack Lindwall (19) |
Season summary
editFor this season St. George returned to Hurstville Oval as their home ground.
Teams
edit- 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, at the North Sydney School of Arts in Mount Street
- 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 33rd season |
Canterbury-Bankstown 6th season |
Eastern Suburbs 33rd season |
Newtown 33rd season |
North Sydney 33rd season |
South Sydney 33rd season |
St. George 20th season |
Western Suburbs 33rd season |
Ladder
edit
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eastern Suburbs
|
14 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 250 | 136 | +114 | 19 |
| 2 | Newtown
|
14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 261 | 200 | +61 | 18 |
| 3 | St. George
|
14 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 263 | 203 | +60 | 16 |
| 4 |  Canterbury
|
14 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 204 | 195 | +9 | 16 |
| 5 |  Balmain
|
14 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 199 | 162 | +37 | 15 |
| 6 |  South Sydney
|
14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 165 | 259 | -94 | 14 |
| 7 |  North Sydney
|
14 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 156 | 243 | -87 | 8 |
| 8 |  Western Suburbs
|
14 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 159 | 259 | -100 | 6 |
Finals
editIn the two semi finals, minor premiers Eastern Suburbs defeated St. George whilst fourth-placed Canterbury-Bankstown beat second-placed Newtown. Eastern Suburbs then beat Canterbury-Bankstown in the final to collect their eighth premiership.
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| Semifinals | ||||||||
| Eastern Suburbs
|
10–3 | St. George
|
17 August 1940 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Jack O'Brien | 17,473 | ||
| Newtown
|
11–19 | Canterbury-Bankstown
|
24 August 1940 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Jack O'Brien | 22,061 | ||
| Final | ||||||||
| Eastern Suburbs
|
24–14 | Canterbury-Bankstown
|
31 August 1940 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Jack O'Brien | 24,167 | ||
Premiership final
edit| Eastern Suburbs | Position | Canterbury-Bankstown |
|---|---|---|
| 13. Doug Bartlett | FB | 13. Lindsay Johnson |
| 12. Rod O'Loan | WG | 17. Edgar Newham |
| 37. Stan Callaghan | CE | 9. Merv Denton |
| 10. Dick Dunn | CE | 23. Bob Russell |
| 22. Bill Brew | WG | 11. Jack Bonnyman (c) |
| 8. Fred May | FE | 8. Ted Anderson |
| 25. Sel Lisle | HB | 7. Roy McCarter |
|
PR | 14. Jim Gibbs |
| 2. Noel Hollingdale | HK | 2.Roy Kirkaldy |
| 18. John Clarke | PR | 6. Jack Reilly |
| 4. Harry Pierce | SR | 5. Bob Allison |
| 5. Sid Pearce | SR | 15. Bob Farrar |
| 6. Andrew Norval | LK | 31. Gordon Clunas |
| Dave Brown | Coach | Alan Brady |
Led by their standard-setting captain-coach Dave Brown, the Tricolours continued their strong season performance with a semi-final victory over St George to gain a final berth.
Although Brown was ruled out on the morning of the decider with a leg injury, replacement Bill Brew slotted into the side and scored a try after backing up second rower Sid “Joe” Pearce who also scored the next try. The young Easts team, who averaged twenty years of age, overcame Canterbury by six tries to two.
Eastern Suburbs 24 (Tries: Pierce 2, O'Loan, Brew, Pearce, Clarke. Goals: Dunn 2 )
defeated
Canterbury-Bankstown 14 (Tries: Bonnyman, Denton. Goals: Johnson 4)
References
edit- ^ Premiership Roll of Honour Archived 2007-04-28 at the Wayback Machine at rl1908.com
External links
edit- Rugby League Tables - Notes AFL Tables
- Rugby League Tables - Season 1940 AFL Tables
- rl1908.com History and Statistics rl1908
- Finals Line-ups and Scores Hunterlink Site
- rl1908.com interview Sean Fagan interviews Dick Dunn
- Results: 1931-40 at rabbitohs.com.au