The 1935 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the twenty-eighth season of Sydney’s top-grade rugby league club competition, Australia’s first. The season culminated in Eastern Suburbs’ victory over South Sydney in the final.[1]
| 1935 New South Wales Rugby Football League | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 9 |
| Premiers |  Eastern Suburbs (5th title) |
| Minor premiers | Eastern Suburbs (6th title) |
| Matches played | 75 |
| Top points scorer(s) | Dave Brown (244) |
| Top try-scorer(s) | Dave Brown (38) |
Teams edit
The addition of Canterbury-Bankstown meant that the League involved nine clubs for the first time since 1929.[2]
- Balmain, formed on January 23, 1908, at Balmain Town Hall
- Canterbury-Bankstown, formed October 30, 1934.
- 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
- University, formed in 1919 at Sydney University
- Western Suburbs, formed on February 4, 1908
Balmain 28th season |
Canterbury-Bankstown 1st season |
Eastern Suburbs 28th season |
Newtown 28th season |
North Sydney 28th season |
St. George 15th season |
South Sydney 28th season |
University 16th season |
Western Suburbs 28th season |
Records set in 1935 edit
The University club did not win a single match in 1935, continuing a losing streak that started in round 2, 1934 and which would run till round 14, 1936, and which marks the most consecutive losses in NSWRL/NRL premiership history at 42.[3]
On 11 May at Earl Park, St. George defeated newcomers Canterbury 91–6, this remaining the biggest winning margin and most points scored by one team in the history of the NSWRFL/NSWRL/ARL/NRL, beating South Sydney’s 67–nil win over Western Suburbs in 1910.[4] The following weekend on 18 May, Eastern Suburbs defeated the “Cantabs” (as Canterbury were initially known) 87–7, this remaining the second-highest score and winning margin in the history of the competition.[4] The record in any grade occurred on 19 July 1913 when South Sydney reserves defeated Mosman by 102 points to 2.[5][6]
In the second half of the Earl Park match, St. George scored fourteen tries and sixty-eight points, this being the most scored in one half of any match.[7]
Eastern Suburbs winger Rod O'Loan scored a club record of seven tries in a 61–5 win over University. This tally stands second (behind Frank Burge's eight tries in 1920) on the list of most individual tries in a premiership match. Dave Brown’s six tries in a 1935 game against Canterbury stands in equal third place in that same list, Easts winning the match 65–10.[8]
The standing record for most tries in one season also comes from 1935, being 38 by Brown.[9]
Dave Brown’s season tally of 244 points stood for 34 years as the record points scored in a season until topped by Eric Simms in 1969.
Ladder edit
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Easts
|
16 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 599 | 157 | +442 | 34 |
| 2 |  Souths
|
16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 314 | 222 | +112 | 26 |
| 3 |  Wests
|
16 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 345 | 243 | +102 | 24 |
| 4 |  Norths
|
16 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 248 | 253 | -5 | 23 |
| 5 |  Balmain
|
16 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 320 | 225 | +95 | 21 |
| 6 |  St. George
|
16 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 334 | 162 | +172 | 20 |
| 7 |  Newtown
|
16 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 280 | 248 | +32 | 20 |
| 8 |  Canterbury
|
16 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 150 | 660 | -510 | 8 |
| 9 |  University
|
16 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 109 | 529 | -420 | 4 |
Finals edit
In the two semi-finals played as a double-header at the Sydney Cricket Ground on the same day, the top two ranked teams Eastern Suburbs and South Sydney beat their lower-ranked opponents Western Suburbs and North Sydney. Eastern Suburbs and South Sydney won their respective matches and met each other in the Final.
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 7 September 1935 – Sydney Cricket Ground | ||||||
| Eastern Suburbs | 15 | |||||
| 14 September 1935 – Sydney Cricket Ground | ||||||
| Western Suburbs | 10 | |||||
| Eastern Suburbs | 19 | |||||
| 7 September 1935 – Sydney Cricket Ground | ||||||
| South Sydney | 3 | |||||
| South Sydney | 14 | |||||
| North Sydney | 10 | |||||
Premiership Final edit
| Eastern Suburbs | Position | South Sydney |
|---|---|---|
| 13. Tom Dowling | FB | 32. Les McDonald |
| 9. Rod O’Loan | WG | 15. Harry Thompson |
| 10. Ross McKinnon | CE | 18. Harry Eyers |
| 12. Jack Beaton | CE | 34. Eddie Finucane |
| 24. Fred Tottey | WG | 54. George Shankland |
| 8. Ernie Norman | FE | 12. Jack 'Paddy' Stewart |
| 7. Viv Thicknesse | HB | 10. Percy Williams(c) |
|
PR | 6. Jack McCormack |
| 14. Tom McLachlan | HK | 7. George Kilham |
| 3. Max Nixon | PR | 4. Eric Lewis |
| 4. Harry Pierce | SR | |
| 5. Joe Pearce | SR | 2. Michael Williams |
| 6. Andy Norval | LK | 3. Eddie Hinson |
| Arthur Halloway | Coach | Dave Watson |
Before a crowd of 22,106 and refereed by Tom McMahon, Easts led 9–nil at half-time and were never headed despite being without their record-breaking centre, Dave Brown.[11]
Scorers edit
- Eastern Suburbs
Tries: Rod O'Loan 2, Harry Pierce, Fred Tottey, Jack Beaton. Goals: Ross McKinnon 2
- South Sydney
Try: George Shankland
Source:[12]
Player statistics edit
The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 18.
|
Top 5 point scorers
Top 5 try scorers
|
Top 5 goal scorers
|
References edit
- ^ Premiership Roll of Honour at rl1908.com
- ^ "History of the Premiership". centenaryofrugbyleague.com.au. Australian Rugby League. Archived from the original on 9 February 2008. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
- ^ Rugby League Tables – Most Consecutive Games Lost; AFl Tables
- ^ a b Rugby League Tables – Game Records; AFL Tables
- ^ ‘Rugby League: Second Grade‘; The Sunday Times, 20 July 1913, p. 13
- ^ ‘Records Made: St. George and Griffen’; Sydney Morning Herald, 13 May 1935, p. 17
- ^ See Middleton, David; Rugby League 1996; pp. 123, 125 ISBN 0732256720
- ^ Rugby League Tables – Most Individual Tries in a Game; AFL Tables
- ^ Middleton, David (30 September 2013). "Ten of the most dominant seasons in rugby league history from historian David Middleton". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
- ^ "1935 Ladder". afltables.com. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
- ^ "The Rugby Season has ended". The Sydney Mail. Australia. 1935-09-18. p. 33. Retrieved 2009-12-04.[dead link]
- ^ "Finals Scorers,1935". stats.rleague.com. Archived from the original on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
External links edit
- Rugby League Tables - Notes AFL Tables
- Rugby League Tables - Season 1935 AFL Tables