New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1952
Encyclopedia
1952's New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the forty-fifth season of the rugby league
competition based in Sydney
. Ten teams from across Sydney contested for the J. J. Giltinan Shield during the season which culminated in a final between Western Suburbs and South Sydney.
The rl1908 reference transcribes Sean Fagan
's 2002 interview with Souths captain-coach Jack Rayner fuelling the suggestion that dubious refereeing decisions cost the Rabbitohs the 1952 title and prevented Souths from stringing together all six premierships of 1950 to 1955. However it can't be argued that the Western Suburbs club were themselves a force of the 50s and their 1952 achievement was undeniably remarkable as they played the whole second half of the season and the finals without their stars Frank Stanmore
, Keith Holman
and Arthur Collinson who had all left with the touring Kangaroos to England and France.
Wests finished as minor premiers due in great part to their undefeated nine-game streak in the first full round of the 1952 season. In the Final they met Souths who were seeking their third premiership in a row.
The controversy centered on a disallowed Rabbitohs try early in the game. Souths' Frank Threlfo made a break and slipped the ball to Ken Macreadie who was in under the posts. Referee George Bishop ruled the pass forward and disallowed the try. In the interview Rayner also comments on the lopsided penalty count.
However the record-books show that Wests scored six tries to two, winning the match 22-12 and club's fourth premiership. Wests' Hec Farrell and Souths' Bryan Orrock were sent-off for fighting and went before the judiciary charged with kicking. Wests' coach Tom McMahon became the first coach to win a premiership in his debut coaching season.
Ironically, ten years later Wests would again threaten to break a string of premiership wins - the 1962 and 1963 Magpie sides both came close to ceasing St. George's long run - but again a referreeing controversy would affect the outcome. The 1963 Grand Final has been said to have been decided by questionable calls from referee Darcy Lawler and on that occasion Wests would be on the wrong end of those rulings.
Western Suburbs 22 (Tries: Schofield 2, Fitzgerald, Dines, Bain, McLean. Goals: Bain 2.)
South Sydney 12 (Tries: Smailes, Macreadie. Goals: Graves 3.)
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
competition based in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. Ten teams from across Sydney contested for the J. J. Giltinan Shield during the season which culminated in a final between Western Suburbs and South Sydney.
Teams
 Balmain Tigers The Balmain Tigers are a rugby league football club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and one of the most successful in the history of the premiership, with eleven titles... |
 |
 Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League... |
 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League's Telstra Premiership, the premier rugby league competition of Australasia... |
 Newtown Jets The Newtown Jets are an Australian rugby league football club based in Newtown, a suburb of Sydney's inner west. They currently compete in the NSWRL Premier League competition, having left the top grade after the 1983 NSWRFL season... |
 North Sydney Bears The North Sydney Bears are an Australian rugby league football club based in North Sydney, New South Wales. They currently compete in the New South Wales Cup, having exited the National Rugby League following the 1999 NRL season after 92 years of top-grade competition. The Bears are based on... |
 Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, with their First Grade side playing their first season in the New South Wales Rugby Football League... |
 South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney Rabbitohs are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in Redfern, a suburb of South-central Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League premiership and are one of nine existing teams from the state capital... |
 St. George Dragons The St George Dragons was an Australian Rugby league football club in St George, Sydney, New South Wales that played in Australia's top-level Rugby league competition from New South Wales Rugby Football League in 1921 until 1998; in 1999 they formed a joint venture with the Illawarra Steelers,... |
 Western Suburbs Magpies The Western Suburbs Magpies are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly referred to, were one of the nine foundation clubs of the first New South Wales Rugby League competition in Australia... |
Ladder
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Western SuburbsWestern Suburbs Magpies The Western Suburbs Magpies are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly referred to, were one of the nine foundation clubs of the first New South Wales Rugby League competition in Australia... |
18 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 331 | 264 | 29 |
| 2 |  St. GeorgeSt. George Dragons The St George Dragons was an Australian Rugby league football club in St George, Sydney, New South Wales that played in Australia's top-level Rugby league competition from New South Wales Rugby Football League in 1921 until 1998; in 1999 they formed a joint venture with the Illawarra Steelers,... |
18 | 13 | 0 | 5 | 375 | 279 | 26 |
| 3 |  South SydneySouth Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney Rabbitohs are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in Redfern, a suburb of South-central Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League premiership and are one of nine existing teams from the state capital... |
18 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 344 | 189 | 24 |
| 4 |  North SydneyNorth Sydney Bears The North Sydney Bears are an Australian rugby league football club based in North Sydney, New South Wales. They currently compete in the New South Wales Cup, having exited the National Rugby League following the 1999 NRL season after 92 years of top-grade competition. The Bears are based on... |
18 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 384 | 247 | 22 |
| 5 | Manly Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League's Telstra Premiership, the premier rugby league competition of Australasia... |
18 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 334 | 261 | 22 |
| 6 |  BalmainBalmain Tigers The Balmain Tigers are a rugby league football club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and one of the most successful in the history of the premiership, with eleven titles... |
18 | 8 | 0 | 10 | 351 | 256 | 16 |
| 7 |  NewtownNewtown Jets The Newtown Jets are an Australian rugby league football club based in Newtown, a suburb of Sydney's inner west. They currently compete in the NSWRL Premier League competition, having left the top grade after the 1983 NSWRFL season... |
18 | 6 | 0 | 12 | 210 | 341 | |
| 12 | ||||||||
| 8 |  Eastern SuburbsSydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League... |
18 | 6 | 0 | 12 | 259 | 397 | |
| 12 | ||||||||
| 9 |  CanterburyCanterbury Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, as well as New South Wales Rugby League junior competitions... |
18 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 214 | 386 | |
| 11 | ||||||||
| 10 |  ParramattaParramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, with their First Grade side playing their first season in the New South Wales Rugby Football League... |
18 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 241 | 423 | |
| 6 | ||||||||
Finals
The 1952 season saw North Sydney reach the finals for the first time since 1943.| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| Playoff | ||||||||
| North Sydney North Sydney Bears The North Sydney Bears are an Australian rugby league football club based in North Sydney, New South Wales. They currently compete in the New South Wales Cup, having exited the National Rugby League following the 1999 NRL season after 92 years of top-grade competition. The Bears are based on... |
36-8 | Manly-Warringah Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League's Telstra Premiership, the premier rugby league competition of Australasia... |
27 August 1952 | Sydney Cricket Ground Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian... |
8,770 | |||
| Semi Finals | ||||||||
| Western Suburbs Western Suburbs Magpies The Western Suburbs Magpies are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly referred to, were one of the nine foundation clubs of the first New South Wales Rugby League competition in Australia... |
10-18 | South Sydney South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney Rabbitohs are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in Redfern, a suburb of South-central Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League premiership and are one of nine existing teams from the state capital... |
30 August 1952 | Sydney Cricket Ground Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian... |
Jack O'Brien | 34,181 | ||
| St. George St. George Dragons The St George Dragons was an Australian Rugby league football club in St George, Sydney, New South Wales that played in Australia's top-level Rugby league competition from New South Wales Rugby Football League in 1921 until 1998; in 1999 they formed a joint venture with the Illawarra Steelers,... |
9-21 | North Sydney North Sydney Bears The North Sydney Bears are an Australian rugby league football club based in North Sydney, New South Wales. They currently compete in the New South Wales Cup, having exited the National Rugby League following the 1999 NRL season after 92 years of top-grade competition. The Bears are based on... |
6 September 1952 | Sydney Cricket Ground Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian... |
George Bishop | 41,976 | ||
| Preliminary Final | ||||||||
| South Sydney South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney Rabbitohs are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in Redfern, a suburb of South-central Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League premiership and are one of nine existing teams from the state capital... |
26-12 | North Sydney North Sydney Bears The North Sydney Bears are an Australian rugby league football club based in North Sydney, New South Wales. They currently compete in the New South Wales Cup, having exited the National Rugby League following the 1999 NRL season after 92 years of top-grade competition. The Bears are based on... |
13 September 1952 | Sydney Cricket Ground Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian... |
Jack O'Brien | 44,166 | ||
| Final | ||||||||
| Western Suburbs Western Suburbs Magpies The Western Suburbs Magpies are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly referred to, were one of the nine foundation clubs of the first New South Wales Rugby League competition in Australia... |
22-12 | South Sydney South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney Rabbitohs are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in Redfern, a suburb of South-central Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League premiership and are one of nine existing teams from the state capital... |
20 September 1952 | Sydney Cricket Ground Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian... |
George Bishop | 41,060 | ||
Grand Final
| South Sydney | Position | Western Suburbs |
|---|---|---|
| Don Murdoch | FB | George Bain |
| John Graves | WG | Bill Callinan |
| Malcolm Spencer | CE | Col Ratcliff |
| Fred Threlfo | CE | Gerry Lowe |
| Cec Smailes | WG | Jack Fitzgerald |
| Norm Spillane | FE | Dev Dines |
| Ken Brogan | HB | Leo Trevena Leo Trevena Leo Trevena was a rugby league player for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and the Western Suburbs Magpies in the 1950s. He also coached the Penrith Panthers in their 1967 season and their 1973 season... |
| Denis Donoghue Denis Donoghue (rugby league) Denis Donoghue was an Australian rugby league footballer who played for South Sydney during the years of 1948–1957.South Sydney 171 gamesNew South Wales 10 gamesAustralia 2 Tests... |
PR | Kevin Hansen |
| Ernie Hammerton | HK | Hec Farrell |
| Bryan Orrock | PR | William Horder |
| Ken Macreadie | SR | Don Schofield Don Schofield Don Schofield was an Australian rugby league footballer of the mid 20th century. After playing country rugby league for the Cessnock club, he played in the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership for the Western Suburbs Magpies, scoring two tries in their Grand Final win in the 1952... |
| Jack Rayner Jack Rayner Jack Rayner was an Australian state and national representative rugby league player and NSWRFL coach. His club playing career was with the South Sydney Rabbitohs from 1946 to 1957 and he also represented New South Wales on eleven occasions and played in five Test matches for the Australian... (Ca./Co.) |
SR | Ron Watson |
| Ray Neilson | LK | Peter McLean (c) |
| Coach | Tom McMahon | |
The rl1908 reference transcribes Sean Fagan
Sean Fagan
Sean Patrick Fagan is a Sydney, Australia based sports historian, author and journalist, specialising in early Australian history and particular the origins and local development of the popular football codes in Australia. He has written articles for Australian national daily newspapers, numerous...
's 2002 interview with Souths captain-coach Jack Rayner fuelling the suggestion that dubious refereeing decisions cost the Rabbitohs the 1952 title and prevented Souths from stringing together all six premierships of 1950 to 1955. However it can't be argued that the Western Suburbs club were themselves a force of the 50s and their 1952 achievement was undeniably remarkable as they played the whole second half of the season and the finals without their stars Frank Stanmore
Frank Stanmore (rugby league)
Frank Stanmore was an Australian rugby league footballer of the 1940s and 50s. An Australian international and New South Wales interstate representative five-eighth, he played club football in Sydney's NSWRFL for Western Suburbs, winning the 1948 Premiership with them...
, Keith Holman
Keith Holman
Keith Victor Holman, MBE was an Australian rugby league footballer, a national and state representative whose club career was played with the Western Suburbs Magpies from 1949 to 1961. He has since been named as one of the nation's finest footballers of the 20th century...
and Arthur Collinson who had all left with the touring Kangaroos to England and France.
Wests finished as minor premiers due in great part to their undefeated nine-game streak in the first full round of the 1952 season. In the Final they met Souths who were seeking their third premiership in a row.
The controversy centered on a disallowed Rabbitohs try early in the game. Souths' Frank Threlfo made a break and slipped the ball to Ken Macreadie who was in under the posts. Referee George Bishop ruled the pass forward and disallowed the try. In the interview Rayner also comments on the lopsided penalty count.
However the record-books show that Wests scored six tries to two, winning the match 22-12 and club's fourth premiership. Wests' Hec Farrell and Souths' Bryan Orrock were sent-off for fighting and went before the judiciary charged with kicking. Wests' coach Tom McMahon became the first coach to win a premiership in his debut coaching season.
Ironically, ten years later Wests would again threaten to break a string of premiership wins - the 1962 and 1963 Magpie sides both came close to ceasing St. George's long run - but again a referreeing controversy would affect the outcome. The 1963 Grand Final has been said to have been decided by questionable calls from referee Darcy Lawler and on that occasion Wests would be on the wrong end of those rulings.
Western Suburbs 22 (Tries: Schofield 2, Fitzgerald, Dines, Bain, McLean. Goals: Bain 2.)
South Sydney 12 (Tries: Smailes, Macreadie. Goals: Graves 3.)