New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1965
Encyclopedia
The 1965 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership
was the fifty-eighth season of the rugby league
competition based in Sydney
. Ten clubs from across the city competed for the J J Giltinan Shield and the WD & HO Wills Cup during the season, which culminated in a grand final
between St. George and South Sydney.
The 1965 season also saw the retirement from the League of future Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame
inductee, Norm Provan
.
In 1965, the Sydney Cricket Ground
could comfortably accommodate 60,000. With capacity already reached two hours before kick-off the SCG staff closed the gates and posted an attendance figure of just over 78,000, a ground record. Meanwhile the surrounding streets and parklands were packed with an estimated 40,000 people who were still trying to get into a ground. Hundreds chose to break in by storming the Members gates and proceeded to climb the grandstands, perching themselves on the roofs. Scores more bought tickets to the Motor Show which was being held next door in the Royal Showground. From here they took up vantage points on the Showground Pavilions with good views of the SCG pitch. After consultation the police allowed thousands to sit on the ground itself, covering the outer ring of the oval.
At 3pm, St George captain-coach Norm Provan, the last player from the Dragons' 1956 premiership-winning side, led his team onto the field in what would be his final match before retiring. Souths had already beaten Saints twice in 1965 and the huge crowd that attended were either looking to see the milestone 10th successive win or to see the dominant run halted. The St George team, with an average age of 27, faced a real threat from their younger South Sydney rivals whose average age was 22.
Rabbitohs fullback, Kevin Longbottom opened the scoring with a 55-yard penalty goal in the 20th minute - the kick receiving applause from St. George fullback Graeme Langlands. St George replied with a Billy Smith try. Langlands and Longbottom exchanged penalty goals with both players booting the ball more than 50 yards. It was a tough encounter with fiery forward charges from Provan, Johnny Raper and Kevin Ryan. The scrums in particular were no place for the faint-hearted, and Ryan was being unsettled by the Souths' front row of Jim Morgan and John O'Neill. In one scrum, after seeing Rabbitohs hooker Fred Anderson reaching into the tunnel, Ryan stood on Anderson, raked him back and proceeded to walk over him. The Dragons pack surged forward, forcing Anderson along the ground through the St George second row and out the back of the scrum. The 'keelhauled' Anderson sat dazed and bleeding on the ground with the ball still in hand.
The second half began with more penalty goals to Langlands and Longbottom. Souths' lock Ron Coote kept his side in the match with two brilliant try-saving tackles. With 13 minutes to go, Johnny King scored, continuing his amazing record of scoring tries in six successive Grand Finals. Souths' Eric Simms kicked a penalty goal, giving them some hope but Saints held their line and at fulltime the score was 12-8. St George had won their tenth consecutive Grand Final and Provan bowed out victorious. At the sounding of the fulltime siren, the SCG was invaded by thousands of fans and the ground became a sea of people – any chance of a victory lap was soon forgotten. Kevin Ryan was named Man-of-the-Match.
Some records were set in the 1965 Grand Final. The attendance of 78,065 is the record for a rugby league match at the SCG and for thirty four years, until the Sydney Olympic Stadium
was opened in 1999, this stood as the highest attendance at a rugby league match in Australia. Norm Provan's ten premiership wins achieved that day stands as the most number of grand final successes by a player. He also holds equal first place with his St George team-mate Brian Clay
for the highest number of grand final appearances. Clay's ten appearances include two losses in 1954 and 1955 with Newtown
.
St. George 12 (Tries: Smith, King. Goals: Langlands 3.)
South Sydney 8 ( Goals: Longbottom 3, Simms.)
New South Wales Rugby League premiership
The New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the first rugby league football club competition established in Australia. Run by the New South Wales Rugby League from 1908 until 1994, the premiership was the state's and later the country's elite rugby league competition...
was the fifty-eighth season of the rugby league
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 clubs from across the city competed for the J J Giltinan Shield and the WD & HO Wills Cup during the season, which culminated in a grand final
Grand Final
Grand Final is a predominantly Australian sport term used to describe a match that decides a league champion.It originated in Victoria and South Australia and has become specifically significant Australian culture...
between St. George and South Sydney.
The 1965 season also saw the retirement from the League of future Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame
Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame
The Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame honors players who have shown exceptional skill at rugby league, all-time great coaches and referees, and other major contributors to the game who are Australian...
inductee, Norm Provan
Norm Provan
Norm "Sticks" Provan is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. A giant of a man, he was a second-row forward with the St. George Dragons during their 11-year consecutive premiership-winning run from 1956 to 1966...
.
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 |  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 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 394 | 142 | 30 |
| 2 |  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 | 2 | 5 | 318 | 218 | 24 |
| 3 |  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 | 11 | 1 | 6 | 243 | 220 | 23 |
| 4 |  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 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 227 | 205 | 22 |
| 5 |  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 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 223 | 211 | 21 |
| 6 |  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 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 212 | 210 | 19 |
| 7 | 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 | 6 | 0 | 12 | 228 | 235 | |
| 12 | ||||||||
| 8 |  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 | 6 | 0 | 12 | 181 | 244 | |
| 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 | 0 | 13 | 194 | 331 | |
| 10 | ||||||||
| 10 |  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 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 149 | 353 | |
| 7 | ||||||||
Finals
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| Semi Finals | ||||||||
| Parramatta 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... |
2-17 | 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... |
28 August 1965 | 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... |
Col Pearce | 54,626 | ||
| 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,... |
47-7 | 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... |
4 September 1965 | 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... |
Col Pearce | 38,944 | ||
| Preliminary Final | ||||||||
| 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... |
9-14 | 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... |
11 September 1965 | 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... |
Col Pearce | 36,695 | ||
| Grand Final | ||||||||
| 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,... |
12-8 | 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... |
18 September 1965 | 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... |
Col Pearce | 78,065 | ||
Grand Final
| St. George | Position | South Sydney |
|---|---|---|
| Graeme Langlands Graeme Langlands Graeme 'Changa' Langlands, MBE, is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach of the 1960s and 70s. He retired as the most-capped player for the Australian national team with 45 from 1963 to 1975, and captained his country in 15 Test matches and World Cup games. Langlands was the... |
FB | Kevin Longbottom Kevin Longbottom Kevin Longbottom was an Aboriginal Australian professional rugby league player for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the New South Wales Rugby League between 1961 and 1969, playing 105 games.... |
| Johnny King Johnny King Johnny King is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He was a winger with the St. George Dragons for the last seven years of their eleven consecutive premiership-winning run from 1956 to 1966. He was a representative in the Australian national team from 1966–1970, earning... |
WG | Eric Simms |
| Reg Gasnier Reg Gasnier Reg Gasnier AM is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach, regarded as one of the 20th century's finest players. He played in the centres for the St. George Dragons from 1959 to 1967... |
CE | Arthur Branighan |
| Billy Smith | CE | Bob Moses |
| Eddie Lumsden Eddie Lumsden Eddie Lumsden is an Australian former rugby league player. He was a winger with the St. George Dragons during their eleven-year premiership winning run from 1956 to 1966, playing in nine grand finals.... |
WG | Michael Cleary |
| Brian Clay Brian Clay Brian Joseph 'Poppa' Clay was an Australian rugby league footballer of the 1950s and 60s. He was a five-eighth with the St. George Dragons during their 11-year consecutive premiership winning run from 1956 to 1966... |
FE | Jim Lisle Jim Lisle Ronald James "Jimmy" Lisle was an Australian rugby league and rugby union player – a dual code rugby international... (c) |
| George Evans | HB | Ivan Jones |
| Robin Gourley Robin Gourley Robin Gourley is an Irish-Australian former rugby league footballer of the 1960s. After initially playing rugby union in his native Ireland, Gourley took up rugby league after he moved to Australia in his 20s. He played from 1963 to 1966 as a front-row forward for the St. George Dragons, including... |
PR | Jim Morgan Jim Morgan Jim Morgan was an Australian rugby league footballer of the 1960s and 70s. He played at prop forward in the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership for the South Sydney Rabbitohs and later the Eastern Suburbs Roosters, and also represented Australia.Hailing from Maitland, Morgan first... |
| Ian Walsh | HK | Fred Anderson |
| Kevin Ryan | PR | John O'Neill |
| Elton Rasmussen Elton Rasmussen Elton Rasmussen was an Australian rugby league footballer of the 1950s and 60s. He was a second-row forward with the St. George Dragons during the second-half of their 11 year consecutive premiership winning run from 1956 to 1966... |
SR | Bob McCarthy Bob McCarthy Bob McCarthy MBE is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, New South Wales and for the Australian national side... |
| Norm Provan Norm Provan Norm "Sticks" Provan is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. A giant of a man, he was a second-row forward with the St. George Dragons during their 11-year consecutive premiership-winning run from 1956 to 1966... (Ca./Co.) |
SR | John Sattler John Sattler John William Sattler is an Australian former rugby league footballer of the 1960s and '70s. He was a rugged Prop forward who led his club, South Sydney to four premiership victories between 1967 and 1971 and who played four tests for Australia – three as the national captain... |
| Johnny Raper Johnny Raper John Raper, MBE is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He was a lock forward for the Australia national team. He had a record 33 test caps between 1959 and 1968 and played in 6 World Cup games between 1960 to 1968... |
LK | Ron Coote Ron Coote Ron Coote AM is an Australian former representative rugby league player whose club career was played with the South Sydney and Eastern Suburbs, both of whom he won premierships with. He is considered one of the nation's finest footballers of the 20th century... |
| Coach | Bernie Purcell Bernie Purcell Bernie Purcell was an Australian rugby league premiership winning footballer and coach. He was a goal-kicking second-row forward of the 1950s for the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Australian national representative and New South Wales state sides.... |
|
In 1965, the 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...
could comfortably accommodate 60,000. With capacity already reached two hours before kick-off the SCG staff closed the gates and posted an attendance figure of just over 78,000, a ground record. Meanwhile the surrounding streets and parklands were packed with an estimated 40,000 people who were still trying to get into a ground. Hundreds chose to break in by storming the Members gates and proceeded to climb the grandstands, perching themselves on the roofs. Scores more bought tickets to the Motor Show which was being held next door in the Royal Showground. From here they took up vantage points on the Showground Pavilions with good views of the SCG pitch. After consultation the police allowed thousands to sit on the ground itself, covering the outer ring of the oval.
At 3pm, St George captain-coach Norm Provan, the last player from the Dragons' 1956 premiership-winning side, led his team onto the field in what would be his final match before retiring. Souths had already beaten Saints twice in 1965 and the huge crowd that attended were either looking to see the milestone 10th successive win or to see the dominant run halted. The St George team, with an average age of 27, faced a real threat from their younger South Sydney rivals whose average age was 22.
Rabbitohs fullback, Kevin Longbottom opened the scoring with a 55-yard penalty goal in the 20th minute - the kick receiving applause from St. George fullback Graeme Langlands. St George replied with a Billy Smith try. Langlands and Longbottom exchanged penalty goals with both players booting the ball more than 50 yards. It was a tough encounter with fiery forward charges from Provan, Johnny Raper and Kevin Ryan. The scrums in particular were no place for the faint-hearted, and Ryan was being unsettled by the Souths' front row of Jim Morgan and John O'Neill. In one scrum, after seeing Rabbitohs hooker Fred Anderson reaching into the tunnel, Ryan stood on Anderson, raked him back and proceeded to walk over him. The Dragons pack surged forward, forcing Anderson along the ground through the St George second row and out the back of the scrum. The 'keelhauled' Anderson sat dazed and bleeding on the ground with the ball still in hand.
The second half began with more penalty goals to Langlands and Longbottom. Souths' lock Ron Coote kept his side in the match with two brilliant try-saving tackles. With 13 minutes to go, Johnny King scored, continuing his amazing record of scoring tries in six successive Grand Finals. Souths' Eric Simms kicked a penalty goal, giving them some hope but Saints held their line and at fulltime the score was 12-8. St George had won their tenth consecutive Grand Final and Provan bowed out victorious. At the sounding of the fulltime siren, the SCG was invaded by thousands of fans and the ground became a sea of people – any chance of a victory lap was soon forgotten. Kevin Ryan was named Man-of-the-Match.
Some records were set in the 1965 Grand Final. The attendance of 78,065 is the record for a rugby league match at the SCG and for thirty four years, until the Sydney Olympic Stadium
Telstra Stadium
Stadium Australia, currently also known as ANZ Stadium due to naming rights, formerly known as Telstra Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Sydney Olympic Park precinct of Homebush Bay...
was opened in 1999, this stood as the highest attendance at a rugby league match in Australia. Norm Provan's ten premiership wins achieved that day stands as the most number of grand final successes by a player. He also holds equal first place with his St George team-mate Brian Clay
Brian Clay
Brian Joseph 'Poppa' Clay was an Australian rugby league footballer of the 1950s and 60s. He was a five-eighth with the St. George Dragons during their 11-year consecutive premiership winning run from 1956 to 1966...
for the highest number of grand final appearances. Clay's ten appearances include two losses in 1954 and 1955 with Newtown
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...
.
St. George 12 (Tries: Smith, King. Goals: Langlands 3.)
South Sydney 8 ( Goals: Longbottom 3, Simms.)