New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1967
Encyclopedia
The 1967 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership
was the sixtieth season of Sydney
's professional rugby league football competition, Australia's first. The introduction of the Cronulla-Sutherland and Penrith
clubs saw a total of twelve teams from across the Sydney area compete for the J J Giltinan Shield and WD & HO Wills Cup during the season, which culminated in a grand final
between South Sydney and Canterbury-Bankstown. This was also the first live televised broadcast of a football grand final of any code in Australia.
Also this season Lidcombe Oval
became the Western Suburbs club's homeground.
The twelve sides met each other twice in twenty-two regular premiership rounds before the top four teams battled out four finals. For the sixth consecutive season the St. George Dragons
finished as minor premiers. The two newcomers to the premiership, Penrith and Cronulla-Sutherland, finished the season second last and last respectively.
In 1967 the Nine Network
reached agreement with the NSWRFL for a fee of $5,000 for TV broadcasting rights for the grand final.
The South Sydney Rabbitohs
won their seventeenth premiership, defeating Canterbury-Bankstown
in their first grand final since 1947. This finally spelled the end for St. George's monopoly on Grand Final wins which lasted over a decade, and commenced a new period of Souths' dominance, in which they would win four premierships in a five-year period.
The 1967 season also saw the retirement from the League of future Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame
inductee, Reg Gasnier
.
and the Cronulla-Sutherland clubs. This was the first time the number of clubs had increased since 1947 and the first time ever the number of clubs competing totalled more than ten.
Live television broadcast coverage of grand finals commenced in 1967 with the match being shown on all four Sydney channels. As a result, the crowd of 56,358 was the lowest seen at a grand final since the rainy 1962 St George and Wests decider.
South Sydney, led by new skipper John Sattler, began their period of dominance by downing Canterbury in a torrid 80 minutes played in bleak conditions with a light rain throughout. Taylforth and Eric Simms opened accounts with early goals, before John O'Neill barged over for a close-range try from dummy half. Canterbury's Ron Raper responded with a field-goal kicked from halfway and then Taylforth punished Souths with two successful penalty goals after firstly a clash between Kevin Ryan and O'Neill and then a scrum infringement. Canterbury led 8-5.
A turning point came just before half-time when Rabbitohs second rower Bob McCarthy swooped on a lofted pass from Canterbury's Col Brown intended for Johnny Greaves and ran the length of the field to take Souths into the break with a 10-8 lead.
Taylforth kicked his fourth goal to take the scores level nine minutes into the second-half but from that point on the match became a tight arm wrestle. With five minutes remaining Canterbury's Ross Kidd was penalised for a scrum feed and Simms kicked the Rabbitohs to a two point lead which they held to give them their 17th premiership title.
It marked the beginning of a new golden period for Souths and Ron Coote, Mike Cleary, Bob McCarthy, O'Neill, Sattler and Simms would win four premierships in the next five seasons and figure prominently in representative squads of that period.
South Sydney 12 (Tries: O,Neill, McCarthy. Goals: Simms 3)
Canterbury-Bankstown 10 (Goals: Taylforth 4. Fld Goal: Raper)
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 sixtieth season of 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...
's professional rugby league football competition, Australia's first. The introduction of the Cronulla-Sutherland and Penrith
Penrith Panthers
The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, the top rugby league football competition in Australasia. For the 2012 NRL season they will be coached by Ivan...
clubs saw a total of twelve teams from across the Sydney area compete for the J J Giltinan Shield and 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 South Sydney and Canterbury-Bankstown. This was also the first live televised broadcast of a football grand final of any code in Australia.
Season summary
The 1967 season was the first played under the limited tackle rule, replacing the previous era (since the code's 1908 inception) of unlimited tackles. The number of tackles was four and would remain at that number for only four years before being increased to six in 1971.Also this season Lidcombe Oval
Lidcombe Oval
Lidcombe Oval is a playing field in the Western Sydney suburb of Lidcombe, and is part of Wyatt Park. Situated in Church Street, on the northern side of the railway line, it has a capacity of more than 20,000 and is used mainly for football matches of various codes...
became the Western Suburbs club's homeground.
The twelve sides met each other twice in twenty-two regular premiership rounds before the top four teams battled out four finals. For the sixth consecutive season the St. George Dragons
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,...
finished as minor premiers. The two newcomers to the premiership, Penrith and Cronulla-Sutherland, finished the season second last and last respectively.
In 1967 the Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
reached agreement with the NSWRFL for a fee of $5,000 for TV broadcasting rights for the grand final.
The South Sydney Rabbitohs
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...
won their seventeenth premiership, defeating Canterbury-Bankstown
Canterbury 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...
in their first grand final since 1947. This finally spelled the end for St. George's monopoly on Grand Final wins which lasted over a decade, and commenced a new period of Souths' dominance, in which they would win four premierships in a five-year period.
The 1967 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, 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...
.
Teams
1967 saw the NSWRFL expand to twelve teams with the introduction of the PenrithPenrith Panthers
The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, the top rugby league football competition in Australasia. For the 2012 NRL season they will be coached by Ivan...
and the Cronulla-Sutherland clubs. This was the first time the number of clubs had increased since 1947 and the first time ever the number of clubs competing totalled more than ten.
 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... |
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 |
 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... |
 Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, the top rugby league football competition in Australasia. For the 2012 NRL season they will be coached by Ivan... 1st season 1967 Penrith Panthers season The Penrith Panthers 1967 season is the Penrith Panthers 1st first-grade season. The club competes in Australasia's NSWRFL. The coach of the team is Leo Trevena.-Regular season:-Ladder:-External links:*... |
 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,... |
22 | 16 | 1 | 5 | 437 | 267 | 33 |
| 2 |  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... |
22 | 16 | 0 | 6 | 422 | 271 | 32 |
| 3 |  Canterbury-BankstownCanterbury 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... |
22 | 14 | 1 | 7 | 349 | 269 | 29 |
| 4 |  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... |
22 | 13 | 2 | 7 | 269 | 219 | 28 |
| 5 | 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... |
22 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 365 | 271 | 26 |
| 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... |
22 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 344 | 258 | 26 |
| 7 |  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... |
22 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 269 | 255 | 22 |
| 8 |  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... |
22 | 8 | 1 | 13 | 297 | 370 | |
| 17 | ||||||||
| 9 |  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... |
22 | 8 | 0 | 14 | 309 | 322 | |
| 16 | ||||||||
| 10 |  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... |
22 | 7 | 2 | 13 | 274 | 406 | |
| 16 | ||||||||
| 11 | Penrith Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, the top rugby league football competition in Australasia. For the 2012 NRL season they will be coached by Ivan... |
22 | 5 | 2 | 15 | 203 | 352 | |
| 12 | ||||||||
| 12 |  Cronulla-SutherlandCronulla Sharks The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are Australian professional Rugby league team based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales... |
22 | 3 | 1 | 18 | 208 | 486 | |
| 7 | ||||||||
Finals
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| Semi Finals | ||||||||
| Canterbury-Bankstown Canterbury 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... |
13-2 | Eastern Suburbs 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... |
26 August 1967 | 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 | 47,186 | ||
| 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,... |
8-13 | 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... |
2 September 1967 | 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 | 51,915 | ||
| Preliminary 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,... |
11-12 | Canterbury-Bankstown Canterbury 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... |
9 September 1967 | 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 | 49,941 | ||
| Grand 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... |
12-10 | Canterbury-Bankstown Canterbury 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... |
16 September 1967 | 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 | 56,358 | ||
Grand Final
| Canterbury-Bankstown | Position | South Sydney |
|---|---|---|
| Les Johns Les Johns Les Johns was an Australian rugby league player for Newcastle's Souths club, then the Canterbury-Bankstown club as well as the New South Wales and for the Australian representative sides... |
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.... |
| Barry Reynolds | WG | Brian James Brian James (rugby league) Brian James is an Australian former rugby league footballer of the 1960s. A national and state representative, he played in the 1968 Rugby League World Cup-winning team for Australia as a winger. His club career was played at centre for the St... |
| Bob Hagan | CE | Eric Simms |
| Johnny Greaves Johnny Greaves Johnny Greaves is a former rugby league player for the St. George Dragons, Canterbury Bulldogs, New South Wales and for the Australian national side.... |
CE | Bob Moses |
| Clive Gartner | WG | Michael Cleary |
| Bob Doyle | FE | Jim Lisle Jim Lisle Ronald James "Jimmy" Lisle was an Australian rugby league and rugby union player – a dual code rugby international... |
| Ross Kidd | HB | Ivan Jones |
| Kevin Ryan (Ca./Co.) | PR | 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... (c) |
| Col Brown | HK | Elwyn Walters Elwyn Walters Elwyn Walters was an Australian rugby league player for the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Eastern Suburbs clubs and for the Australian national side.Walters came to South Sydney in the mid-1960s from the Brisbane Norths club... |
| Merv Hicks Merv Hicks Mervyn J. Hicks is a Welsh former rugby union and professional rugby league footballer of the 1960s and '70s. He played rugby union club football in Wales for the Cross Keys RFC, rugby league club football in Britain for Doncaster, Warrington, St... |
PR | John O'Neill |
| Kevin Goldspink Kevin Goldspink Kevin Goldspink was a rugby league player for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Eastern Suburbs and for the Australian national side.He was married to Anne and had 3 children, Linda, Paula and Brett.Linda was very successful, she is happily married with 3 children of her own, with one of... |
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... |
| George Taylforth George Taylforth George Henry Taylforth is a British-born Australian former professional rugby league player for Canterbury-Bankstown and Cronulla-Sutherland, notable for his long-range goal-kicking.-Playing career:... |
SR | Alan Scott |
| Ron Raper | 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 | Clive Churchill Clive Churchill Clive Bernard Churchill AM was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach of the mid-20th century. An Australian international and New South Wales and Queensland interstate representative fullback, he played the majority of his club football with and later coached the South Sydney Rabbitohs... |
|
Live television broadcast coverage of grand finals commenced in 1967 with the match being shown on all four Sydney channels. As a result, the crowd of 56,358 was the lowest seen at a grand final since the rainy 1962 St George and Wests decider.
South Sydney, led by new skipper John Sattler, began their period of dominance by downing Canterbury in a torrid 80 minutes played in bleak conditions with a light rain throughout. Taylforth and Eric Simms opened accounts with early goals, before John O'Neill barged over for a close-range try from dummy half. Canterbury's Ron Raper responded with a field-goal kicked from halfway and then Taylforth punished Souths with two successful penalty goals after firstly a clash between Kevin Ryan and O'Neill and then a scrum infringement. Canterbury led 8-5.
A turning point came just before half-time when Rabbitohs second rower Bob McCarthy swooped on a lofted pass from Canterbury's Col Brown intended for Johnny Greaves and ran the length of the field to take Souths into the break with a 10-8 lead.
Taylforth kicked his fourth goal to take the scores level nine minutes into the second-half but from that point on the match became a tight arm wrestle. With five minutes remaining Canterbury's Ross Kidd was penalised for a scrum feed and Simms kicked the Rabbitohs to a two point lead which they held to give them their 17th premiership title.
It marked the beginning of a new golden period for Souths and Ron Coote, Mike Cleary, Bob McCarthy, O'Neill, Sattler and Simms would win four premierships in the next five seasons and figure prominently in representative squads of that period.
South Sydney 12 (Tries: O,Neill, McCarthy. Goals: Simms 3)
Canterbury-Bankstown 10 (Goals: Taylforth 4. Fld Goal: Raper)