New South Wales Rugby League season 1911
Encyclopedia
The 1911 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the fourth season of Sydney
's top-level rugby league football club competition, Australia's first. Eight teams from across the city contested during the season for the premiership and the Royal Agricultural Society
Challenge Shield.
The League's turnover for the 1911 season was £15,889, up £2,477 on the previous year.
played in 1911.
was played on the Sydney Cricket Ground
. NSW defeated New Zealand
in the match, 35-10.
was similar for the 1911 season. The top two teams at the end of the year were to play each other in a final to decide the premiership, but in the event of the minor premiers losing, they were deemed to have the "right of challenge" to play a Grand Final
. However, because both Eastern Suburbs
and South Sydney
finished on equal premiership points in second place, a playoff was used to decide who would play minor premiers Glebe in the final.
Eastern Suburbs ended up beating local rivals South Sydney 23-10 at the Sports Ground in front of 14,000 people on September 2, 1911 to win the play-off in order to play minor premiers Glebe. The following week, Eastern Suburbs beat Glebe in front of 16,000 at the Agricultural Ground 22-9. Glebe immediately exercised their right for a rematch the following week for a match to be held at the Agricultural Ground on September 16, 1911.
After Glebe won the toss, Dally Messenger kicked off at 3:31pm on what was a very windy Saturday afternoon. Glebe winger Cubitt scored early and Easts were only able to post a penalty goal in the first half and trailed 5-2 at the break.
The referee was Tom McMahon (the elder of the two Sydney top-grade referees of that name) who in the first half sent off Glebe's Sid Pert and Rooster Larry O'Malley, the former Australian Kangaroo captain.
Early in the second half, Cubitt scored again for Glebe to take an 8-4 lead. However, in the final ten minutes, Eastern Suburbs were able to score a try after a high kick was misjudged by the Glebe fullback, and Charlie Lees took the loose ball to score a try. Dally Messenger converted to take the lead 9-8 with only minutes to play, and consolidated the win with another penalty kick to win the game 11-8 for the Roosters and allowing them to take their first premiership in front of 20,000 people.
Eastern Suburbs 11
(Tries: Lees. Goals: Messenger 3. Fld Goal: Messenger )
defeated
Glebe 8 (Tries; C Cubitt 2 Goals: 1.)
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 top-level rugby league football club competition, Australia's first. Eight teams from across the city contested during the season for the premiership and the Royal Agricultural Society
Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales
The Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales is an Agricultural society based in New South Wales, Australia. They run many of the agricultural shows around New South Wales including the Sydney Royal Easter Show....
Challenge Shield.
The League's turnover for the 1911 season was £15,889, up £2,477 on the previous year.
Teams
For the first time in its short history, the premiership consisted of the same teams for two years in a row. The same eight teams from the 1910 seasonNew South Wales Rugby League season 1910
The 1910 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the third season of Sydney's top-level rugby league football club competition, Australia's first. Eight teams from across the city contested during the season for the premiership and the Royal Agricultural Society Challenge Shield...
played in 1911.
- Annandale
- BalmainBalmain TigersThe 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...
, formed on January 23, 1908 at Balmain Town Hall - Eastern SuburbsSydney RoostersThe 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...
, formed on January 24, 1908 at Paddington Town Hall - Glebe, formed on January 9, 1908
- NewtownNewtown JetsThe 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...
, formed on January 14, 1908 - North SydneyNorth Sydney BearsThe 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...
, formed on February 7, 1908 - South SydneySouth Sydney RabbitohsThe 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...
, formed on January 17, 1908 at Redfern Town Hall - Western SuburbsWestern Suburbs MagpiesThe 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...
, formed on February 4, 1908
 |
 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... |
 |
 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... |
 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... |
 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... |
Season summary
On June 22, The first game of rugby leagueRugby 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...
was played on 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...
. NSW defeated New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
in the match, 35-10.
Ladder
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Glebe |
14 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 244 | 88 | 22 | |
| 2 |  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... |
14 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 208 | 129 | 20 | |
| 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... |
14 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 188 | 117 | 20 | |
| 4 |  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... |
14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 154 | 120 | 15 | |
| 5 |  Annandale |
14 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 113 | 184 | ||
| 11 | |||||||||
| 6 |  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... |
14 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 138 | 209 | ||
| 9 | |||||||||
| 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... |
14 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 116 | 189 | ||
| 9 | |||||||||
| 8 |  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... |
14 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 130 | 255 | ||
| 6 |
Finals
The finals system used in the 1910 seasonNew South Wales Rugby League season 1910
The 1910 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the third season of Sydney's top-level rugby league football club competition, Australia's first. Eight teams from across the city contested during the season for the premiership and the Royal Agricultural Society Challenge Shield...
was similar for the 1911 season. The top two teams at the end of the year were to play each other in a final to decide the premiership, but in the event of the minor premiers losing, they were deemed to have the "right of challenge" to play 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...
. However, because both 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...
and 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...
finished on equal premiership points in second place, a playoff was used to decide who would play minor premiers Glebe in the final.
Eastern Suburbs ended up beating local rivals South Sydney 23-10 at the Sports Ground in front of 14,000 people on September 2, 1911 to win the play-off in order to play minor premiers Glebe. The following week, Eastern Suburbs beat Glebe in front of 16,000 at the Agricultural Ground 22-9. Glebe immediately exercised their right for a rematch the following week for a match to be held at the Agricultural Ground on September 16, 1911.
Final
| Eastern Suburbs | Position | Glebe |
|---|---|---|
| Fred Kinghorn Fred Kinghorn Fred Kinghorn, A rugby league footballer, Kinghorn played for the Eastern Suburbs club in the New South Wales Rugby League competition.... |
FB | Roy Algie |
| Barney Dalton Barney Dalton Bernard Hugh Dalton was a rugby league player In the Australian competition – the New South Wales Rugby League. He was born in 1891 in Sydney.A winger, Dalton played for the Eastern Suburbs club side in the years and... |
WG | Mick Muggivan |
| John Campbell John Campbell (rugby league) John Dennison 'Dinny' Campbell was a national representative for Australia in rugby union before switching codes and playing rugby league for the Eastern Suburbs club during the 1910-12 and 1921 seasons.... |
CE | Dave Garlick |
| Dally Messenger Dally Messenger Herbert Henry "Dally" Messenger was an Australian rugby union and rugby league footballer, recognised as one of the greatest ever players in either code. Messenger, or 'The Master' as he was dubbed, represented his country in both rugby football codes, playing two rugby union tests and seven... (Ca./Co.) |
CE | Tom Gleeson |
| Eddie White Eddie White Eddie White was an Australian rugby league footballer in the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership.A winger, White played 35 matches for the Eastern Suburbs club in the years . White was a member of Eastern Suburbs first premiership winning team in 1911 and was a member of the sides... |
WG | Charlie Cubitt |
| Herb Collins | FE | Les Cubitt Les Cubitt Les Cubitt was an Australian representative rugby league player, a Centre or Five-eighth whose club career was with Eastern Suburbs and the Glebe Dirty Reds.He is considered one of the nation's finest footballers of the 20th century.-Club career:... |
| Leslie Cody Leslie Cody Leslie Alwyn 'Les' Cody was an Australian sportsman who played both rugby league and cricket at a high level.-Cricket:A right-handed batsman and leg spin bowler, Cody played first-class cricket between 1912 and 1922... |
HB | Fritz Thiering |
| Larry O'Malley Larry O'Malley Larry 'Jersey' O'Malley was an Australian rugby league player for the Eastern Suburbs club. He was the fifth Australian rugby league captain and the second from the Eastern Suburbs Club.... |
PR | Sid Pert |
| Sandy Pearce Sandy Pearce Sidney Charles Pearce , better known as Sandy, was a pioneer Australian rugby league footballer and boxer... |
HK | Jack Redmond Jack Redmond John McKittrick "Jack" Redmond was a professional baseball player. He was a catcher for one season with the Washington Senators... |
| Mick Frawley Mick Frawley Mick Frawley was an Australian rugby league footballer who played for the Eastern Suburbs club in the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership.... |
PR | Sam Griffiths |
| Eddie Griffiths Eddie Griffiths Edward James Griffiths was an Australian fire fighter, veteran of the Gallipoli campaign and a three-time premiership-winning rugby league player with the Eastern Suburbs club.... |
SR | Albert Burge Albert Burge Albert Bentley "Son" Burge was an Australian rugby union lock who played with the Souths rugby union club in Sydney and at the age of nineteen was selected for the Australian national team in two Tests against New Zealand in 1907.... (c) |
| Charlie Lees Charlie Lees Charlie Lees was a rugby league player in the Australian competition - the NSWRFL.Lees played for the Eastern Suburbs club in the years... |
SR | Frank Burge Frank Burge Frank 'Chunky' Burge was one of the greatest forwards in the history of rugby league in Australia. Later he was one of the game's finest coaches.... |
| W Dalton | LK | Harry Brighton |
| | Reserve | J Farrelly | |
| Coach Coach (sport) In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:... |
Chris McKivat Chris McKivat Christopher Hobart McKivat was an Australian rugby union and rugby league player – a dual-code rugby international. He represented the Wallabies in over 20 Tests and tour matches from 1907 to 1909 and the Kangaroos in 5 Tests from 1910 to 1912... |
After Glebe won the toss, Dally Messenger kicked off at 3:31pm on what was a very windy Saturday afternoon. Glebe winger Cubitt scored early and Easts were only able to post a penalty goal in the first half and trailed 5-2 at the break.
The referee was Tom McMahon (the elder of the two Sydney top-grade referees of that name) who in the first half sent off Glebe's Sid Pert and Rooster Larry O'Malley, the former Australian Kangaroo captain.
Early in the second half, Cubitt scored again for Glebe to take an 8-4 lead. However, in the final ten minutes, Eastern Suburbs were able to score a try after a high kick was misjudged by the Glebe fullback, and Charlie Lees took the loose ball to score a try. Dally Messenger converted to take the lead 9-8 with only minutes to play, and consolidated the win with another penalty kick to win the game 11-8 for the Roosters and allowing them to take their first premiership in front of 20,000 people.
Eastern Suburbs 11
(Tries: Lees. Goals: Messenger 3. Fld Goal: Messenger )
defeated
Glebe 8 (Tries; C Cubitt 2 Goals: 1.)