1927 NSWRFL season

Last updated

1927 New South Wales Rugby Football League
Teams9
Premiers South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney [1] (7th title)
Minor premiers South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney (7th title)
Matches played75
Points scored2183
Top points scorer(s) South Sydney colours.svg Alf Blair (94)
Wooden spoon University  (3rd spoon)
Top try-scorer(s) South Sydney colours.svg Benny Wearing (19)

The 1927 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the twentieth season of Sydney's top-level rugby league club competition, Australia's first. Nine teams from across the city contested during the season, which culminated in South Sydney's victory over St. George in the premiership final.

Contents

Season summary

The 1927 season saw a new record for length of a player's suspension. Balmain's Bill Maizey was suspended for twelve months for punching Easts player George Clamback. The season was also the last as a player in the NSWRFL for future Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame inductee, Frank Burge, who had returned as captain-coach of St. George after three seasons out of the NSWRFL.

Teams

Balmain
Balmain Jersey 1909.png
20th season
Ground: Birchgrove Oval
Coach: Alf Fraser
Captain: Norm Robinson
Eastern Suburbs
Eastern Suburbs Jersey 1914.png
20th season
Ground: RAS Showground
Coach:
Captain: Arthur Oxford
Glebe
Glebe Jersey 1926.png
20th season
Ground: Wentworth Park
Captain: Tom McGrath
Newtown
Newtown Jersey 1915.png
20th season
Ground: Marrickville Oval
Coach: Albert "Ricketty" Johnston
Captain(s): Charles Kell, Tom Ellis
North Sydney
North Sydney Jersey 1921.png
20th season
Ground: North Sydney Oval
Coach:
Captain: Leo O'Connor
St. George
St George Jersey 1921.png
7th season
Ground: Earl Park
Captain-Coach: Frank Burge
South Sydney
South Sydney Jersey 1927.png
20th season
Ground: Sydney Cricket Ground
Captain-coach: Alf Blair
University
Sydney University Jersey 1924.png
8th season
Coach:
Captain: Frank O'Rourke, Sammy Ogg
Western Suburbs
Western Suburbs Jersey 1924.png
20th season
Ground: Pratten Park
Coach: Clarrie Prentice
Captain: Frank McMillan

Ladder

The geographical locations of the teams that contested the 1927 premiership across Sydney. NSWRL 1921-1929.png
The geographical locations of the teams that contested the 1927 premiership across Sydney.
TeamPldWDLBPFPAPDPts
1 South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney 1614022402162+24032
2 St. George colours.svg St. George 1612132284141+14329
3 Western Suburbs colours.svg Western Suburbs 169072222182+4022
4 Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Eastern Suburbs 168262215216-122
5 Newtown colours.svg Newtown 168082189259-7020
6 North Sydney colours.svg North Sydney 166192174256-8217
7 Balmain colours.svg Balmain 165292210238-2816
8 Glebe colours.svg Glebe 1640122176297-12112
9 University colours.svg Sydney University 1630132199320-12110

Finals

All four finalists had been decided before the end of the final round and by coincidence faced each other in the penultimate round. 1926 wooden spooners St. George had a massive turnaround in 1927, with a chance to become minor premiers in the final round when they played South Sydney who were just one point ahead of them on the ladder. However looking for their third successive title, South Sydney prevailed 22-9 in front of a large crowd of 26,649 at the Sydney Cricket Ground, and as a result took the minor premiership. On the same day, Western Suburbs and Eastern Suburbs played each other for third spot, with Western Suburbs winning 8-6.

In the semi-finals, both South Sydney and St. George overcame their opponents and were able to set up a rematch of their Round 18 game just two weeks earlier.

 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
10 September 1927 - Earl Park
 
 
St. George colours.svg St. George 26
 
17 September 1927 - Royal Agricultural Society Showground
 
Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Eastern Suburbs 11
 
South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney 20
 
10 September 1927 - Royal Agricultural Society Showground
 
St. George colours.svg St. George 11
 
South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney 38
 
 
Western Suburbs colours.svg Western Suburbs 6
 

Final

South SydneyPositionSt. George
25. Harry Kadwell FB 21. Jack McCormack
12. Benny Wearing WG 9. Stan Brain
13. Vic Lawrence CE 11. George Carstairs
17. Sid Harris CE 28. Lennie Guest
15. Harry Finch WG 12. Frank Saunders
11. Alf Blair (Ca./Co.) FE 8. Arnold Traynor
20. Mick O'Connor HB 7. Bill Benson
3. David Watson PR 6. Clarrie Tye
6. Alby Carr HK 5. Arthur Justice
31. Chas Fennell PR 15. Tom Killiby
5. George Treweek SR 3. Bill Hardman
8. Edward Root SR 2. Frank Burge (Ca./Co.)
  1. Harry Cavanough
LK
  1. Aub Kelly

Playing on a quagmire at the Royal Agricultural Society Grounds in front of a modest crowd of 12,124 St. George contested their first ever premiership decider in their seventh year in the top league. They confronted the might of South Sydney who were reigning premiers in the two prior years and minor premiers at the end of the 1927 regular season.

The two teams had already met earlier in the season at the Sydney Cricket Ground when Souths defeated Saints 17–14 in front of a massive crowd of 31,500. With heavy rain falling throughout the match, refereed by former Rabbitoh and international Webby Neill Souths took a 13–6 lead to the half time break. The Rabbitohs won the decider scoring four tries to three to take their third successive premiership and becoming the third club to do so. [2]

South Sydney 20 (Tries: Carr, Root, Wearing, Finch. Goals: Blair 2, Kadwell 2)

defeated

St George 11 (Tries: Justice, Carstairs, Saunders. Goal: Saunders )

References

  1. Premiership Roll of Honour Archived 11 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine at rl1908.com
  2. Corbett, Claude (18 September 1927). "South Sydney Premiers - Third Successive Year". The Sun (Sydney) . Sydney: National Library of Australia. p. 8. Retrieved 20 September 2020.