1953 NSWRFL season

Last updated
1953 New South Wales Rugby Football League
Teams10
Premiers South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney (14th title)
Minor premiers South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney (13th title)
Matches played93
Points scored3241
Top points scorer(s) Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Ron Rowles (152)
Top try-scorer(s) South Sydney colours.svg Ian Moir (23)

The 1953 New South Wales Rugby Football League season was the forty-sixth season of the rugby league competition based in Sydney. Ten teams from across the city competed for the J. J. Giltinan Shield during the season, which culminated in a final between South Sydney and St. George.

Contents

Teams

Balmain
Balmain Jersey 1943.png

46th season
Ground: Leichhardt Oval
Coach: Arthur Patton
Captain: Bob Lulham

Canterbury-Bankstown
Canterbury-Bankstown Jersey 1938.png

19th season
Ground: Belmore Oval
Coach: Jack Hampstead
Captain: Cec Cooper

Eastern Suburbs
Eastern Suburbs Jersey 1914.png

46th season
Ground: Sydney Sports Ground
Captain-Coach: Col Donohoe

Manly-Warringah
Manly-Warringah Jersey 1951.png

7th season
Ground: Brookvale Oval
Captain-Coach: Roy Bull

Newtown
Newtown Jersey 1915.png

46th season
Ground: Erskineville Oval
Captain-Coach: Frank Johnson

North Sydney
North Sydney Jersey 1941.png

46th season
Ground: North Sydney Oval
Coach: Ross McKinnon
Captain: Lloyd Hudson

Parramatta
Parramatta Jersey 1953.png

7th season
Ground: Cumberland Oval
Coach: Vic Hey
Captain: Ian Johnston

South Sydney
South Sydney Jersey 1930.png

46th season
Ground: Redfern Oval
Captain-coach: Jack Rayner

St. George
St George Jersey 1948.png

33rd season
Ground: Jubilee Oval
Coach: Norm Tipping
Captain: Ken Kearney

Western Suburbs
Western Suburbs Jersey 1953.png

46th season
Ground: Pratten Park
Captain-Coach: Peter McLean

Ladder

TeamPldWDLPFPAPDPts
1 South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney 181116384278+10623
2 St. George colours.svg St. George 181107313289+2422
3 North Sydney colours.svg North Sydney 181017421283+13821
4 Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Eastern Suburbs 181017330310+2021
5 Newtown colours.svg Newtown 18927292268+2420
6 Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury-Bankstown 18927252291-3920
7 Parramatta colours.svg Parramatta 18819271291-2017
8 Balmain colours.svg Balmain 187011313377-6414
9 Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly-Warringah 186012294393-9912
10 Western Suburbs colours.svg Western Suburbs 185013287377-9010

Finals

HomeScoreAwayMatch Information
Date and TimeVenueRefereeCrowd
Semifinals
South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney 5–4 North Sydney colours.svg North Sydney 29 August 1953 Sydney Cricket Ground Jack O'Brien30,392
St. George colours.svg St. George 25–7 Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Eastern Suburbs 5 September 1953 Sydney Cricket Ground Darcy Lawler 37,753
Final
South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney 31–12 St. George colours.svg St. George 12 September 1953 Sydney Cricket Ground Darcy Lawler 44,581

Chart

Semi-finals Final Grand final
1 South Sydney colours.svg Souths 5
MP South Sydney colours.svg Souths X
3 North Sydney colours.svg Norths 4
South Sydney colours.svg Souths 31 South Sydney colours.svg Souths X
St. George colours.svg St George 12
2 St. George colours.svg St George 25
4 Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Easts 7

Final

South SydneyPositionSt. George
13. Clive Churchill FB 3. Noel Pidding
12. Ian Moir WG 15. Kevin Hole
18. Martin Gallagher CE 5. Tommy Ryan
14. Kevin Woolfe CE 44. Merv Lees
11. Frank Threlfo WG 2. Ross Kite
21. John Dougherty FE 4. Allan Staunton
22. Greg Hawick HB 20. Peter Bracken
  1. Denis Donoghue
PR 39. Kevin Brown
2. Ernie Hammerton HK 12. Ken Kearney (c)
5. Jim Richards PR 11. Bob Bower
41. Bob Moon SR 10. Barry Passfield
4. Jack Rayner (Ca./Co.) SR 9. Norm Provan
6. Les Cowie LK 8. Billy Wilson
Coach Norm Tipping

To win the 1953 premiership St George would need to beat minor premiers Souths in both a final and a Grand final, emulating the feats of the Dragons of 1949 from which team only Noel Pidding was still playing. A crowd of 44,581 were at the Sydney Cricket Ground to see the first phase of this attempt.

Souths opened the scoring with a penalty goal in the ninth minute kicked by Clive Churchill from 40 yards. The Dragons threatened Souths' line continuously in the next stanza but bombed three tries and then lost some momentum in the 14 minutes before half-time during the absence of centre Merv Lees while he was off the field having stitches to his lip after driving a tooth through it. Souths scored 13 points in this period. Ian Moir capitalised on a spillage of the ball by Pidding behind his own line after a heavy tackle, Churchill then featured when he firstly sent Threlfo in and then set up Moir for his second try. The score at half time was 15–0.

Early in the second half Pidding kicked a penalty and a few minutes later Wilson and Gallagher were sent off for fighting. With Wilson gone Rabbitoh hard-men Rayner and Donoghue then took control and four Souths tries flowed to Woolfe, Dougherty, Hammerton and Moir’s third. Two late Dragons’ tries to Brown and Lees made no difference and South Sydney powered to their fourteenth premiership.

South Sydney Rabbitohs 31
Tries: Moir (3), Woolfe, Threlfo, Dougherty, Hammerton
Goals: Dougherty (4), Churchill (1)

St George Dragons 12
Tries: Lees, Brown
Goals: Pidding (3)

Player statistics

The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 18.

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References