The 1942 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the thirty-fifth season of Sydney's top-level rugby league football competition, Australia's first. Eight teams from across the city contested the premiership during the season, which lasted from May until September, culminating in the Canterbury-Bankstown club's grand final victory over St. George.[1]
| 1942 New South Wales Rugby Football League | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 8 |
| Premiers |  Canterbury-Bankstown (2nd title) |
| Minor premiers | Canterbury-Bankstown (2nd title) |
| Matches played | 61 |
| Points scored | 1895 |
| Top points scorer |  Ray Lindwall (143) |
| Wooden spoon |  Western Suburbs (8th spoon) |
| Top try-scorer | Jack Lindwall (16) |
Teams
edit- Balmain, formed on 23 January 1908 at Balmain Town Hall
- Canterbury-Bankstown
- Eastern Suburbs, formed on 24 January 1908 at Paddington Town Hall
- Newtown, formed on 14 January 1908
- North Sydney, formed on 7 February 1908
- South Sydney, formed on 17 January 1908 at Redfern Town Hall
- St. George, formed on 8 November 1920 at Kogarah School of Arts
- Western Suburbs, formed on 4 February 1908
Balmain 35th season |
Canterbury-Bankstown 8th season |
Eastern Suburbs 35th season |
Newtown 35th season |
North Sydney 35th season |
South Sydney 35th season |
St. George 22nd season |
Western Suburbs 35th season |
Ladder
edit
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canterbury |
14 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 264 | 162 | +102 | 20 |
| 2 |  Balmain |
14 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 223 | 192 | +31 | 20 |
| 3 | St. George |
14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 271 | 205 | +66 | 18 |
| 4 |  Eastern Suburbs |
14 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 213 | 214 | -1 | 16 |
| 5 |  South Sydney |
14 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 209 | 191 | +18 | 15 |
| 6 |  North Sydney |
14 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 220 | 216 | +4 | 10 |
| 7 |  Newtown |
14 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 189 | 266 | -77 | 9 |
| 8 | Western Suburbs |
14 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 148 | 291 | -143 | 4 |
Finals
editThe minor premiership was won by Canterbury-Bankstown in a play off against Balmain after both sides had finished the season on twenty points.
In the semi-finals, Canterbury-Bankstown lost their match to St. George whilst Eastern Suburbs, who only just made the finals after South Sydney had drawn their match in the final round of the season, defeated Balmain. The result of the first semi final meant that St. George and Eastern Suburbs played a preliminary final which would decide who met minor premiers Canterbury-Bankstown in the Grand Final. St. George won the match, as they had done four weeks earlier over Easts in the final round of the season proper.
St. George had won two matches in the semis while Canterbury had just one victory, but the Berries were guaranteed a Grand Final berth under a call back of the old rules giving the minor premiers a right of challenge. In the Grand Final, Canterbury-Bankstown narrowly defeated St. George to collect their second premiership victory.
| Home | Score | Away | Match information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| Playoff | ||||||||
| Canterbury-Bankstown |
26–20 | Balmain |
15 August 1942 | Sydney Cricket Ground | 17,300 | |||
| Semifinals | ||||||||
| Canterbury-Bankstown |
10–25 | St. George |
22 August 1942 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Jack O'Brien | 26,467 | ||
| Balmain |
14–20 | Eastern Suburbs |
29 August 1942 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Jack O'Brien | 19,782 | ||
| Preliminary Final | ||||||||
| St. George |
18–5 | Eastern Suburbs |
5 September 1942 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Jack O'Brien | 30,858 | ||
| Grand Final | ||||||||
| Canterbury-Bankstown |
11–9 | St. George |
12 September 1942 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Jack O'Brien | 26,171 | ||
Grand Final
edit| 1942 NSWRFL Grand Final | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| Date | 12 September 1942 | ||||||||||||
| Stadium | Sydney Cricket Ground | ||||||||||||
| Location | Sydney | ||||||||||||
| Referee | Jack O'Brien | ||||||||||||
| Attendance | 26,071 | ||||||||||||
| Broadcast partners | |||||||||||||
Teams
editCanterbury's Roy McCarter was ruled out of the match after he injured his collarbone three weeks before the match,[2] in his place Jack Bonnyman was selected at halfback.[3]
Canterbury and St George had played four times against each other 1942 with Canterbury winning the first two matches during the premiership season, while St George won the next two matches in both the City Cup and the finals.[4] St George entered the match as strong favourites with pundits suggesting their forward pack would win the day.[4]
| Canterbury-Bankstown | Position | St George | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Number | Number | Name | |
| Lindsay Johnson | 13 | 13 | Ray Lindwall | |
| Edgar Newham | 12 | 10 | Doug McRitchie | |
| Ron Bailey (c) | 9 | 29 | Ted McHugh | |
| Ron Knight | 31 | 12 | Noel Jones | |
| Bob Jackson | 14 | 17 | Jack Lindwall | |
| Tom Ezart | 34 | 53 | Cedric Turvey | |
| Jack Bonnyman | 10 | 20 | Eric Laurence | |
| Henry Porter | 3 | 3 | Charlie Montgomery | |
| Roy Kirkaldy | 15 | 1 | Herb Gilbert Jnr | |
| Eddie Burns | 1 | 5 | Bill McRitchie | |
| George Elley | 4 | 43 | Alister Clarke | |
| Bob Farrar | 5 | 4 | Len Kelly (captain-coach) | |
| Frank Sponberg | 17 | 26 | Bill Collier | |
| Jerry Brien | Coach | |||
Match details
editThe Sydney Cricket Ground was a muddy quagmire with a treacherous patch in the centre which kept the teams evenly matched and the crowd in a fever of excitement until the final whistle. Newspaper reports recorded that 7,000 of the crowd on the hill had jumped the fence during the reserve grade final and invaded the half-empty new member's stand.[4] Towards the end of the first grade match 5,000 people crowded onto the touchline and referee O'Brien had to hold up play until officials were able to get them back twenty yards.[8]
Canterbury's defence was tested during a torrid ten-minute period when St. George hurled themselves at the line from never more than eight yards away. The Berries defence held and the Dragons could not break through.[9]
The Canterbury-Bankstown tactics were to keep the game with the forwards and away from the St George backs. Canterbury hooker Roy Kirkaldy won vital scrums. Bob Farrar, Frank Sponberg and Henry Porter were tireless with Porter's handling and kicking skills on display.
Canterbury Lindsay Johnson opened the scoring taking a penalty goal from an acute angle, while St George fullback Ray Lindwall gave St George their first points converting a penalty goal attempt from near halfway.[10]
Turning defence into attack, Canterbury captain Ron Bailey fielded a St George kick close to his own line and drew in two defenders before slinging the ball out to Bob Jackson. The winger dashed more than 75 yards to beat a despairing dive from Ray Lindwall to score. Johnson converted the try to give Canterbury a 7–2 lead.[9]
Saints were able to level the scores before half time through a try to Jack Lindwall after Jackson had been unable to field a cross-field kick. Jack Lindwall picking the ball up and scoring adjacent to the goal posts. Ray Lindwall converted the try.[9]
In the second half St George pressured the Canterbury line and looked to have gone ahead, but Saints captain-coach Len Kelly was held up over the try line and pushed back into the field of play. They would take the lead instead through another penalty goal to Ray Lindwall.[10]
Two penalty goals to Canterbury's Lindsay Johnson put them in front at the final whistle.[9] Johnson's final goal came after he was illegally tackled and his attempt at goal just scraped over the cross bar to give his team the premiership.[11][10]
Scoreboard
edit| Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs |
11 – 9 | St. George |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: 1 Jackson  Goals: 4 Johnson  pen', conv', pen', pen' |
1st: 7–7 2nd: 4–2 [12] |
Tries: 1 J Lindwall Goals: 3 R Lindwall pen', conv', pen' |
Other matches
editPlayer statistics
editThe following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 14.
|
Top 5 point scorers
Top 5 try scorers
|
Top 5 goal scorers
|
References
edit- ↑ Premiership Roll of Honour Archived 28 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine at rl1908.com
- ↑ "St. George chosen". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). Sydney, New South Wales. 12 September 1942. p. 16. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
- ↑ "McCarter Not For Final Game". The Daily Mirror (Sydney). Sydney, New South Wales. 11 September 1942. p. 16. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 "Grand Final Fitting League Finale". The Truth. Sydney, New South Wales. 13 September 1942. p. 8. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
- ↑ "NSWRFL 1942 – Grand Final". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
- ↑ Hauser, Liam (2022). The Great Grand Finals – Rugby League's Greatest Contests (2022 ed.). Wahroonga, Australia: New Holland. ISBN 9781760794736.
- ↑ "C'BURY-B'TOWN v. ST. GEORGE". The Rugby League News. 23 (20). 12 September 1942. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
- ↑ Pollard, Jack (1965). Gregory's Guide to Rugby League. Australia: Grenville Publishing. p82.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Corbett, Claude (13 September 1942). "Puzzle:- How did St. George lose?". The Sunday Sun and Guardian. Sydney, New South Wales. p. 6. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
- 1 2 3 "Cantabs win League Grand Final". The Daily Mirror (Sydney). Sydney, New South Wales. 12 September 1942. p. 7. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
- 1 2 "GRAND FINAL: Premiership to Canterbury". The Sydney Morning Herald. Australia. 14 September 1942. p. 9. Retrieved 19 November 2009.
- ↑ 1942 Grand Final Archived 6 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine at nrlstats.com
External links
edit- Rugby League Tables - Notes AFL Tables
- Rugby League Tables - Season 1942 AFL Tables
- Premiership History and Statistics RL1908
- Results: 1941–50 at rabbitohs.com.au