1913 NSWRFL season | |
League: | New South Wales Rugby Football League |
Duration: | 3 May to 16 August |
No Of Teams: | 8 |
Matches: | 56 |
Points: | 1344 |
Season Champs: | Eastern Suburbs[1] |
Season Champs Count: | 3rd |
Season Champ Name: | Premiers |
League Leaders: | Eastern Suburbs |
League Leaders Count: | 2nd |
League Leaders Name: | Minor Premiers |
Top Scorer: | Harold Horder (65) |
Top Try Scorer: | Harold Horder (13) |
Season2: | Second Grade |
No Of Teams2: | 14 |
Season Champs2: | South Sydney |
Season Champ Name2: | Premiers |
Second Place2: | Grosvenor |
Season3: | Third Grade |
No Of Teams3: | 21 (1 withdrew) |
Season Champs3: | South Sydney Federals |
Season Champ Name3: | Premiers |
Second Place3: | South Sydney Kinkora |
Prevseason Link: | 1912 NSWRFL season |
Prevseason Year: | 1912 |
Nextseason Link: | 1914 NSWRFL season |
Nextseason Year: | 1914 |
The 1913 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the sixth season of Sydney's top-level rugby league club competition, Australia's first. Eight teams from across the city contested during the season.
By the start of the 1913 season, the NSWRFL had secured the use of the Sydney Cricket Ground for its games.[2]
As occurred in the 1912 season, the minor premiers were deemed the overall premiers. Eastern Suburbs, who finished top of the table for the second time in as many years, claimed their third straight premiership as a result. The team's success could be attributed to the talent in the team at the time, with ten players having played for Australia and another three for New South Wales. Of the team's two losses, one came at the hands of runners-up Newtown midway through the season and the other in the final round to Glebe after the title had already been won.
This Eastern Suburbs side is still considered to be one of the greatest club teams ever assembled, with players including Dally Messenger, Wally Messenger, Sandy Pearce, Larry O'Malley, Les Cubitt, Dan Frawley and Arthur "Pony" Halloway. This season also saw the retirement from the League of future Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame inductee, Dally Messenger.
The teams remained unchanged from the previous season.
width=20 abbr="PositionĂ—" | width=175 | Team | width=20 abbr="Played" | Pld | width=20 abbr="Won" | W | width=20 abbr="Drawn" | D | width=20 abbr="Lost" | L | width=20 abbr="Points for" | PF | width=20 abbr="Points against" | PA | width=20 abbr="Points difference" | PD | width=20 abbr="Points" | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Eastern Suburbs | 14 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 227 | 118 | +109 | 24 | ||||||||||
2 | Newtown | 14 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 203 | 135 | +68 | 21 | ||||||||||
3 | South Sydney | 14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 200 | 132 | +68 | 18 | ||||||||||
4 | Glebe | 14 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 198 | 161 | +37 | 16 | ||||||||||
5 | North Sydney | 14 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 199 | 193 | +6 | 12 | ||||||||||
6 | Balmain | 14 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 83 | 135 | -52 | 9 | ||||||||||
7 | Annandale | 14 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 119 | 219 | -100 | 6 | ||||||||||
8 | Western Suburbs | 14 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 115 | 251 | -136 | 6 | ||||||||||
On 19 July, South Sydney's reserve grade team scored 102 points against Mosman, which remains the greatest number of points scored in any grade of NSWRFL/NSWRL/ARL/NRL rugby league. The Rabbitohs scored 49 points in the first half and 59 in the second, conceding only a solitary penalty goal.[3] [4]