1975 NSWRFL season explained

Year:	1975
Competition:	New South Wales Rugby Football League
Teams:	12
Count:	11th
Mpcount:	13th
Matches:	140
Points:	4,444
Attendance:	1,528,180
Top Point Scorer:	Graham Eadie (242)
Top Try Scorer:	Johnny Mayes (16)
Player Of The Year:	Steve Rogers (Rothmans Medal)
Prevseason Link:	1974 NSWRFL season
Prevseason Year:	1974
Nextseason Link:	1976 NSWRFL season
Nextseason Year:	1976

The 1975 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the 68th season of Sydney's professional rugby league football competition, Australia's first. Twelve teams, including six of 1908's foundation clubs and another six from across Sydney competed for the J. J. Giltinan Shield during the season, which culminated in a grand final match for the WD & HO Wills Cup between the Eastern Suburbs and St. George clubs.^[1] NSWRFL teams also competed for the 1975 Amco Cup.

Season summary

The season saw the introduction of differential penalties for scrum offences. Each side faced each other twice in twenty-two regular season rounds from March to August,^[2] resulting in a top five of Eastern Suburbs, Manly-Warringah, St. George, Canterbury-Bankstown and Parramatta who battled it out for the premiership over six finals matches. With three sides finishing in equal fifth place, two elimination finals playoffs also had to be played.^[3]

Western Suburbs had 1 point deducted for fielding an ineligible player in round 8. After losing two consecutive matches in rounds 2 and 3, defending premiers Eastern Suburbs posted nineteen consecutive wins to close out the regular season; a streak than ran from round 4 to round 22 and remained the record for the most consecutive wins in premiership history until Melbourne Storm equalled the record in 2021; Round 3 to Round 23, although they were later eliminated by eventual Premiers Penrith Panthers in the preliminary final.

The 1975 season's Rothmans Medallist was Cronulla-Sutherland centre Steve Rogers. Rugby League Week gave their player of the year award to Manly-Warringah back Bob Fulton.

Teams

Regular season

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	F1	F2	F3	F4	F5	GF
Balmain Tigers	EAS −3	PAR +3	NOR −7	NEW −10	SOU −37	STG −26	CRO +2	MAN −13	WES −16	PEN +15	CBY +5	STG +3	EAS −2	NOR +13	NEW +2	SOU +15	PAR −21	CRO −1	MAN +3	WES 0	PEN +7	CBY −1	X	PAR −11
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	STG +4	CRO −11	MAN −12	WES +1	PEN +22	SOU +13	EAS −19	PAR +5	NOR +44	NEW 0	BAL −5	SOU +3	STG +1	MAN +18	WES 0	PEN −15	CRO −8	EAS −22	PAR −1	NOR −1	NEW +25	BAL +1	X	X	PAR −1
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	PEN −2	CBY +11	EAS +4	PAR −7	NOR +4	NEW +2	BAL −2	STG 0	SOU +30	MAN −6	WES −6	NEW −9	PEN −25	EAS −2	PAR +14	NOR +13	CBY +8	BAL +1	STG −3	SOU −6	MAN −10	WES −14
Eastern Suburbs Roosters	BAL +3	STG −8	CRO −4	MAN +6	WES +6	PEN +13	CBY +19	SOU +3	PAR +5	NOR +14	NEW +9	PEN +17	BAL +2	CRO +2	MAN +1	WES +1	STG +34	CBY +22	SOU +19	PAR +19	NOR +23	NEW +27	X	X	X	STG −3	MAN +15	STG +38
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	WES +2	PEN +19	CBY +12	EAS −6	PAR −15	NOR +8	NEW +13	BAL +13	STG +1	CRO +6	SOU +4	NOR +6	WES −18	CBY −18	EAS −1	PAR +19	PEN +17	NEW +5	BAL −3	STG −3	CRO +10	SOU +54	X	X	STG −7	PAR +10	EAS −15
Newtown Jets	PAR −9	NOR −8	SOU −7	BAL +10	STG −17	CRO −2	MAN −13	WES +11	PEN +14	CBY 0	EAS −9	CRO +9	PAR +11	SOU +6	BAL −2	STG −6	NOR −7	MAN −5	WES +3	PEN 0	CBY −25	EAS −27
North Sydney Bears	SOU −4	NEW +8	BAL +7	STG −3	CRO −4	MAN −8	WES −13	PEN +25	CBY −44	EAS −14	PAR −12	MAN −6	SOU +2	BAL −13	STG +6	CRO −13	NEW +7	WES +3	PEN +21	CBY +1	EAS −23	PAR −15
Parramatta Eels	NEW +9	BAL −3	STG −10	CRO +7	MAN +15	WES −17	PEN +5	CBY −5	EAS −5	SOU −7	NOR +12	WES −4	NEW −11	STG 0	CRO −14	MAN −19	BAL +21	PEN +15	CBY +1	EAS −19	SOU +32	NOR +15	WES +5	BAL +11	CBY +1	MAN −10
Penrith Panthers	CRO +2	MAN −19	WES +9	SOU −5	CBY −22	EAS −13	PAR −5	NOR −25	NEW −14	BAL −15	STG −9	EAS −17	CRO +25	WES +5	SOU +2	CBY +15	MAN −17	PAR −15	NOR −21	NEW 0	BAL −7	STG +6
South Sydney Rabbitohs	NOR +4	WES −11	NEW +7	PEN +5	BAL +37	CBY −13	STG −7	EAS −3	CRO −30	PAR +7	MAN −4	CBY −3	NOR −2	NEW −6	PEN −2	BAL −15	WES −11	STG −17	EAS −19	CRO +6	PAR −32	MAN −54
St. George Dragons	CBY −4	EAS +8	PAR +10	NOR +3	NEW +17	BAL +26	SOU +7	CRO 0	MAN −1	WES +7	PEN +9	BAL −3	CBY −1	PAR 0	NOR −6	NEW +6	EAS −34	SOU +17	CRO +3	MAN +3	WES −14	PEN −6	X	X	MAN +7	EAS +3	X	EAS −38
Western Suburbs Magpies	MAN −2	SOU +11	PEN −9	CBY −1	EAS −6	PAR +17	NOR +13	NEW −11	BAL +16	STG −7	CRO +6	PAR +4	MAN +18	PEN −5	CBY 0	EAS −1	SOU +11	NOR −3	NEW −3	BAL 0	STG +14	CRO +14	PAR −5
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	F1	F2	F3	F4	F5	GF

Bold – Home game
X – Bye
Opponent for round listed above margin

Ladder

width=20 abbr="Position×"		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	22	20	0	2	431	198	+233	40
2	Manly-Warringah	22	15	0	7	439	314	+125	30
3	St. George	22	12	2	8	341	294	+47	26
4	Canterbury-Bankstown	22	11	2	9	330	287	+43	24
5	Western Suburbs	22	10	2	10	365	289	+76	21
6	Parramatta	22	10	1	11	391	373	+18	21
7	Balmain	22	10	1	11	288	357	-69	21
8	Cronulla-Sutherland	22	9	1	12	370	375	-5	19
9	North Sydney	22	9	0	13	322	414	-92	18
10	Newtown	22	7	2	13	349	422	-73	16
11	Penrith	22	7	1	14	312	452	-140	15
12	South Sydney	22	6	0	16	298	461	-163	12

Western Suburbs were stripped of 1 competition point due to an illegal replacement in one game.

Ladder progression

Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top 5.
Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished first on the ladder in that round.
Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished last place on the ladder in that round.

width=20 abbr="Position"	width=250	Team	width=20 abbr="Round 1"	1	width=20 abbr="Round 2"	2	width=20 abbr="Round 3"	3	width=20 abbr="Round 4"	4	width=20 abbr="Round 5"	5	width=20 abbr="Round 6"	6	width=20 abbr="Round 7"	7	width=20 abbr="Round 8"	8	width=20 abbr="Round 9"	9	width=20 abbr="Round 10"	10	width=20 abbr="Round 11"	11	width=20 abbr="Round 12"	12	width=20 abbr="Round 13"	13	width=20 abbr="Round 14"	14	width=20 abbr="Round 15"	15	width=20 abbr="Round 16"	16	width=20 abbr="Round 17"	17	width=20 abbr="Round 18"	18	width=20 abbr="Round 19"	19	width=20 abbr="Round 20"	20	width=20 abbr="Round 21"	21	width=20 abbr="Round 22"	22
1	2	2	2	4	6	8	10	12	14	16	18	20	22	24	26	28	30	32	34	36	38	40
2	2	4	6	6	6	8	10	12	14	16	18	20	20	20	20	22	24	26	26	26	28	30
3	0	2	4	6	8	10	12	13	13	15	17	17	17	18	18	20	20	22	24	26	26	26
4	2	2	2	4	6	8	8	10	12	13	13	15	17	19	20	20	20	20	20	20	22	24
5	0	2	2	2	2	4	6	6	8	8	10	12	14	14	15	14	16	16	16	17	19	21
6	2	2	2	4	6	6	8	8	8	8	10	10	10	11	11	11	13	15	17	17	19	21
7	0	2	2	2	2	2	4	4	4	6	8	10	10	12	14	16	16	16	18	19	21	21
8	0	2	4	4	6	8	8	9	11	11	11	11	11	11	13	15	17	19	19	19	19	19
9	0	2	4	4	4	4	4	6	6	6	6	6	8	8	10	10	12	14	16	18	18	18
10	0	0	0	2	2	2	2	4	6	7	7	9	11	13	13	13	13	13	15	16	16	16
11	2	2	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	6	8	10	12	12	12	12	13	13	15
12	2	2	4	6	8	8	8	8	8	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	12	12	12

Finals

Balmain, Parramatta and Western Suburbs tied for fifth place, necessitating a play-off drawn from a hat.^[4]

Home	Score	Away	Match Information
width=17%	Date and Time	width=17%	Venue	width=11%	Referee	width=7%	Crowd
Playoffs
align=left	Western Suburbs	13–18	align=left	Parramatta	26 August 1975	Sydney Cricket Ground	Greg Hartley	9,920
align=left	Parramatta	19–8	align=left	Balmain	28 August 1975	Sydney Cricket Ground	Gary Cook	19,914
Qualifying Finals
align=left	Manly-Warringah	3–10	align=left	St. George	30 August 1975	Sydney Cricket Ground	Laurie Bruyeres	23,492
align=left	Canterbury-Bankstown	5–6	align=left	Parramatta	31 August 1975	Sydney Cricket Ground	Gary Cook	19,312
Semi-finals
align=left	Eastern Suburbs	5–8	align=left	St. George	6 September 1975	Sydney Cricket Ground	Laurie Bruyeres	28,851
align=left	Manly-Warringah	22–12	align=left	Parramatta	7 September 1975	Sydney Cricket Ground	Gary Cook	26,109
Preliminary final
align=left	Eastern Suburbs	28–13	align=left	Manly-Warringah	13 September 1975	Sydney Cricket Ground	Laurie Bruyeres	31,645
Grand final
align=left	St. George	0–38	align=left	Eastern Suburbs	20 September 1975	Sydney Cricket Ground	Laurie Bruyeres	63,047^[5]

Grand final

St. George	Position	Eastern Suburbs
1. Graeme Langlands (Ca./Co)		1. Ian Schubert
		2. Bruce Pickett
		3. John Brass
		4. John Rheinberger
		5. Bill Mullins
		6. John Peard
	HB	7. Johnny Mayes
		13. Ian Mackay
		12. Elwyn Walters
		18. Grant Hedger
		11. Arthur Beetson (c)
		10. Ron Coote
		8. Kevin Stevens
	Reserve	9. Barry Reilly
	Reserve	19. Des O'Reilly
	Coach	Jack Gibson

This was the first grand final to be telecast in colour.^[6] The star-studded Eastern Suburbs line up had lost only 2 matches in the 22-game regular season and were clear starting favourites. However, St. George looked a chance early on when utility back "Lord Ted" Goodwin put on a chip and chase. Goodwin collided with Eastern Suburbs' fullback Ian Schubert, came off second best and was out of touch for the remainder of the match. Things were also wrong with captain-coach Graeme Langlands who was struggling with his coordination following an ill-directed pain killing injection that numbed his right leg and severely affected his form.^[7]

At half-time, Eastern Suburbs were up 5–0. Just after the break the Roosters' prop Ian McKay crashed over from close range and the floodgates opened. Eastern Suburbs unleashed a torrent of tries with Johnny Mayes, Arthur Beetson, John Brass, Bruce Pickett and boom recruit Schubert all scoring.

Despite his numbed leg, Langlands returned in the second half hoping it would come good. It didn't and he was replaced.^[8] By the end of the game, St. George had been completely demoralised by Easts in a 38–0 record Grand final defeat. Fellow Immortal and peer Australian Captain Arthur Beetson attempted in vain to console the forlorn Langlands at match end.

Easts' eight tries in the grand final matched South Sydney's record achievement in the 1951 final (subsequently equalled again by Manly in 2008).

Player statistics

The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 22.Top 5 point scorers

width=50	Points	width=200	Player	width=30	Tries	width=30	Goals	width=30	Field Goals
223	Graham Eadie	13	92	0
183	John Brass	4	85	1
183	John Dorahy	11	75	0
156	Steve Rogers	8	66	0
153	Eric Simms	5	68	2

Top 5 try scorers

width=50	Tries	width=200	Player
14	Johnny Mayes
14	Mark Harris
13	Bob Fulton
13	Graham Eadie
12	Jim Porter

Top 5 goal scorers

width=50	Goals	width=200	Player
92	Graham Eadie
85	John Brass
75	John Dorahy
68	Eric Simms
66	Steve Rogers

Notes and References

http://www.rleague.com//db/year/1975/j_j_giltinan_shield_and_wd_ho_wills_cup/index.php 1975 J J Giltinan Shield and WD & HO Wills Cup
http://www.rabbitohs.com.au/The-Club/Tradition/Results---1971-1980.html Results: 1971-1980
https://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/seasons/NSWRFL_1975/summary.html NSWRFL 1975
News: Form over five years. 19 June 2011. The Sun-Herald. 19 March 1978.
http://www.stats.rleague.com/rl/seas/1975.html Rugby League Tables – Season 1975
News: Fans turn Parra blue and gold . . Australia . Fairfax Digital . 2009-10-02 . 2010-04-11 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20091029151810/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/sport/fans-turn-parra-blue-and-gold-20091003-ggpe.html . 2009-10-29 .
News: Coady . Ben . Grand final dramas . WA Today . Australia . Fairfax Digital . 2009-09-28 . 2010-01-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181004074123/http://blogs.watoday.com.au/executive-style/sportandstyle/bencoady/2009/09/28/grandfinaldra.html . 2018-10-04 . dead .
News: Clarkson. Alan. 1986-09-26. The Best Grand finals I've Seen. 77. The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. 2010-09-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20120302231332/http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?page=1&sy=smh&Page=1&docID=news860926_0120_2297 . 2012-03-02 . dead.