| 1911 NSWRFL season | |
| League: | New South Wales Rugby Football League |
| Duration: | April 29 to September 16 |
| No Of Teams: | 8 |
| Matches: | 59 |
| Points: | 1374 |
| Season Champs: | Eastern Suburbs[1] |
| Season Champs Count: | 1st |
| Season Champ Name: | Premiers |
| League Leaders: | Glebe |
| League Leaders Count: | 1st |
| League Leaders Name: | Minor Premiers |
| Second Place: | Glebe |
| Top Scorer: | Dally Messenger (148) |
| Top Try Scorer: | Dave Garlick (13) |
| Season2: | Second Grade |
| No Of Teams2: | 16 |
| Season Champs2: | Eastern Suburbs |
| Season Champ Name2: | Premiers |
| Second Place2: | Glebe |
| Season3: | Third Grade |
| No Of Teams3: | 22 |
| Season Champs3: | Leichhardt |
| Season Champ Name3: | Premiers |
| Second Place3: | South Sydney Kinkora |
| Prevseason Link: | 1910 NSWRFL season |
| Prevseason Year: | 1910 |
| Nextseason Link: | 1912 NSWRFL season |
| Nextseason Year: | 1912 |
The 1911 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the fourth season of Sydney’s top-level rugby league club competition, Australia’s first. Eight teams from across the city contested during the season for the premiership and the Royal Agricultural Society Challenge Shield.
The League’s turnover for the 1911 season was £15,889, up £2,477 on the previous year.[2]
For the first time in its short history, the premiership consisted of the same teams for two consecutive seasons. The same eight teams from the 1910 season played in 1911.
| width=175 | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glebe | 14 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 244 | 88 | +156 | 22 | |
| 2 | Eastern Suburbs | 14 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 208 | 129 | +79 | 20 | |
| 3 | South Sydney | 14 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 188 | 117 | +71 | 20 | |
| 4 | Newtown | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 154 | 120 | +34 | 15 | |
| 5 | Annandale | 14 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 113 | 184 | -71 | 11 | |
| 6 | North Sydney | 14 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 138 | 209 | -71 | 9 | |
| 7 | Western Suburbs | 14 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 116 | 189 | -73 | 9 | |
| 8 | Balmain | 14 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 130 | 255 | -125 | 6 |
The finals system used for the 1910 season was similar in the 1911 season. The top two teams at the end of the year were to play each other in a final to decide the premiership, but in the event of the minor premiers losing, they were deemed to have the "right of challenge" to play a Grand Final. However, because both Eastern Suburbs and South Sydney finished on equal premiership points in second place, a playoff was used to decide who would play minor premiers Glebe in the final.
Eastern Suburbs ended up beating local rivals South Sydney 23-10 at the Sports Ground in front of 14,000 people on September 2, 1911, to win the play-off in order to play minor premiers Glebe. The following week, Eastern Suburbs beat Glebe in front of 16,000 at the Agricultural Ground 22-9. Glebe immediately exercised their right for a rematch the following week for a match to be held at the Agricultural Ground on September 16, 1911.
| Eastern Suburbs | Position | Glebe | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roy Algie | |||
| WG | Mick Muggivan | ||
| Dave Garlick | |||
| Dally Messenger (Ca./Co.) | CE | Tom Gleeson | |
| Charlie Cubitt | |||
| Les Cubitt | |||
| HB | Fritz Thiering | ||
| Sid Pert | |||
| Tony Redmond | |||
| Sam Griffiths | |||
| SR | Albert Burge (c) | ||
| Frank Burge | |||
| Harry Brighton | |||
| Reserve | J Farrelly | ||
| Chris McKivat |
Eastern Suburbs 11(Tries: Lees. Goals: Messenger 3. Fld Goal: Messenger)
defeated
Glebe 8 (Tries; C Cubitt 2 Goals: 1.)
On June 22, the Sydney Cricket Ground staged its first game of rugby league. NSW defeated New Zealand in the match, 35–10.