1909 NSWRFL season explained

1909 NSWRFL season
League:New South Wales Rugby Football League
No Of Teams:8
Matches:42
Points:975
Season Champs: South Sydney
Season Champs Count:2nd
Season Champ Name:Premiers
League Leaders: South Sydney
League Leaders Count:2nd
League Leaders Name:Minor Premiers
Second Place: Balmain
Wooden Spoon: Western Suburbs
Wooden Spoon Count:1st
Top Scorer: Arthur Conlin (43)
Top Try Scorer: Tommy Anderson (11)
Leave: Newcastle
Leave Reason:Left to form local league
Season2:Second Grade
No Of Teams2:8
Season Champs2: Eastern Suburbs
Season Champ Name2:Premiers
Second Place2: Glebe
Season3:Third Grade
No Of Teams3:9
Season Champs3:South Sydney Federal
Season Champ Name3:Premiers
Second Place3:Rozelle
Prevseason Link:1908 NSWRFL season
Prevseason Year:1908
Nextseason Link:1910 NSWRFL season
Nextseason Year:1910

The 1909 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the second season of Sydney's top-level rugby league football competition, Australia's first. Eight teams contested during the season for the premiership and the Royal Agricultural Society Challenge Shield; seven teams from Sydney and one team from Newcastle, New South Wales.

At the beginning of the season, the nearly broke NSWRFL had met and kicked out its founders Henry Hoyle, Victor Trumper and J J Giltinan.[1] Part-way through the season, Edward Larkin was appointed full-time secretary of the NSWRFL.[2]

Also in 1909 north of the border, the Queensland Rugby Football League got its club competition started for the rebel football code of rugby league.

Teams

The teams that made up the 1909 premiership season were the same as the 1908 season with the exception of Cumberland who were dissolved, being unable to field a competitive team. Their last premiership match turned out to be a 45–0 loss at the hands of North Sydney on 25 July 1908, a game where the team had to "borrow" two of North Sydney's officials in order to make up a 13-man side. Seven of Cumberland's players ended up going to Western Suburbs the following year, but only three of these players were able to play another premiership match.

Souths lost only one game in the regular season, to Newcastle in Newcastle, 3 days after the Novocastrians had beaten the New Zealand Māori team.

Glebe included Peter Moko, the first player of Polynesian background to play in the premiership.[3]

Newcastle exited the League at the end of the season.[4]

Touring sides

During the season the New Zealand national side toured in June–July, followed by the second New Zealand Māori rugby league tour of Australia.

Ladder

width=20 abbr="Position×" width=175 Teamwidth=20 abbr="Played" Pldwidth=20 abbr="Won" Wwidth=20 abbr="Drawn" Dwidth=20 abbr="Lost" Lwidth=20 abbr="Points for" PFwidth=20 abbr="Points against" PAwidth=20 abbr="Points difference" PDwidth=20 abbr="Points" Pts
1 South Sydney1090121041+16918
2 Balmain1080213062+6816
3 Newcastle1050514493+5110
4 Eastern Suburbs10505167141+2610
5 Glebe1040662159−978
6 Newtown1031673107−347
7 North Sydney10226104157−536
8 Western Suburbs1021742172−1305

Finals

In 1909, semi-finals were played amongst the four highest-placed teams. Top-two finishers South Sydney and Balmain were able to win their respective semi-finals. However, after the New South Wales Rugby League had planned a match between the Australian rugby union and rugby league teams that would upstage the premiership final, both South Sydney and Balmain unofficially agreed to not play out a final. But unknown to Balmain, South Sydney turned up ready to play.[5] The final was deemed to be a forfeit as a result, with South Sydney claiming their second premiership in as many years.[6] Requests from Balmain for the match to be played at a later date were refused by the league.[7] Conflict over whether there was an agreement between the two clubs not to play a final[8] caused a deep-seated resentment towards Souths by Balmain which lasted many years.It was the most dramatic action ever taken by a rugby league club – the 1909 Balmain team forfeited the premiership final. Arguments have raged as to what led to Balmain's actions, and the day's events have caused the 'Tigers' and the South Sydney Rabbitohs to generally harbour nothing but ill-will towards each other ever-since.

The seeds of the dramatic events of 1909 lay in the years before rugby league was formed, back when Balmain and Souths were rugby union clubs. In 1900, the Metropolitan Rugby Union (MRU) replaced the private clubs of the 1800s with district clubs.

This was done to more evenly distribute the talent between clubs, and to build upon the growing support for suburban based clubs.

While Balmain had use of 'the best ground in the colony' in Birchgrove Park [Oval], the MRU inexplicably ignored its 'home-and-away' scheduling for club matches, and refused to allocate South Sydney matches anywhere but at the SCG or Sports Ground.

Between 1900 and 1906, Souths and Balmain had met 14 times, yet the 'red-and-greens' had only twice been required to play at Birchgrove.

While most clubs trained indoors at night or on fields under moonlight, Souths and Easts had exclusive use of the lights of the Sports Ground. Understandably, other clubs, particularly Balmain and Norths felt that Souths and Easts were receiving favourable treatment.

The newspapers and opposing fans had come to call the Balmain club "the Balmainiacs". Unafraid to vent their feelings, especially at home games, Balmain were not the most popular club amongst Sydney 'rugbyites'.

When the opportunity came to join the newly formed rugby league in the early months of 1908, most rugby union clubs lost approximately half of their players and members. In Balmain's case, the league got just about everybody.

When the Balmain Union club held its first meeting of 1908, all the district's league supporters attended and voted against the election of every official for the coming season.

While they really had no cause to even be at the Union club's meeting, the presence of the league supporters prevented the Union club from being formed for the coming season. The MRU organised the follow-up meeting for the same night as the next Balmain league meeting, just so it could carry on its business.

By the start of the 1909 season, the NSWRL was in a dire financial crisis – its founding fathers, James Giltinan, Victor Trumper and 'Harry' Hoyle, all lost their positions.

Under the stewardship of North Sydney's Alexander Knox, the NSWRL convinced the clubs to forgo their gate receipts from matches, and hand it all over to the league.

It quickly became apparent to Knox that the only club attracting reasonable crowds was Balmain at Birchgrove Park. Consequently, Balmain were given a home game in almost every round.

As a result, they enjoyed great on-field success and climbed the premiership ladder. Balmain reached the Final against South Sydney.

However, as Souths had won the minor premiership by two points, the NSWRL play-offs system meant that Balmain had to beat them in the Final, and then beat them again in a second Final to claim the title. It seemed unlikely.

Balmain lobbied the NSWRL to schedule the Final at Wentworth Park, which was half-way between the two districts. The league refused, and put the match on at the Agricultural Ground – Souths home field.

Balmain's complaints were quickly overtaken by outside events when more than half of the 1908 Wallabies team suddenly defected to rugby league for a series of matches against the Kangaroos.

The Final was postponed indefinitely.

Knox publicly criticised the NSWRL officials who were involved in 'bringing-down' the NSWRU via paying huge sums to the Wallabies. Other officials did not see a problem with the league's actions, and Knox soon lost his position on the NSWRL.

Funded by entrepreneur James Joynton-Smith, the three 'Wallabies v Kangaroos' matches did not earn enough gate-money to fully cover his costs or those of the NSWRL. So a fourth game was arranged. To increase interest and gate-takings, the NSWRL scheduled the Final on the under-card.

Balmain were seemingly aggrieved at the demotion of importance of the Final, and asked the NSWRL to ensure it was played on a separate day. They also argued that their players' labour should not go towards paying money owed to Joynton-Smith and the NSWRL. The league refused and Balmain announced that they would not play.

On the day of the Final the Balmain players arrived outside the ground in the early afternoon, well before the scheduled kick-off time of 2 o’clock. They then picketed the entrance, endeavouring to convince patrons not to enter.

Despite very heavy rain and the protests of the Balmain footballers, enough of a crowd turned up to clear the debts of Joynton-Smith and the NSWRL. Balmain stuck to their word and did not appear on the field. Souths kicked off, picked up the ball and scored a try. The referee awarded them the match, and with it the 1909 premiership.

In the days that followed a public meeting was held at Balmain to decide what to do about challenging Souths being credited as premiers. It then became apparent what Balmain had been trying to achieve. The first speaker at the meeting was North Sydney's Alexander Knox. He had convinced Balmain to forfeit the Final in the hope that the NSWRL would not earn enough money to pay off its debts or be able to reimburse Joynton-Smith.

With the NSWRL bankrupted, Balmain and Norths officials would lead the formation of a new rugby league body – one in which they, and not South Sydney and Easts, would be the dominant office-holders. With little hope of winning the premiership, Balmain felt they had more to gain by causing the NSWRL to collapse.

Further meetings were held, attempting to instigate legal proceedings and investigate forming a new league, but they eventually stalled.

In the opening round of the 1910 competition, the NSWRL scheduled a 're-match' between Souths and Balmain at Birchgrove Park to appease the local supporters.

'The Balmainiacs' responded by establishing a record crowd for a NSWRL club match of over 5,000. The home team though were beaten 13–5 in a very tough and physical encounter.

The Referee thought it necessary to praise the Birchgrove crowd for their behaviour, offering: "Naturally they like to see their favourites win, and what district does not? In the present instance, however, their team had to play second fiddle, but as sports they took the defeat in good spirit, and liberally applauded the visitors".

At the first NSWRL meeting of 1910, Norths' Alexander Knox was banned from rugby league for life.[9] Members of the South Sydney side who showed up on Grand Final day and won by forfeit were:

Arthur ButlerArthur Conlin (c) • Harry ButlerHoward HallettT.Anderson • J.Davis • Frank StorieEd FryDick GreenJack CoxonBilly Cann • P.Carroll • Arthur Hennessy (coach)

Lower Grades

The NSWRFL held two lower grade competitions in 1909.

With varying consistency, results were published in newspapers: The Sydney Morning Herald, The Evening News, The Sunday Times, The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Sun. The first three are currently available in digital format on the National Library of Australia's Trove website. The latter two newspapers are available on microfilm at the State Library of NSW. The results published in these newspapers have been used to compile the tables below, particularly The Sunday Sun which published the most lower grade results.

Second Grade

Eight teams competed in the Second Grade competition: Balmain, Eastern Suburbs, Glebe, North Sydney, South Sydney, Sydney and Western Suburbs.
Second grade followed the same draw as First Grade, with the exception that Sydney replaced Newcastle. Many but not all second grade matches were played on the same ground used later that day for first grade matches involving the same pairing of clubs.

1909 Second Grade table. Compiled from match results published in newspapers.! Team! P&RK! W! D! L! PF! PA! PD! WF! LF! NP! Pts
style= text-align:left; Eastern Suburbs 10 9 0 1 123 38 85 0 0 0 18
style= text-align:left; Glebe 10 8 0 2 171 21 150 0 0 0 16
style= text-align:left;Sydney 9 7 0 1 129 38 91 1 0 0 16
style= text-align:left; North Sydney 10 5 0 5 57 87 −30 0 0 0 10
style= text-align:left; Balmain 10 4 0 6 49 67 −18 0 0 0 8
style= text-align:left; Western Suburbs 6 2 0 2 29 52 −23 1 1 2 6
style= text-align:left; South Sydney 9 1 0 8 45 157 −112 0 0 1 4
style= text-align:left; Newtown 8 0 0 7 9 152 −143 0 1 1 2

League points: for win = 2; for draw = 1; for loss = 0.
Pld = Games played (excluding forfeits); W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; PF = Points scored in matches; PA = Points conceded in matches; PD = Points difference; WF = Forfeits received; LF = Forfeits conceded; NP = Matches not played due to the probable withdrawal of Western Suburbs; Pts = Competition Points.
Fixtures = Number of fixtures.

Notes
FinalsThe semi-finals were played on 14 August. Glebe 15 defeated Sydney 6 at Wentworth Park and Eastern Suburbs 14 beat North Sydney 0 at Birchgrove.[10]

The second grade final was played on 4 September as a curtain-raiser to the first Wallabies v Kangaroos match. The two teams had not met since the opening weekend, when Glebe had won by 15 to 3. Eastern Suburbs reversed that result, winning the final, 11 points to 7, to claim the premiership.[11]

Third Grade

Nine teams competed in the Third Grade competition: Balmain, Eastern Suburbs, Glebe, South Sydney and Sydney were joined by Drummoyne on 1 May and Rozelle on 22 May. South Sydney Federal were listed to play Newtown on 1 May and 15 May but their first actual match played appears to be on 22 May. All three new clubs began with a win. [12] [13] [14]

North Sydney and Western Suburbs were listed to play in Third Grade on the season opening Saturday, 24 April, but no result was published and they were not subsequently mentioned in Third Grade during 1909.[15]

The late withdrawals, late entries, missing results and multiple forfeits make it difficult to reconstruct an accurate competition table.

1909 Third Grade table. Compiled from match results published in newspapers.! Team! Pld! W! D! L! B! PF! PA! PD! WF! LF! Pts! Unknown! Fixtures
style= text-align:left;South Sydney Federal 7 6 0 1 1 188 9 179 1 0 16 1 9
style= text-align:left;Rozelle 7 6 0 1 1 95 22 73 1 0 16 0 8
style= text-align:left;Drummoyne 7 4 0 3 1 59 50 9 0 0 10 2 9
style= text-align:left; Eastern Suburbs 6 2 0 4 1 29 73 −44 2 0 10 1 9
style= text-align:left;Sydney 7 3 0 4 1 65 79 −14 0 0 8 2 9
style= text-align:left; Balmain 6 2 0 4 1 31 65 −34 0 0 6 3 9
style= text-align:left; Glebe 6 2 0 4 1 28 85 −57 0 0 6 4 10
style= text-align:left; South Sydney 5 1 0 4 2 17 125 −108 0 1 6 1 7
style= text-align:left; Newtown 1 0 0 1 1 6 10 −4 0 3 2 4 8

League points: for win = 2; for draw = 1; for loss = 0.
P&RK = Games played (excluding forfeits) where the result is known; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; PF = Points scored in matches where result is known; PA = Points conceded in matches where result is known; PD = Points difference; WF = Forfeits received; LF = Forfeits conceded; Pts = Competition Points from known wins, draws, byes and forfeits received; Unknown = Matches listed as fixtures where the result is not known; Fixtures = Number of fixtures.

Notes
FinalsThe semi-finals were played on 14 August at the Royal Agricultural Ground. South Sydney Federal 16 defeated Drummoyne 0 and Rozelle 8 beat Eastern Suburbs 2.[18] [19] The third grade final was played on 21 August as a curtain-raiser to an Australia versus New Zealand Maori match, "A good game ended in a win for the South Sydney team by 2 points to nil. Turnbull kicked a penalty goal. As the points indicate the tussle was a close one all through."[20]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Heads . Ian . Controversy . League of Legends . . 9 October 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110611185855/http://www.nma.gov.au/shared/libraries/attachments/league_of_legends/controversy/files/22455/H_controversy.pdf . 11 June 2011 .
  2. Book: Cunneen , Chris . The best ever Australian Sports Writing. 2001. Black Inc.. Australia. 1-86395-266-7. 321. 19 February 2011.
  3. http://www.theage.com.au/news/news/the-pick-of-the-pacific/2009/03/05/1235842558125.html The pick of the Pacific
  4. Web site: History of the Premiership . https://web.archive.org/web/20080209104018/http://www.centenaryofrugbyleague.com.au/site/about/history/history-of-the-premiership.aspx . dead . 9 February 2008 . centenaryofrugbyleague.com.au . . 21 October 2013 .
  5. News: Coady . Ben . Grand final dramas . WA Today . Australia . Fairfax Digital . 28 September 2009 . 15 January 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181004074123/http://blogs.watoday.com.au/executive-style/sportandstyle/bencoady/2009/09/28/grandfinaldra.html . 4 October 2018 . dead .
  6. http://www.rl1908.com/clubcomps/Honours.htm Premiership Roll of Honour
  7. News: Football . . Australia . 59 . 29 September 1909 . 20 November 2009.
  8. News: Graham McNeice and Ian Collis . That's Rugby League: New Light on Football's Greatest Controversies . Sporting Traditions • vol. 14 no. 1 . Sydney . 160 . November 1997 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120302035628/http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/SportingTraditions/1997/st1401/st1401p.pdf . dead . 2 March 2012 .
  9. Web site: Fagan. Sean. The Balmainiacs of 1909. Racehorse Talk. RL1908.com. 8 October 2014.
  10. News: Second Grade . The Evening News . Sydney . 14 August 1909 . 17 May 2016 . 9 . National Library of Australia.
  11. News: Rugby League – Second Grade Final . The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney . 6 September 1909 . 17 May 2016 . 10 . National Library of Australia.
  12. News: Newtown beats North Sydney. . Sydney . 2 May 1909 . 29 May 2016 . 10 . National Library of Australia.
  13. News: Today's Football. . Sydney . 15 May 1909 . 29 May 2016 . 9 . National Library of Australia.
  14. News: First Grade Table. . Sydney . 23 May 1909 . 29 May 2016 . 10 . National Library of Australia.
  15. News: Football – Today's Fixtures. . Sydney . 24 April 1909 . 29 May 2016 . 16 . National Library of Australia.
  16. News: Notes on the Rugby League. . Sydney . 13 June 1909 . 29 May 2016 . 10 . National Library of Australia.
  17. News: Rugby League. . Sydney . 10 August 1909 . 29 May 2016 . 10 . National Library of Australia.
  18. News: Northern Union Rugby. . Sydney . 18 August 1909 . 29 May 2016 . 11 . National Library of Australia.
  19. News: Third Grade. . Sydney . 14 August 1909 . 29 May 2016 . 9 . National Library of Australia.
  20. News: Third Grade Final. . Sydney . 21 August 1909 . 29 May 2016 . 9 . National Library of Australia.