| South Sydney District Rugby Football League | |
| Current Season: | 2018 South Sydney District Rugby Football League |
| Teams: | 14 |
| Countrytag: | Region |
| Country: | Inner Southern Suburbs, South-Eastern Suburbs |
| Gov Body: | New South Wales Rugby League |
| Championtag: | Premiers |
| Champion: | Matraville Tigers |
| Season: | 2022 South Sydney District Rugby Football League season |
| Most Champs: | Coogee Randwick Wombats |
| Count: | 13 |
| Website: | southsjuniors.leaguenet.com.au |
| Related Comps: | Sydney Combined Competition |
The South Sydney District Junior Rugby Football League is an affiliation of junior clubs in the South Sydney area.[1]
When the South Sydney Rabbitohs first entered the NSWRL competition as South Sydney in 1908, Souths would become neighbours to fellow city counterpart, the Eastern Suburbs Roosters. Anzac Parade separated the territories for both inner-Sydney clubs when the boundaries were first established the previous year. Souths' boundaries were based on the municipalities of Redfern, Botany, Alexandria, Mascot and Waterloo, while the Roosters' boundaries were those of the eastern municipalities of Paddington, Woollahra, Vaucluse and Waverley.
The new junior league boundaries set out in the early 1950s would take territory away from the Roosters, and hand it over to rival neighbouring club South Sydney.
In the mid-20th century, the southern half of Roosters territory within the Randwick local government area was handed to South Sydney. The NSWRL made this change to 'even the competition' as South Sydney's original heartland, around Redfern and Waterloo, had rapidly industrialised and de-populated. Rabbitohs stalwart S.G. Ball was a dual administrator within South Sydney Rabbitohs and the New South Wales Rugby League at the time. The Rabbitohs were in a highly successful period and had established South Sydney Juniors Rugby League Club in Kingsford, Roosters territory in recent times.
Debate still continues amongst rival fans as to how and why Eastern Suburbs territory, comprising suburbs with junior league clubs rich in talent and numbers in the Randwick and Coogee areas, was given to South Sydney. The Roosters expressed disappointment at losing some of its junior clubs, but the NSWRL would not waver.
This was not to be the end of struggle for junior territory between the two inner-city clubs. In the 1980s some junior clubs such as Paddington Colts that were within Roosters territory became dissatisfied with Roosters management and affiliated with South Sydney.
After the Newtown Jets were expelled from the NSWRL in 1983, their junior district was eventually absorbed into the South Sydney junior district in 1987. With the tide having turned compared to the situation decades earlier, and the Roosters having a much smaller junior League than South Sydney, Eastern Suburbs at this time then made unsuccessful attempts to regain the suburbs on the same grounds used to hand the southern parts of Coogee and Randwick from Easts to Souths, that of providing an 'even competition'. The NSWRL, controlled at the time by a Board with a ruling faction of representatives from South Sydney (Terry Parker), Balmain (Keith Barnes), Canterbury (Peter Moore) and Manly (Ken Arthurson), refused to redraw the boundaries.
| Club | Home Ground | Premierships | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alexandria Rovers | Erskineville Oval | 7 (1951, 1954, 1962, 1965, 1969, 1975, 1990) | |
| Botany Rams | Booralee Park | 1 (1947) | |
| Coogee Dolphins | Kensington Oval | 3 (2004, 2007, 2008) | |
| Coogee Randwick Wombats | Coogee Oval | 14 (1956, 1970*, 1973, 1978, 1982, 1983, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2019) | |
| La Perouse United | Yarra Reserve | 8 (1963, 1964*, 1970*, 1991, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005) | |
| Maroubra Lions | Snape Park | 1 (1979) | |
| Marrickville RSL Kings | Marrickville Oval | 1 (1995) | |
| Mascot Juniors | Mascot Oval | 7 (1952, 1953, 1955, 1984, 1985, 1989, 1998) | |
| Matraville Tigers | Heffron Park | 0 | |
| 12 (1961, 1964*, 1971, 1977, 1980, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2006, 2012, 2013, 2014) | |||
| Newtown Jnr Jets | Tempe Reserve | 2003 | |
| Redfern All Blacks | Waterloo Oval | 6 (1974, 1987*, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018) | |
| Saints JRLFC | Kensington Oval, Kensington | 0 | |
| South Eastern Seagulls | Pioneers Park, Malabar | 0 | |
| South Sydney Mustangs | Rowland Park, Daceyville | 0 | |
| Waterloo Waratahs | 1 (1988) |
| Club[2] | Moniker | Suburb | A Grade | A Reserve | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexandria Rovers | Rovers | Alexandria, New South Wales | No | Yes | |
| Coogee | Dolphins | Coogee, New South Wales | Yes | Yes | |
| Coogee Randwick | Wombats | Coogee, New South Wales | No | Yes | |
| La Perouse United | Panthers | La Perouse, New South Wales | Yes | Yes | |
| Mascot Juniors | Jets | Mascot, New South Wales | Yes | Yes | |
| Marrickville RSL | Kings | Marrickville, New South Wales | No | Yes | |
| Matraville | Tigers | Matraville, New South Wales | Yes | Yes | |
| Moore Park | Broncos | Moore Park, New South Wales | No | Yes | |
| Redfern All Blacks | All Blacks | Redfern, New South Wales | Yes | Yes | |
| South Eastern | Seagulls | Malabar, New South Wales | Yes | Yes |
| Season | Grand Final Information | Minor Premiers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premiers | Score | Runners-Up | ||||
| 2015 | align=left | Bondi United | 20 – 18 | align=left | South Eastern Seagulls | Bondi United |
| 2016 | align=left | Bondi United | 22 – 20 | align=left | Coogee Dolphins | Bondi United |
| 2017 | align=left | Coogee Dolphins | 28 – 18 | align=left | La Perouse United | La Perouse United |
| 2018 | align=left | Mascot Juniors | 20 – 18 | align=left | La Perouse United | Mascot Juniors |
| 2019 | align=left | South Sydney Mustangs | 10 – 8 | align=left | South Eastern Seagulls | South Sydney Mustangs |
| 2020 | Season cancelled due to COVID-19. | |||||
| 2021 | Season was suspended after COVID-19 breakout. | |||||
On 16 May 2008, the South Sydney Juniors Team of the Century was named at the Centenary Ball.[6]
Coach: Alf Blair (Waterloo Albions)