1934 NSWRFL season

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1934 New South Wales Rugby Football League
Teams8
PremiersWestern Suburbs colours.svg Western Suburbs (2nd title)
Minor premiersEastern Suburbs colours.svg Eastern Suburbs (5th title)
Matches played60
Points scored1823
Top points scorer(s)Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Dave Brown (121)
Top try-scorer(s)Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Dave Brown (11)
St. George colours.svg Fred Gardner (11)
Western Suburbs colours.svg Vic Hey (11)
Seasons

The 1934 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the twenty-seventh season of Sydney’s top-grade rugby league club competition, Australia’s first. Eight teams from across the city contested the premiership during the season which lasted from April until September and culminated in Western Suburbs’ victory over Eastern Suburbs in the premiership final.[1]

Season summary[]

At the height of The Depression, the New South Wales Rugby Football League again banned radio broadcasts of matches, blaming them for a severe drop in crowd numbers.

In Round 2 the University club began a losing streak which would run until the fourteenth round of the 1936 season, marking the record for the most consecutive losses in premiership history at 42.

Teams[]

Balmain
Balmain Jersey 1932.png

27th season
Ground: Leichhardt Oval
Coach: George Robinson
Captain: Syd Christensen

Eastern Suburbs
Eastern Suburbs Jersey 1914.png

27th season
Ground: Trumper Oval, Sports Ground
Coach: Arthur Halloway
Captain: Dave Brown

Newtown
Newtown Jersey 1915.png

27th season
Ground: Marrickville Oval
Coach: Charles Russell
Captain: Keith Ellis

North Sydney
North Sydney Jersey 1933.png

27th season
Ground: North Sydney Oval
Coach: Herman Peters
Captain: Doug Deitz

St. George
St George Jersey 1934.png

14th season
Ground: Earl Park
Coach: Albert Johnston
Captain: Harry Kadwell

South Sydney
South Sydney Jersey 1930.png


Ground: Sports Ground
Coach: Charlie Lynch
Captain: George Treweek

University
Sydney University Jersey 1929.png

15th season
Captain-Coach: Gordon Favelle

Western Suburbs
Western Suburbs Jersey 1924.png

27th season
Ground: Pratten Park
Captain-coach: Frank McMillan

Ladder[]

The geographical locations of the teams that contested the 1934 premiership across Sydney.
Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Eastern Suburbs 14 12 0 2 308 165 +143 24
2 Western Suburbs colours.svg Western Suburbs 14 12 0 2 263 158 +105 24
3 St. George colours.svg St. George 14 9 0 5 251 166 +85 18
4 South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney 14 8 0 6 213 149 +64 16
5 Newtown colours.svg Newtown 14 5 0 9 192 229 -37 10
6 North Sydney colours.svg North Sydney 14 5 0 9 194 234 -40 10
7 Balmain colours.svg Balmain 14 4 0 10 206 275 -69 8
8 University colours.svg Sydney University 14 1 0 13 113 364 -251 2

Finals[]

In the two semi finals, the top two ranked teams Western Suburbs and Eastern Suburbs beat their lower-ranked opponents St. George and South Sydney. The two winners then played in a final in which Western beat Eastern Suburbs.

 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
18 August 1934 - Sports Ground
 
 
Western Suburbs colours.svg Western Suburbs 16
 
8 September 1934 - Sports Ground[2]
 
St. George colours.svg St. George 6
 
Western Suburbs colours.svg Western Suburbs 15
 
25 August 1934 - Sports Ground
 
Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Eastern Suburbs 12
 
Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Eastern Suburbs 19
 
 
South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney 6
 

Premiership Final[]

Eastern Suburbs Position Western Suburbs
Tom Dowling FB Frank McMillan (Ca./Co.)
WG Alan Ridley
Dave Brown (c) CE Charlie Cornwell
Jack Beaton CE Stan Tancred
Harry Thompson WG Alan Brady
Ernie Norman FE Vic Hey
Viv Thicknesse HB Les Mead
Ray Stehr PR Jack McConnell
Tom McLachlan HK Bob Lindfield
Max Nixon PR Alan Blake
Harry Pierce SR Vince Sheehan
Joe Pearce SR Max Gray
Andy Norval LK Frank Sponberg
Arthur Halloway Coach

After a hurried conference on Saturday, 1 September 1934, the league postponed the final for a week because of heavy rain and adverse ground conditions. It was the first postponement in the competition’s twenty-seven-year history. Eastern Suburbs players Viv Thicknesse and Stan Tancred made a return for the final which was refereed by J Murphy before a crowd of 25,174.

Western Suburbs captain Frank McMillan won the toss and ran with the wind before Les Mead opened with a penalty goal. Regular stoppages for infringements ensued before Jack Beaton kicked accurately to level the match at 2–2. Western Suburbs Test winger Alan Ridley scored the first try of the match, crashing over on the right wing after powering through the defence. McMillan’s conversion made it 7–2, with the score remaining unchanged at halftime.

After the break, Thicknesse hit back for Eastern Suburbs and crossed after excellent lead up work by Joe Pearce. Beaton missed the conversion but Dave Brown steered through a penalty from a scrum infringement shortly after and the scores were level at 7–7. Rain began to fall as Western Suburbs gathered momentum. The play shifted to Easts’ line and Vince Sheehan crossed for an unconverted try and Western Suburbs led 10–7. Eastern Suburbs continued to defend grimly before Western Suburbs surged to a comfortable 15–7 lead. Vic Hey received a lobbed pass and got the ball to Alan Ridley who scored under the upright for Mead to convert. The Roosters’ chances came in the final stages and Andy Norval crossed for his team’s second try, although the referee appeared to miss a blatant knock-on. Beaton converted but it was all too late, with Western Suburbs claiming their second premiership.

Frank McMillan 1934 premiership winning captain, to his right Alan Brady and Charlie Cornwell

A great victory by a great team who upset the star-studded Eastern Suburbs, who went on to win the next three titles. Alan Ridley played one of the best games for Western Suburbs along with team-mates Mead, Hey, Brady, Tancred. Current test skipper Frank McMillan (141 games) and hooker Bob Lindfield (138 matches) announced their retirement after the victory and were chaired from the field by team-mates.

Western Suburbs 15 (Tries: Alan Ridley 2, Vince Sheehan. Goals: Les Mead 2, Frank McMillan)

Eastern Suburbs 12 (Tries: Andy Norval, Viv Thicknesse. Goals: Jack Beaton 2, Dave Brown)

References[]

External links[]

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