1940 NSWRFL season
| 1940 New South Wales Rugby Football League | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 8 |
| Premiers |  Eastern Suburbs (8th title) |
| Minor premiers | Eastern Suburbs (9th title) |
| Matches played | 59 |
| Points scored | 1738 |
| Top points scorer(s) |  Tom Kirk (99) |
| Top try-scorer(s) |  Jack Lindwall (19) |
The 1940 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the 33rd season of Sydney's top-level rugby league football club competition, Australia's first. Eight teams from across the city contested the premiership during the season, which lasted from April until August, culminating in Eastern Suburbs' victory over Canterbury-Bankstown in the final.[1]
Season summary
For this season St. George returned to Hurstville Oval as their home ground.
Teams
- Balmain, formed on January 23, 1908 at Balmain Town Hall
- Canterbury-Bankstown
- Eastern Suburbs, formed on January 24, 1908 at Paddington Town Hall
- Newtown, formed on January 14, 1908
- North Sydney, formed on February 7, 1908
- South Sydney, formed on January 17, 1908 at Redfern Town Hall
- St. George, formed on November 8, 1920 at Kogarah School of Arts
- Western Suburbs, formed on February 4, 1908
 33rd season Ground: Leichhardt Oval Coach: Bill Kelly Captain: Sid Goodwin |
 6th season Ground: Belmore Oval Coach: Alan Brady Captain: Alan Brady→Jack Bonnyman |
Eastern Suburbs 33rd season Ground: Sydney Sports Ground Coach: Dave Brown Captain: Ray Stehr |
 33rd season Ground: Henson Park Coach: Frank Burge Captain: Percy Williams |
 33rd season Ground: North Sydney Oval Coach: Arthur Halloway Captain: Roy Thompson |
South Sydney 33rd season Ground: Sydney Sports Ground Coach: Charlie Lynch Captain: Fred Felsch |
St. George 20th season Ground: Hurstville Oval Captain-coach: Neville Smith |
Western Suburbs 33rd season Ground: Pratten Park Captain-Coach: Max Gray |
Ladder
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eastern Suburbs
|
14 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 250 | 136 | +114 | 19 |
| 2 | Newtown
|
14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 261 | 200 | +61 | 18 |
| 3 | St. George
|
14 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 263 | 203 | +60 | 16 |
| 4 |  Canterbury-Bankstown
|
14 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 204 | 195 | +9 | 16 |
| 5 |  Balmain
|
14 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 199 | 162 | +37 | 15 |
| 6 |  South Sydney
|
14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 165 | 259 | -94 | 14 |
| 7 |  North Sydney
|
14 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 156 | 243 | -87 | 8 |
| 8 |  Western Suburbs
|
14 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 159 | 259 | -100 | 6 |
Finals
In the two semi finals, minor premiers Eastern Suburbs defeated St. George whilst fourth-placed Canterbury-Bankstown beat second-placed Newtown. Eastern Suburbs then beat Canterbury-Bankstown in the Final to collect their eighth premiership.
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| Semi Finals | ||||||||
| Eastern Suburbs
|
10 - 3 | St. George
|
17 August 1940 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Jack O'Brien | 17,473 | ||
| Newtown
|
11 - 19 | Canterbury-Bankstown
|
24 August 1940 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Jack O'Brien | 22,061 | ||
| Final | ||||||||
| Eastern Suburbs
|
24 - 14 | Canterbury-Bankstown
|
31 August 1940 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Jack O'Brien | 24,167 | ||
Premiership Final
| Eastern Suburbs | Position | Canterbury-Bankstown |
|---|---|---|
| Doug Bartlett | FB | Lindsay Johnson |
| Rod O'Loan | WG | Edgar Newham |
| Stan Callaghan | CE | Merv Denton |
| Dick Dunn | CE | Bob Russell |
| Bill Brew | WG | Jack Bonnyman (c) |
| Fred May | FE | Ted Anderson |
| Sel Lisle | HB | Roy McCarter |
| Ray Stehr (c) | PR | Jim Gibbs |
| Noel Hollingdale | HK | Roy Kirkaldy |
| John Clarke | PR | Jack Reilly |
| Harry Pierce | SR | Bob Allison |
| Sid Pearce | SR | Bob Farrar |
| Andrew Norval | LK | Gordon Clunas |
| Dave Brown | Coach | Alan Brady |
Led by their standard-setting captain-coach Dave Brown, the Roosters continued their strong season performance with a semi-final victory over St George to gain a Final berth.
Although Brown was ruled out on the morning of the decider with a leg injury, replacement Bill Brew slotted into the side and scored a try after backing up second rower Sid "Joe" Pearce who also scored the next try. The young Easts team who averaged 20 years of age overcame Canterbury by six tries to two.
Eastern Suburbs 24 (Tries: Pierce 2, O'Loan, Brew, Pearce, Clarke. Goals: Dunn 2 )
defeated
Canterbury-Bankstown 14 (Tries: Bonnyman, Denton. Goals: Johnson 4)
References
- ^ Premiership Roll of Honour at rl1908.com
- Rugby League Tables - Notes The World of Rugby League
- Rugby League Tables - Season 1940 The World of Rugby League
- rl1908.com History and Statistics rl1908
- Finals Line-ups and Scores Hunterlink Site
- rl1908.com interview Sean Fagan interviews Dick Dunn
- Results: 1931-40 at rabbitohs.com.au