The 1918 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the eleventh season of Sydney’s professional rugby league club competition, Australia’s first. Eight teams from across the city contested during the season, with South Sydney finishing on top of the ladder to claim the premiership.[1]
| 1918 New South Wales Rugby Football League | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 8 |
| Premiers |  South Sydney (4th title) |
| Minor premiers | South Sydney (4th title) |
| Matches played | 56 |
| Points scored | 1345 |
| Top points scorer(s) | Harold Horder (87) |
| Top try-scorer(s) |  Frank Burge (24) |
Season summary
editThe quality of the competition in 1918 suffered due to the loss of players fighting in World War I.[2] South Sydney and Western Suburbs dominated the season, dropping just two and three games respectively. With just three rounds to go, both sides met each square on 18 points each. A win for South Sydney would virtually guarantee them the premiership unless they dropped their final two games. At the end of the day, South Sydney prevailed 11–3 and went on to win all their remaining matches, taking away their fourth premiership from eleven seasons.
The season also saw the struggling Dales fail to win a game from fourteen starts. It was the first winless season in NSWRFL history and signalled the end for the club, who would play only a further two seasons in the premiership.
The Western Suburbs club claimed their first title by winning the knockout competition, the City Cup.
Teams
editThe lineup of teams remained unchanged from the previous season.
- Annandale
- Balmain, formed on 23 January 1908 at Balmain Town Hall
- Eastern Suburbs, formed on 24 January 1908 at Paddington Town Hall
- Glebe, formed on 9 January 1908
- Newtown, formed on 14 January 1908
- North Sydney, formed on 7 February 1908
- South Sydney, formed on 17 January 1908 at Redfern Town Hall
- Western Suburbs, formed on 4 February 1908
 9th season Ground:Wentworth Park Coach: Captain: Arthur Butler |
 11th season Ground: Birchgrove Oval Captain-Coach: Arthur Halloway |
 11th season Ground: Sydney Sports Ground Coach: Sandy Pearce Captain: Sandy Pearce |
 11th season Ground: Wentworth Park Coach: Chris McKivat Captain: Albert Burge |
 11th season Ground: Erskineville Oval Coach: Captain: George Bain |
 11th season Ground: North Sydney Oval Coach: George Green Captain: Cec Blinkhorn |
 11th season Ground: RAS Showground Coach: Arthur Hennessy Captain: Howard Hallett |
 11th season Ground: St. Luke's Oval Coach:Tedda Courtney Captain: Herb Gilbert |
Ladder
edit
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Sydney
|
14 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 257 | 121 | +136 | 24 |
| 2 |  Western Suburbs
|
14 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 182 | 102 | +80 | 22 |
| 3 | Glebe
|
14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 212 | 128 | +84 | 18 |
| 4 |  Balmain
|
14 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 215 | 148 | +67 | 17 |
| 5 |  Eastern Suburbs
|
14 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 160 | 153 | +7 | 16 |
| 6 |  North Sydney
|
14 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 131 | 202 | -71 | 8 |
| 7 |  Newtown
|
14 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 115 | 175 | -60 | 7 |
| 8 |  Annandale
|
14 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 73 | 316 | -243 | 0 |
References
edit- ^ Premiership Roll of Honour Archived 2011-05-14 at the Wayback Machine at rl1908.com
- ^ Middleton, David (30 September 2013). "Ten of the most dominant seasons in rugby league history from historian David Middleton". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
External links
edit- Rugby League Tables - Notes AFL Tables
- Rugby League Tables - Season 1918 AFL Tables
- Premiership History and Statistics RL1908
- Results: 1911-20 at rabbitohs.com.au