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1935 NSWRFL season

1935 New South Wales Rugby Football League
Teams9
Premiers Eastern Suburbs (5th title)
Minor premiers Eastern Suburbs (6th title)
Matches played75
Top points scorer(s) Dave Brown (244)
Top try-scorer(s) Dave Brown (38)

The 1935 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the twenty-eighth season of Sydney’s top-grade rugby league club competition, Australia’s first. The season culminated in Eastern Suburbs’ victory over South Sydney in the final.[1]

Teams

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The addition of Canterbury-Bankstown meant that the League involved nine clubs for the first time since 1929.[2]

Balmain

28th season
Ground: Leichhardt Oval
Coach: George Robinson
Captain: Joe Busch

Canterbury-Bankstown

1st season
Ground: Pratten Park
Coach: Tedda Courtney
Captain: Jack Morrison & Tom Carey

Eastern Suburbs

28th season
Ground: Sports Ground
Coach: Arthur Halloway
Captain: Dave Brown

Newtown

28th season
Ground: Marrickville Oval
Captain: Hans Mork & Arthur Folwell

North Sydney

28th season
Ground: North Sydney Oval
Coach: Frank Burge
Captain: Stan Ridgway & Grantley Bennett

St. George

15th season
Ground: Earl Park
Coach: Albert Johnston
Captain: Fred Gardner & Edward Root

South Sydney

28th season
Ground: Sports Ground
Coach: Dave Watson
Captain: Percy Williams

University

16th season
Coach: Robert Williams
Captain: Tom McInerney

Western Suburbs

28th season
Ground: Pratten Park
Captain-coach: Frank McMillan

Records set in 1935

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The University club did not win a single match in 1935, continuing a losing streak that started in round 2, 1934 and which would run till round 14, 1936, and which marks the most consecutive losses in NSWRL/NRL premiership history at 42.[3]

On 11 May at Earl Park, St. George defeated newcomers Canterbury 91–6, this remaining the biggest winning margin and most points scored by one team in the history of the NSWRFL/NSWRL/ARL/NRL, beating South Sydney’s 67–nil win over Western Suburbs in 1910.[4] The following weekend on 18 May, Eastern Suburbs defeated the “Cantabs” (as Canterbury were initially known) 87–7, this remaining the second-highest score and winning margin in the history of the competition.[4] The record in any grade occurred on 19 July 1913 when South Sydney reserves defeated Mosman by 102 points to 2.[5][6]

In the second half of the Earl Park match, St. George scored fourteen tries and sixty-eight points, this being the most scored in one half of any match.[7]

Eastern Suburbs winger Rod O'Loan scored a club record of seven tries in a 61–5 win over University. This tally stands second (behind Frank Burge's eight tries in 1920) on the list of most individual tries in a premiership match. Dave Brown’s six tries in a 1935 game against Canterbury stands in equal third place in that same list, Easts winning the match 65–10.[8]

The standing record for most tries in one season also comes from 1935, being 38 by Brown.[9]

Dave Brown’s season tally of 244 points stood for 34 years as the record points scored in a season until topped by Eric Simms in 1969.

Ladder

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[10]

The geographical locations of the teams that contested the 1935 premiership across Sydney.
Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1 Easts 16 15 0 1 2 599 157 +442 34
2 Souths 16 11 0 5 2 314 222 +92 26
3 Wests 16 10 0 6 2 345 243 +102 24
4 Norths 16 9 1 6 2 248 253 -5 23
5 Balmain 16 8 1 7 2 320 225 +95 21
6 St. George 16 8 0 8 2 334 162 +172 20
7 Newtown 16 8 0 8 2 280 248 +32 20
8 Canterbury 16 2 0 14 2 150 660 -510 8
9 University 16 0 0 16 2 109 529 -420 4

Finals

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In the two semi-finals played as a double-header at the Sydney Cricket Ground on the same day, the top two ranked teams Eastern Suburbs and South Sydney beat their lower-ranked opponents Western Suburbs and North Sydney. Eastern Suburbs and South Sydney won their respective matches and met each other in the Final.

 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
7 September 1935 – Sydney Cricket Ground
 
 
 Eastern Suburbs 15
 
14 September 1935 – Sydney Cricket Ground
 
 Western Suburbs 10
 
 Eastern Suburbs 19
 
7 September 1935 – Sydney Cricket Ground
 
 South Sydney 3
 
 South Sydney 14
 
 
 North Sydney 10
 

Premiership Final

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Eastern Suburbs Position South Sydney
13. Tom Dowling FB 32. Les McDonald
9. Rod O’Loan WG 15. Harry Thompson
10. Ross McKinnon CE 18. Harry Eyers
12. Jack Beaton CE 34. Eddie Finucane
24. Fred Tottey WG 54. George Shankland
8. Ernie Norman FE 12. Jack 'Paddy' Stewart
7. Viv Thicknesse HB 10. Percy Williams(c)
  1. Ray Stehr (c)
 PR 6. Jack McCormack
14. Tom McLachlan HK 7. George Kilham
3. Max Nixon PR 4. Eric Lewis
4. Harry Pierce SR
  1. Frank Curran
5. Joe Pearce SR 2. Michael Williams
6. Andy Norval LK 3. Eddie Hinson
Arthur Halloway Coach Dave Watson

Before a crowd of 22,106 and refereed by Tom McMahon, Easts led 9–nil at half-time and were never headed despite being without their record-breaking centre, Dave Brown.[11]

Scorers

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Tries: Rod O'Loan 2, Harry Pierce, Fred Tottey, Jack Beaton. Goals: Ross McKinnon 2

Try: George Shankland

Source:[12]

Player statistics

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The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 18.

References

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  1. ^ Premiership Roll of Honour at rl1908.com
  2. ^ "History of the Premiership". centenaryofrugbyleague.com.au. Australian Rugby League. Archived from the original on 9 February 2008. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  3. ^ Rugby League Tables – Most Consecutive Games Lost; AFl Tables
  4. ^ a b Rugby League Tables – Game Records; AFL Tables
  5. ^ ‘Rugby League: Second Grade‘; The Sunday Times, 20 July 1913, p. 13
  6. ^ ‘Records Made: St. George and Griffen’; Sydney Morning Herald, 13 May 1935, p. 17
  7. ^ See Middleton, David; Rugby League 1996; pp. 123, 125 ISBN 0732256720
  8. ^ Rugby League Tables – Most Individual Tries in a Game; AFL Tables
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ "1935 Ladder". afltables.com. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  11. ^ "The Rugby Season Has Ended". The Sydney Mail. Vol. XLVII, no. 1225. New South Wales, Australia. 18 September 1935. p. 32. Retrieved 2 July 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ^ "Finals Scorers,1935". stats.rleague.com. Archived from the original on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
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