New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1959
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1959 | |
 |
|
| Teams | 10 |
| Premiers |  St. George (6th title) |
| Minor premiers | St. George (6th title) |
| Matches played | 94 |
| Points scored | 3107 (average 33.053 per match) |
| Attendance | 896,911 (average 9,542 per match) |
| Top points scorer(s) |  Darcy Russell (206 points) |
| Top try scorer(s) |  Ken Irvine (19 tries) |
The 1959 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the fifty-second season of the rugby league competition based in Sydney. Ten teams from across Sydney contested during the season for the J. J. Giltinan Shield.
Contents |
[edit] Teams
 Balmain |
 Canterbury |
 Eastern Suburbs |
 Manly |
 Newtown |
 North Sydney |
 Parramatta |
 South Sydney |
 St. George |
 Western Suburbs |
[edit] Season summary
St George went through 1959 undefeated - a feat achieved by only five teams prior to 1959 but by none since. In 20 matches the Dragons won 19, with a draw against Balmain, scoring more than 40 points on six occassions. After eighteen premiership rounds the Dragons had scored an average of over 30 points per match and conceded an average of 10 points.
Future Immortals Reg Gasnier and Johnny Raper both debuted for St George in first grade in 1959 and both made the Australian side, aged just 19. Seven Dragons made that year's Kangaroo Tour.
Harry Bath was again the competition's highest point scorer with 95 goals and five tries in 1959.
[edit] Ladder
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. George |
18 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 550 | 190 | +360 | 35 |
| 2 | Western Suburbs |
18 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 405 | 273 | +132 | 27 |
| 3 |  Manly-Warringah |
18 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 283 | 239 | +44 | 22 |
| 4 |  Newtown |
18 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 254 | 296 | -42 | 20 |
| 5 | North Sydney |
18 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 371 | 282 | +89 | 18 |
| 6 |  South Sydney |
18 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 257 | 276 | -19 | 18 |
| 7 |  Balmain |
18 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 308 | 336 | -28 | 13 |
| 8 |  Eastern Suburbs |
18 | 6 | 0 | 12 | 211 | 314 | -103 | 12 |
| 9 |  Canterbury-Bankstown |
18 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 194 | 378 | -184 | 11 |
| 10 |  Parramatta |
18 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 150 | 399 | -249 | 4 |
[edit] Finals
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| Semi Finals | ||||||||
 Manly-Warringah |
17-0 |  Newtown |
25 July 1959 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Darcy Lawler | 8,967 | ||
 St. George |
35-25 |  Western Suburbs |
1 August 1959 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Darcy Lawler | 42,347 | ||
| Preliminary Final | ||||||||
| Western Suburbs |
13-14 | Manly-Warringah |
8 August 1959 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Darcy Lawler | 28,385 | ||
| Grand Final | ||||||||
| St. George |
20-0 | Manly-Warringah |
15 August 1959 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Darcy Lawler | 49,457 | ||
[edit] Grand Final
| St. George | Position | Manly-Warringah |
|---|---|---|
| Brian Graham | FB | Ron Willey (c) |
| Eddie Lumsden | WG | Len Wadling |
| Johnny Raper | CE | Kevin Mosman |
| Geoff Weekes | CE | William Lloyd |
| Brian Messiter | WG | George Hugo |
| Brian Clay | FE | Alf Madden |
| Bob Bugden | HB | Peter Burke |
| Harry Bath | PR | Roy Bull |
| Ken Kearney (c) | HK | George Lenon |
| Billy Wilson | PR | Bill Delamare |
| Monty Porter | SR | Peter Diversi |
| Norm Provan | SR | Rex Mossop |
| Peter Provan | LK | Jim Peebles |
| Ken Kearney | Coach | Ken Arthurson |
In the lead up to the Grand Final, rumours were circulating that Manly's Rex Mossop was carrying a broken cheekbone. From the kick off, Saints' forwards took turns at testing Mossop's injury with Harry Bath giving him particular attention. For most of the match the Manly forward copped a hammering until in frustration, Mossop retaliated by standing on Bath's head. A brawl broke out between the two and the referee Lawler sent both off.
In the meantime, Saints' forwards were steamrolling Manly and the red & white backs were cutting loose. Winger Eddie Lumsden had a magnificent match, scoring a hat trick of tries. Lumsden beat Ron Willey cold for this first try and then was on the end of later backline passing bursts for two more.
As the Manly pack tired in the second half, experienced Dragons second rower Norm Provan began to easily break their defence out wide, linking with his backs and being rewarded himself with a try. Reserve grade centre Geoff Weekes had been promoted when Gasnier and Johnny Riley were both injured in the major semi final. He scored a try as did the Dragons' steady and safe custodian Brian Graham.
The Dragons outclassed Manly 20-0 in a ruthless display of speed and strength. The match was Harry Bath's last game.
St George 20 (Tries: Lumsden 3, Graham, Weekes, N Provan. Goals: Bath 1.)
Manly 0
[edit] References
- Rugby League Tables - Season 1959 The World of Rugby League
- Writer, Larry (1995) Never Before, Never Again, Pan MacMillan, Sydney
