New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1972
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| New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1972 | |
 |
|
| Teams | 12 |
| Premiers |  Manly-Warringah (1st title) |
| Minor premiers | Manly-Warringah (2nd title) |
| Matches played | 136 |
| Points scored | 4670 (average 34.338 per match) |
| Attendance | 1,469,899 (average 10,808 per match) |
| Top points scorer(s) |  Allan McKean (220 points) |
| Top try scorer(s) | Bob Fulton (19 tries) |
The 1972 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the sixty-fifth season of professional rugby league football in Australia. Twelve teams contested during the season for the premiership, including six Sydney-based foundation teams and another six from around Sydney.
Contents |
[edit] Teams
 Balmain Tigers |
 Canterbury Bulldogs |
 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks |
 Eastern Suburbs Roosters |
 Manly Sea Eagles |
 Newtown Jets |
 North Sydney Bears |
 Parramatta Eels |
 Penrith Panthers |
 South Sydney Rabbitohs |
 St. George Dragons |
 Western Suburbs Magpies |
[edit] Ladder
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manly-Warringah |
22 | 18 | 1 | 3 | 460 | 255 | +205 | 37 |
| 2 | Eastern Suburbs |
22 | 17 | 1 | 4 | 514 | 297 | +217 | 35 |
| 3 |  St. George |
22 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 398 | 221 | +177 | 34 |
| 4 |  South Sydney |
22 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 456 | 331 | +125 | 28 |
| 5 |  Newtown |
22 | 11 | 2 | 9 | 402 | 371 | +31 | 24 |
| 6 |  Canterbury-Bankstown |
22 | 12 | 0 | 10 | 382 | 373 | +9 | 24 |
| 7 |  Western Suburbs |
22 | 8 | 1 | 13 | 367 | 398 | -31 | 17 |
| 8 |  Cronulla-Sutherland |
22 | 8 | 0 | 14 | 332 | 378 | -46 | 16 |
| 9 |  North Sydney |
22 | 7 | 1 | 14 | 320 | 405 | -85 | 15 |
| 10 |  Balmain |
22 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 333 | 455 | -122 | 13 |
| 11 |  Penrith |
22 | 5 | 1 | 16 | 278 | 490 | -212 | 11 |
| 12 |  Parramatta |
22 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 317 | 585 | -268 | 10 |
[edit] Finals
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| Semi Finals | ||||||||
 St. George |
14 - 10 |  South Sydney |
26 August 1972 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Keith Page | 47,945 | ||
 Manly-Warringah |
32 - 8 |  Eastern Suburbs |
2 September 1972 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Keith Page | 43,695 | ||
| Preliminary Final | ||||||||
| Eastern Suburbs |
8 - 6 | St. George |
9 September 1972 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Keith Page | 41,313 | ||
| Grand Final | ||||||||
| Manly-Warringah |
19 - 14 | Eastern Suburbs |
16 September 1972 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Keith Page | 54,537 | ||
[edit] Grand Final
| Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | Position | Eastern Suburbs Roosters |
|---|---|---|
| Graham Eadie | FB | Allan McKean |
| Ken Irvine | WG | Jim Porter |
| Ray Branighan | CE | Harry Cameron |
| Bob Fulton | CE | Mark Harris |
| M Brown | WG | Bill Mullins |
| Ian Martin | FE | John Ballesty |
| Dennis Ward | HB | Kevin Junee |
| Bill Hamilton | PR | John Armstong |
| Fred Jones (c) | HK | Peter Moscatt |
| John O'Neill | PR | Arthur Beetson |
| Alan Thompson | SR | Greg Bandiera |
| Terry Randall | SR | John Quayle |
| Malcolm Reilly | LK | Ron Coote (c) |
| Bench | Laurie Frier | |
| Ron Willey | Coach | Don Furner |
After twenty-five years in the competition and five Grand Final losses, Manly finally broke through to win the club's first NSWRFL premiership.
In a controversial match, the Sea-Eagles downed the Eastern Suburbs Roosters 19 to 14, thus shedding their 'bridesmaid' tag. The Roosters were highly critical of referee Keith Page after the match, claiming both of Manly's tries shouldn't have been awarded. To add to their rage, Easts crossed for 2 tries that were disallowed.
A dour first half saw the teams go to the break at 4-all, before a try by hooker Fred Jones put Manly ahead. Jones appeared to drop the ball as he attempted to ground it, but was awarded the try nonetheless. Midway through the second half, controversy flared again when Manly centre Ray Branighan appeared to stop over the Eastern Suburbs try line after accepting what looked like a forward pass from prop Bill Hamilton. However, referee Page allowed it and the Manly fans began celebrating, knowing that at 19-4 their first premiership victory was assured. Although Easts fought back and brought the score to 19-14, time was out for the Roosters.
Manly-Warringah 19 (Tries: Jones, Branighan. Goals: Eadie 6. Fld Goal: Fulton)
Eastern Suburbs 14 (Tries: Ballesty, Mullins. Goals: McKean 4 )
Man of the Match: Denis Ward (Manly).
[edit] References
- Rugby League Tables - Season 1972 The World of Rugby League
- Australian Sport Through Time
