New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1975
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| New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1975 | |
 |
|
| Teams | 12 |
| Premiers |  Eastern Suburbs (11th title) |
| Minor premiers | Eastern Suburbs (14th title) |
| Matches played | 140 |
| Points scored | 4444 (average 31.743 per match) |
| Attendance | 1,528,180 (average 10,916 per match) |
| Top points scorer(s) |  Graham Eadie (242 points) |
| Top try scorer(s) | Johnny Mayes (16 tries) |
The 1975 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the sixty-eighth season of professional rugby league football in Australia. Twelve clubs contested during the season for the premiership, including six Sydney-based foundation teams and another six from Sydney. NSWRFL teams also competed for the 1975 Amco Cup.
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] Season summary
Each side faced each other twice in twenty-two regular season rounds before the top five finishers fought out for the premiership over six finals matches. With three sides finishing in equal fifth place, two elimination finals playoffs also had to be played.
The season saw the introduction of differential penalties for scrum offences. Western Suburbs had 1 point deducted for fielding an ineligible player in round 8.
After losing two consecutive matches in rounds 2 and 3, defending premiers Eastern Suburbs posted 19 consecutive wins in 1975 to close out the regular season; a streak than ran from round 4 to round 22 and remains the record for the most consecutive wins in premiership history.
[edit] Ladder
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eastern Suburbs |
22 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 431 | 198 | +233 | 40 |
| 2 | Manly-Warringah |
22 | 15 | 0 | 7 | 439 | 314 | +125 | 30 |
| 3 |  St. George |
22 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 341 | 294 | +47 | 26 |
| 4 |  Canterbury-Bankstown |
22 | 11 | 2 | 9 | 330 | 287 | +43 | 24 |
| 5 |  Western Suburbs |
22 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 365 | 289 | +76 | 21 |
| 6 |  Parramatta |
22 | 10 | 1 | 11 | 391 | 373 | +18 | 21 |
| 7 |  Balmain |
22 | 10 | 1 | 11 | 288 | 357 | -69 | 21 |
| 8 |  Cronulla-Sutherland |
22 | 9 | 1 | 12 | 370 | 375 | -5 | 19 |
| 9 |  North Sydney |
22 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 322 | 414 | -92 | 18 |
| 10 |  Newtown |
22 | 7 | 2 | 13 | 349 | 422 | -73 | 16 |
| 11 |  Penrith |
22 | 7 | 1 | 14 | 312 | 452 | -140 | 15 |
| 12 |  South Sydney |
22 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 298 | 461 | -163 | 12 |
- Western Suburbs were stripped of 1 competition point due to an illegal replacement in one game.
[edit] Finals
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| Playoffs | ||||||||
 Western Suburbs |
13–18 |  Parramatta |
26 August 1975 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Greg Hartley | 9,920 | ||
| Parramatta |
19–8 |  Balmain |
28 August 1975 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Eddie Ward | 19,914 | ||
| Qualifying Finals | ||||||||
 Manly-Warringah |
3–10 |  St. George |
30 August 1975 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Laurie Bruyeres | 23,492 | ||
 Canterbury-Bankstown |
5–6 | Parramatta |
31 August 1975 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Gary Cook | 19,312 | ||
| Semi Finals | ||||||||
 Eastern Suburbs |
5–8 | St. George |
6 September 1975 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Laurie Bruyeres | 28,851 | ||
| Manly-Warringah |
22–12 | Parramatta |
7 September 1975 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Gary Cook | 26,109 | ||
| Preliminary Final | ||||||||
| Eastern Suburbs |
28–13 | Manly-Warringah |
13 September 1975 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Laurie Bruyeres | 31,645 | ||
| Grand Final | ||||||||
| St. George |
0–38 | Eastern Suburbs |
20 September 1975 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Laurie Bruyeres | 63,047 | ||
[edit] Grand Final
| St. George | Position | Eastern Suburbs |
|---|---|---|
| Graeme Langlands (c) | FB | Ian Schubert |
| Paul Mills | WG | Bruce Pickett |
| Roy Ferguson | CE | John Brass |
| Ted Goodwin | CE | John Rheinberger |
| John Chapman | WG | Bill Mullins |
| John Bailey | FE | John Peard |
| Billy Smith | HB | Johnny Mayes |
| Henry Tatana | PR | Ian McKay |
| Steve Edge | HK | Elwyn Walters |
| Barry Beath | PR | Grant Hedger |
| Peter Fitzgerald | SR | Arthur Beetson (c) |
| Robert Stone | SR | Ron Coote |
| Lindsay Drake | LK | Kevin Stevens |
| Bruce Starkey | Reserve | Bunny Reilly |
| Robert Finch | Reserve | Des O'Reilly |
| Graeme Langlands | Coach | Jack Gibson |
The star-studded Eastern Suburbs line up had lost only 2 matches in the 22-game regular season and were clear starting favourites. However, St. George looked a chance early on when utility back "Lord Ted" Goodwin put on a chip and chase. Goodwin collided with Eastern Suburbs' fullback Ian Schubert, came off second best and was out of touch for the remainder of the match. Things were also wrong with captain-coach Graeme Langlands who was struggling with his coordination following an ill-directed pain killing injection that numbed his right leg and severely affected his form.
At half-time, Eastern Suburbs were up 5–0. Just after the break the Roosters' prop Ian McKay crashed over from close range and the floodgates opened. Eastern Suburbs unleashed a torrent of tries with Johnny Mayes, Arthur Beetson, John Brass, Bruce Pickett and boom recruit Schubert all scoring.
Despite his numbed leg, Langlands returned in the second half hoping it would come good. It didn't and by game's end, St. George had been completely demoralised by Easts in a 38–0 record Grand Final defeat. Fellow Immortal and peer Australian Captain Arthur Beetson attempted in vain to console the forlorn Langlands at match end.
Another standing record set that day is the most tries in a Grand Final (8), a mark that matched South Sydney's achievement in the 1951 final.
Eastern Suburbs 38 (Tries: Brass 2, Mayes 2, McKay, Beetson, Pickett, Schubert. Goals: Peard 7.)
St George 0
[edit] References
- Rugby League Tables - Season 1975 The World of Rugby League
