1919 NSWRFL season

1919 NSWRFL season
Teams	8
Premiers	Balmain (4th title)
Minor premiers	Balmain (4th title)
Matches played	56
Points scored	1474 (total) 26.321 (per match)
Top point scorer(s)	A McPherson (89)
Top try scorer(s)	Gordon Wright (17)

The 1919 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was twelfth season of Sydney's professional rugby league football club competition, Australia's first. Eight teams from across the city contested during the season, with Balmain finishing on top of the ladder to claim the premiership.^[1]

Season summary

Both Balmain and Eastern Suburbs dominated the 14-round season, dropping just two and three games respectively. They were undefeated after eight rounds but a mid-year Australian tour to New Zealand saw Balmain miss their representative stars and their lead was lost to Eastern Suburbs late in the season.

With three rounds to go, Balmain led Eastern Suburbs by one point on the ladder but relinquished this lead by losing their round 12 match against Glebe as Eastern Suburbs beat winless Annandale 28–0. This meant Eastern Suburbs now led by one point with two rounds to play. However, they lost the very next round 15–12 to South Sydney, who had won just four of their twelve previous matches. Meanwhile, Balmain managed to beat Newtown 18–5, giving them the one point advantage heading into the final round.

The final match of the season turned out to be the decider for the premiership, with the top two teams playing one another at the Royal Agricultural Society Ground. The winner of the match would take out the premiership, whilst a draw would give Balmain the title. At the end of the day, it was the goal kicking of Balmain's Les Wall that secured the premiership, with a 13–4 win over Eastern Suburbs. Five of Wall's attempts hit the post that day, but four crossed the bar and won Balmain the title.^[2] Members of the Balmain premiership winning side included Bob Craig and Bill Kelly.

The City Cup was won by Wests for the second consecutive season.

Teams

The teams remained unchanged from the 1918 season

• Annandale
• Balmain, formed on January 23, 1908 at Balmain Town Hall
• Eastern Suburbs, formed on January 24, 1908 at Paddington Town Hall
• Glebe, formed on January 9, 1908
• Newtown, formed on January 14, 1908
• North Sydney, formed on February 7, 1908
• South Sydney, formed on January 17, 1908 at Redfern Town Hall
• Western Suburbs, formed on February 4, 1908

Annandale	Balmain	Eastern Suburbs	Glebe
Newtown	North Sydney	South Sydney	Western Suburbs

Ladder

The geographical locations of the teams that contested the 1919 premiership across Sydney.

	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	Balmain	14	11	1	2	277	121	+168	23
2	Eastern Suburbs	14	9	2	3	229	108	+121	20
3	Western Suburbs	14	9	0	5	239	130	+109	18
4	Glebe	14	9	0	5	209	134	+75	18
5	Newtown	14	6	2	6	123	186	-63	14
6	South Sydney	14	6	1	7	208	223	-15	13
7	Annandale	14	1	1	12	86	270	-184	3
8	North Sydney	14	1	1	12	103	314	-211	3

References

1. ^ Premiership Roll of Honour at rl1908.com
2. ^ Pollard, Jack (1965). Gregory's Guide to Rugby League. Australia: Grenville Publishing. p82. 

• Rugby League Tables - Notes The World of Rugby League
• Rugby League Tables - Season 1919 The World of Rugby League
• Premiership History and Statistics RL1908
• Results: 1911-20 at rabbitohs.com.au