1945 NSWRFL season

1945 NSWRFL season
Teams	8
Premiers	Eastern Suburbs (9th title)
Minor premiers	Eastern Suburbs (11th title)
Matches played	60
Points scored	1941 (total) 32.35 (per match)
Top point scorer(s)	Dick Dunn (150)
Top try scorer(s)	Chicka Cahill (13) Jack Snare (13)

The 1945 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the thirty-eighth season of Sydney's top-level rugby league club competition, Australia's first. Eight teams from across the city contested during the season which culminated in Eastern Suburbs' victory over Balmain in the grand final.^[1]

Teams

• Balmain, formed on January 23, 1908 at Balmain Town Hall
• Canterbury-Bankstown
• Eastern Suburbs, formed on January 24, 1908 at Paddington Town Hall
• Newtown, formed on January 14, 1908
• North Sydney, formed on February 7, 1908
• South Sydney, formed on January 17, 1908 at Redfern Town Hall
• St. George, formed on November 8, 1920 at Kogarah School of Arts
• Western Suburbs, formed on February 4, 1908

Balmain	Canterbury-Bankstown	Eastern Suburbs	Newtown
North Sydney	South Sydney	St. George	Western Suburbs

Ladder

The geographical locations of the teams that contested the 1945 premiership across Sydney.

	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	Eastern Suburbs	14	11	0	3	276	190	+86	22
2	Newtown	14	10	1	3	326	177	+149	21
3	Western Suburbs	14	8	1	5	238	192	+46	17
4	Balmain	14	6	4	4	252	202	+50	16
5	North Sydney	14	8	0	6	188	175	+13	16
6	Canterbury	14	4	1	9	217	285	-68	9
7	St. George	14	4	1	9	183	253	-70	9
8	South Sydney	14	1	0	13	144	350	-206	2

Finals

Home	Score	Away	Match Information
			Date and Time	Venue	Referee	Crowd
Playoff
Balmain	9 - 5	North Sydney	16 August 1945	Sydney Cricket Ground		17,207
Semi Finals
Eastern Suburbs	28 - 13	Western Suburbs	18 August 1945	Sydney Cricket Ground	Tom McMahon	34,916
Newtown	9 - 13	Balmain	25 August 1945	Sydney Cricket Ground	George Bishop	35,151
Final
Eastern Suburbs	22 - 18	Balmain	1 September 1945[2]	Sydney Cricket Ground	Jack O'Brien	44,585

Premiership Final

Eastern Suburbs	Position	Balmain
Ray Pratt	FB	Dave Parkinson
Lionel Cooper	WG	Robert Nielson
Paul Tierney	CE	Joe Jorgenson
Johnny Hunter	CE	Tom Bourke (c)
Ken Foster	WG	Robert Paterson
Wally O'Connell	FE	Harry Leo
Sel Lisle	HB	Stan Ponchard
Ray Stehr (c)	PR	Jack Spencer
George Watt	HK	Ernie Dawes
Jack Arnold	PR	Hilton Kidd
Bert Rollason	SR	Jim Metcalf
Sid Hobson	SR	Sid Ryan
Dick Dunn	LK	Jack Hampstead
Arthur Halloway	Coach	Norm Robinson

Balmain led by 10-5 at half time and the match was evenly balanced throughout the second half. With three minutes to go Roosters trailed 17-18. The Roosters were awarded a penalty on half way and Dick Dunn convinced his reluctant captain Ray Stehr that he could make the distance. Dunn successfully kicked the goal from the then unorthodox upright position.

Dunn received Joe Jorgenson's kick from the restart and booted the ball into touch five metres from the Balmain line. Roosters' hooker George Watt won the scrum against the feed and Easts' classy halves pairing of Sel Lisle and Wally O'Connell put on a move that saw Dunn score in the corner.

Dunn scored 19 of the Rooster's 22 points that day carrying with him for luck the sock of his 14-month old daughter in his shorts pocket throughout the match.^[3][4]

Eastern Suburbs 22 (Tries: Dunn 3, J Arnold. Goals: Dunn 5)

defeated

Balmain 18 (Tries: Ponchard 2, Dawes, Nielsen. Goals: Jorgenson 3)

References

1. ^ Premiership Roll of Honour at rl1908.com
2. ^ 1945 Grand Final at nrlstats.com
3. ^ SMH claim
4. ^ rl1908.com disputes this claim

• Rugby League Tables - Notes The World of Rugby League
• Rugby League Tables - Season 1945 The World of Rugby League
• Premiership History and Statistics rl1908.com
• Finals lineups and results Hunterlink site
• rl1908.com interview Sean Fagan interviews Dick Dunn
• Sydney Morning Herald 30sept2004 SMH interviews Dick Dunn
• Results: 1941-1950 at rabbitohs.com.au
• 1945 Labor Daily Cup at rleague.com
• NSWRFL season 1945 at rugbyleagueproject.com

Footnotes