New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1970

Infobox rugby league season
year = 1970
competition = New South Wales Rugby Football League


imagesize = 125px
caption =
teams = 12
premiers =
count = 19th
minor premiers =
mpcount = 16th
matches = 136
points = 4407
attendance = 1630630
top points scorer = (241)
top try scorer = (16)
1970's New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the sixty-third season of professional rugby league football in Australia. Twelve Sydney teams, including six foundation teams and another six teams admitted post 1908, competed for the J J Giltinan Shield and WD & HO Wills Cup during the season which culminated in a grand final between Manly and South Sydney.

eason summary

Head-high tackles were outlawed at the commencement of the 1970 season. Each side met all others twice in twenty-two regular season rounds before the top four finishers fought out four finals.

The 1970 season's Rothmans Medallist was Eastern Suburbs' halfback Kevin Junee. "Rugby League Week" awarded their player of the year award to Cronulla-Sutherland's halfback Tommy Bishop.

Teams

Grand Final

Having lost the previous Grand Final to the Balmain Tigers, Souths were desperate to win this year. Approximately ten minutes into the game Souths captain John Sattler collapsed, having been punched in an off-the-ball incident by Manly forward John Bucknall. He suffered a double fracture to his jaw but pleaded to team mate Mike Cleary, "Hold me up so they don't know I'm hurt". He was helped up and continued to play in the game. At half-time Souths were leading 12-6 when his fellow team mates learnt about his injury.

During the interval Sattler refused treatment and insisted he continue playing. He also told the side, "the next bloke who tries to cut me out of the play is in trouble", to prevent his team mates trying to protect him from further injury. The Souths forward pack returned to the fray and completely dominated the play with their backline hardly called upon. Bucknall had been replaced by Alan Thompson in the 35th minute after sustained punitive attention from the Rabbitohs pack saw him suffer a shoulder injury in a heavy tackle.

Souths' halfback Bob Grant opened the scoring in the fourth minute crossing untouched while his opposite number Eddie Whiley was off the field having an injury treated. Rabbitohs winger Ray Branighan also crossed untouched six minutes from full-time. By game's end South Sydney had scored 3 tries to nil in a 23-12 victory. Sattler later went to hospital to receive treatment but only after receiving the J. J. Giltinan Shield and making an acceptance speech.

Eric Simms' record of four field-goals that day stands as the most ever kicked in a Grand Final.

South Sydney 23 (Tries: Grant 2, R Branighan. Goals: Simms 3. Fld Goals: Simms 4)

defeated

Manly 12 (Goals: Batty 4. Fld Goals: Fulton 2)

References

* [http://www.stats.rleague.com/rl/seas/1970.html Rugby League Tables - Season 1970] "The World of Rugby League"
* [http://www.eraofthebiff.com/mm09.html 1970 Grand Final at eraofthebiff.com]
* [http://www.rabbitohs.com.au/The-Club/Tradition/Results---1961-1970.html Results:1961-70 at rabbitohs.com.au]
* [http://www.rleague.com//db/year/1970/j_j_giltinan_shield_and_wd_ho_wills_cup/index.php 1970 J J Giltinan Shield and WD & HO Wills Cup at rleague.com]
* [http://rugbyleagueproject.com/competitions/NSWRL_1970.html NSWRFL season 1970 at rugbyleagueproject.com]