New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1955

Infobox rugby league season
year = 1955
competition = New South Wales Rugby Football League


imagesize = 125px
caption =
teams = 10
premiers =
count = 16th
minor premiers =
mpcount = 6th
matches = 94
points = 3253
attendance =
top points scorer = (185)
top try scorer = (18)
1955's New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the forty-eighth season of the rugby league competition based in Sydney. Ten teams from across the city competed for the J. J. Giltinan Shield during the season, which culminated in a re-play of the previous season's Grand Final between South Sydney and Newtown.

eason summary

Halfway through the 1955 season Souths were in equal last place having won just three of nine matches. From that point they didn't lose another game winning 9 season encounters in a row before the finals. Eventually they finished fourth. Had they lost a single one of these games they would have missed the finals.

In the 2nd last match of the season Souths met Manly and were behind 7-4 with moments to go. Clive Churchill had broken his arm early in the game tackling Manly winger George Hugo but refused to leave the field. Souths lock Les Cowie managed to score a try in the corner and Churchill with a broken arm took a sideline conversion attempt that wobbled over the posts and won Souths the game. Churchill would take no further part in Souths' 1955 finals campaign.

Teams

Grand Final

After their incredible nine game end of season run and having come from behind in both their semi-finals it looked unlikely that South's fairytale would end happily on Grand Final day. They were without stars Clive Churchill and Greg Hawick, Newtown were the minor premiers and had eleven of their 1954 Grand Final side back for the 1955 decider, all experienced and keen to avenge their 1954 loss.

The 1955 Grand Final was very closely fought out. Souths trailed 8-4 at half-time and the Bluebags looked home with a 11-7 lead with ten minutes remaining. In the final moments captain-coach Jack Rayner managed to win a strike in the play-the-ball and toed it through. Newtown lock Peter Ryan fumbled and again Rayner got the boot to it. Souths halfback Col Donohoe won the race and grounded the ball next to the posts, enabling an easy conversion by Bernie Purcell for the Rabbitohs to take a one point lead.

A last gasp long-range penalty goal attempt from Bluebags fullback Gordon Clifford was unsuccessful and Souths won by a single point. Despite being the best performed side for two successive seasons Newtown had nothing in the trophy cabinet to show for it. Souths had timed an extraordinary premiership run to absolute perfection.

Jack Rayner's fifth grand final win that day stands along with Ken Kearney's five wins by 1960 as the most number of grand final successes by an individual as captain. As captain-coach for all of those wins Rayner was thus also the first man to coach a side to five grand final victories, a record subsequently matched by Jack Gibson and beaten in 2006 by Wayne Bennett.

South Sydney 12 ( Tries: Moir, Donohoe. Goals: Purcell 3.)

Newtown 11 ( Tries: Considine. Goals: Clifford 3. Fld Goal: Clifford)

References

* [http://www.stats.rleague.com/rl/seas/1955.html Rugby League Tables - Season 1955] "The World of Rugby League"
* [http://www.rabbitohs.com.au/The-Club/Tradition/Results---1951-1960.html Results: 1951-60 at rabbitohs.com.au]
* [http://www.rleague.com//db/year/1955/j_j_giltinan_shield/index.php 1955 J J Giltinan Shield at rleague.com]
* [http://rugbyleagueproject.com/competitions/NSWRL_1955.html NSWRFL season 1955 at rugbyleagueproject.com]