New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1926

Infobox rugby league season
year = 1926
competition = New South Wales Rugby Football League


imagesize = 125px
caption =
teams = 9
premiers =
count = 6th
minor premiers =
mpcount = 6th
matches = 75
points = 2009
attendance =
top points scorer = (104)
top try scorer = (14)The 1926 New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the nineteenth season of the rugby league competition based in Sydney. Nine teams from across Sydney contested during the season.

eason summary

Rugby league had been going through a period of declining popularity. Falling crowd numbers led to the New South Wales Rugby League making a substantial loss in 1925, forcing changes to be made.

The 1926 season saw the introduction of the finals series to determine the Premiership between the leading four teams. The "first past the post" method had resulted in an number of seasons where the premiership was decided before the end of scheduled matches, killing interest in the final rounds.

The rules concerning the play-the-ball were changed so that only two players could play at the ball, with one player from each side being allowed to stand immediately behind, and all other players having to stay behind that second man until the ball was heeled. Previously any number of players could play at the ball, and by 1925 play-the-balls had become a real mess.

The rules were changed so that when a ball was forced in goal by the defending side play restarted with a line drop-out rather than a scrum.

These changes combined with the use of multiple reserve balls made league a faster and much more attractive game to watch, and the fans returned.

Teams

* 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
* St. George, formed on November 8 1920 at Kogarah School of Arts
* Western Suburbs, formed on February 4 1908
* University, formed in 1919 at Sydney University

The 1926 season was the most successful of the eighteen seasons between the wars in which University competed in the top Sydney grade. This may have had to do with their new coach Bill Kelly or their trainer the former Kangaroo Sid Pearce. Or perhaps they benefitted from that season's play-the-ball rule change which initially resulted in a cleaner and faster game that suited the lighter and quicker Students. Whatever the reason they won their first seven games.

However their loss of centre Frank O'Rourke to a broken hand, saw them slip in the final rounds to finish fourth. The play-off system and South Sydney's "right-of-challenge" as minor-premiers required University to beat the powerful Glebe side and then South Sydney twice to take the title.

In the semi-final against Glebe, University regained their early season form and trounced Glebe by 29-3.

O'Rourke returned for the Final and lined up with state representatives Harry "Butt" Finn, Jim McIntyre and A.S."Georgie" Lane in front of 20,000 at the Royal Agricultural Society Grounds.

In the opening twenty minutes University had three opportunities to score but poor finishing let them down. After withstanding the Students' attack Souths responded with eleven points of their own by the half-time break. Early in the second half University's centre McCormack hit back with an intercept try to pull the deficit back to 11-5 however the Rabbitohs defence held for the remainder of the game and they claimed the premiership.

Refereee Webby Neill himself a former premiership winning Rabbitoh, sent off South's Edward Root during the match.

South Sydney 11 (Tries: Brogan, Finch, Watson. Goal: Blair)

University 5 (Tries: Paddy McCormack. Goal: Jim McIntyre)

References

* [http://www.stats.rleague.com/rl/snotes.html Rugby League Tables - Notes] "The World of Rugby League"
* [http://www.stats.rleague.com/rl/seas/1926.html Rugby League Tables - Season 1926] "The World of Rugby League"
* [http://www.rl1908.com/premiership.htm Premiership History and Statistics] "RL1908"
* [http://www.northsydneybears.com.au/history/Introduction.htm History - Introduction] "North Sydney Bears"
* [http://www.rl1908.com/Clubs/Sydney-University-Rugby-League.htm History of the University Club] "Sean Fagan's RL1908"
* [http://www.rabbitohs.com.au/The-Club/Tradition/Results---1921-1930.html Results: 1921-30 at rabbitohs.com.au]