New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1952

Infobox rugby league season
year = 1952
competition = New South Wales Rugby Football League


imagesize = 125px
caption =
teams = 10
premiers =
count = 4th
minor premiers =
mpcount = 3rd
matches = 95
points = 3217
attendance =
top points scorer = (178)
top try scorer = (20)
1952's New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the forty-fifth season of the rugby league competition based in Sydney. Ten teams from across Sydney contested for the J. J. Giltinan Shield during the season which culminated in a final between Western Suburbs and South Sydney.

Teams

Grand Final

The rl1908 reference [ [http://rl1908.com/Legends/rayner.htm rl1908.com Rayner Interview] ] transcribes Sean Fagan's 2002 interview with Souths captain-coach Jack Rayner fuelling the suggestion that dubious refereeing decisions cost the Rabbitohs the 1952 title and prevented Souths from stringing together all six premierships of 1950 to 1955. However it can't be argued that the Western Suburbs club were themselves a force of the 50s and their 1952 achievement was undeniably remarkable as they played the whole second half of the season and the finals without their stars Frank Stanmore, Keith Holman and Arthur Collinson who had all left with the touring Kangaroos to England and France.

Wests finished as minor premiers due in great part to their undefeated nine-game streak in the first full round of the 1952 season. In the Final they met Souths who were seeking their third premiership in a row.

The controversy centered on a disallowed Rabbitohs try early in the game. Souths' Frank Threlfo made a break and slipped the ball to Ken Macreadie who was in under the posts. Referee George Bishop ruled the pass forward and disallowed the try. In the interview Rayner also comments on the lopsided penalty count. [ [http://rl1908.com/Legends/rayner.htm rl1908.com Rayner Interview] ]

However the record-books show that Wests scored six tries to two, winning the match 22-12 and club's fourth premiership. Wests' Farrell and Souths' Bryan Orrock were sent-off for fighting. Wests' coach Tom McMahon became the first coach to win a premiership in his debut coaching season.

Ironically, ten years later Wests would again threaten to break a string of premiership wins - the 1962 and 1963 Magpie sides both came close to ceasing St. George's long run - but again a referreeing controversy would affect the outcome. The 1963 Grand Final has been said to have been decided by questionable calls from referee Darcy Lawler and on that occasion Wests would be on the wrong end of those rulings.

Western Suburbs 22 (Tries: Schofield 2, Fitzgerald, Dines, Bain, McLean. Goals: Bain 2.)

South Sydney 12 (Tries: Smailes, Macreadie. Goals: Graves 3.)

Footnotes

References

* [http://www.stats.rleague.com/rl/seas/1952.html Rugby League Tables - Season 1952] "The World of Rugby League"
* [http://www2.hunterlink.net.au/~maajjs/aus/nsw/syd/res/syd1952a.htm#r1 List of Results 1952] "Hunterlink Listing"'
* [http://rl1908.com/Legends/rayner.htm rl1908.com] Sean Fagan's RL History Site
* [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/1952/j_j_giltinan_shield/index.php 1952 J J Giltinan Shield at rleague.com]
* [http://rugbyleagueproject.com/competitions/NSWRL_1952.html NSWRFL season 1952 at rugbyleagueproject.com]