New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1951

Infobox rugby league season
year = 1951
competition = New South Wales Rugby Football League


imagesize = 125px
caption =
teams = 10
premiers =
count = 13th
minor premiers =
mpcount = 12th
matches = 94
points = 3400
attendance =
top points scorer = (220)
top try scorer = (28)
1951's New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the forty-fourth season of the rugby league competition based in Sydney. Ten teams from across the city competed for the newly-created J. J. Giltinan Shield during the season which culminated in a grand final between South Sydney and Manly-Warringah.

eason summary

South Sydney ascended to the minor premiership with relative ease in 1951, losing only one match during the season to finish the regular season ahead by a record 11-point margin.

Grand Final

The smallest crowd for a final since 1944 was on hand at the Sports Ground to witness a one-sided game which Souths won 42-14. A highlight of the record win was Test winger John Graves' four tries in the match - the only time this has been achieved in grand final history.

Manly were without former Test star and coach Wally O'Connell and were captained by hooker Kevin Schubert. Gordon Willoughby played out the match with his leg heavily strapped rather than leave his side further depleted but Manly's hopes of upsetting the defending premiers were shattered in a spectacular display of attacking football by Souths.

Souths led 15-4 at the break and piled on 27 points in the second-half. Tries to Clive Churchill, Ray Mason, Jack Rayner and Chick Cowie added to Graves' record haul. The Rabbitohs pack dominated Manly's fowards with Ernie Hammerton giving his team a feast of possession. Bernie Purcell landed seven goals from nine attempts and was also dynamic in attack.

Other standing records set that day include the most points ever scored in a grand final (66 total); the most tries scored by one team in a grand final (8), a mark later matched by Eastern Suburbs in 1975 Grand Final and the most goals scored in grand final (9).

South Sydney Rabbitohs 42 (Tries: Graves 4, Churchill, Mason, Rayner, Cowie. Goals: Purcell 7, Hammerton , Donoghue.)

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 14 (Tries: Lumsden 2. Goals: Rowles 4.)

References

* [http://www.stats.rleague.com/rl/seas/1951.html Rugby League Tables - Season 1951] "The World of Rugby League"
* [http://www2.hunterlink.net.au/~maajjs/aus/nsw/syd/res/syd1951a.htm#r1 List of Season Results] "Hunterlink List"
* Whiticker, Alan (1992)," Grand Finals of the New South Wales Rugby League", Gary Allen, Sydney
* [http://www.rabbitohs.com.au/The-Club/Tradition/Results---1951-1960.html Results:1951-1960 at rabbitohs.com.au]
* [http://www.rleague.com//db/year/1951/j_j_giltinan_shield/index.php 1951 J J Giltinan Shield at rleague.com]
* [http://rugbyleagueproject.com/competitions/NSWRL_1951.html MSWRFL season 1951 at rugbyleagueproject.com]