1883 Southern Rugby Union Season
| 1883 Sydney Rugby Premiership | |
|---|---|
| Duration | May to August |
| Teams | 18 |
| Premiers |
 |
| Runners-up |
 |
| Wooden Spoon |
 |
The 1883 Southern Rugby Union season was the 10th season of the Sydney Rugby Premiership. Twelve clubs competed from May till August 1883. The season culminated in the Premiership, which was won by Redfern. This was the first premiership in which the winner was awarded the Gardiner Challenge Cup. Redfern were crowned Premiers at a committee meeting of the Union.
Teams
By the beginning of the season, the Southern Rugby Football Union had 37 clubs signed up as part of the Union. Out of these, 24 resided within the Sydney area with 6 representing a school or college. This left 18 clubs based within Sydney independent of any school. These clubs were:
| Arfoma Captain: Unknown |
 Formed c.1873 |
 Formed c.1876 |
| Carlton Captain: Unknown |
Glebe Captain: Unknown |
Newtown Ground: Macdonaldtown Reserve |
| Oaklands Captain: Unknown |
Oriental Captain: Unknown |
Parramatta Formed c.1879 |
| Parramatta Union Formed c.1878 |
Pyrmont Captain: Unknown |
Formed 24 May, 1878 |
| Rugby Captain: Unknown |
 Formed c.1882 |
St. Leonards Formed June 1872 |
 Formed c.1863 |
 Formed c.1870 |
Wellesley Captain: Unknown |
It is not clear whether all clubs were eligible for the Premiership or a select group were. According to the Sydney Club Rugby discussion board on the Green and Gold Rugby website, 12 clubs competed for the Premiership.[2] However, in the Australian Town and Country Journal, they state that these were only the principal clubs. This indicates that more clubs were considered when deciding upon the Premier Club.[3] The Paddington Club was included in the list in the Australian Town and Country Journal, but was not included as a member club of the Union. They may have signed on at a later date.
Season Summary
The 1883 SRFU Sydney Rugby Premiership was the first season to award the Premiers with the Gardiner Challenge Cup. This was a trophy sponsored by Mr W Gardiner for a football competition. Unfortunately, the Union found it difficult to organise such a competition due to the lack of suitable playing fields and the disorganisation of club engagements.[1] One of the biggest problems with matches was the encroachment of spectators onto the playing field. This would result in games being suspended. Police intervention was sought after to ensure games could continue uninterrupted.[4] At the beginning of the season, the Union was able to arrange for a section of the grounds at Moore Park in the control of the Agricultural Society of NSW to be used for football matches.[4]
The rules were changed at the beginning of the season determining who was the victor in a match. Previously, games were decided by the number of goals scored irrespective of tries scored. The new system involved awarding points to tries and goals with the winner of the match being the team with the greatest number of points.[5] As a result of this change, it was noticed that game tactics had changed with players working towards tries rather than goals. Some lamented this and suggested that the system be improved to encourage more kicking.[3]
The organisation for the Gardiner Challenge Cup was still unsettled by 14th June. At a meeting of the Southern Rugby Football Union, a suggestion was made to award the Cup to the Premiers of the season, as decided by the committee of the Union.[6]
Premiers for 1883 were the Redfern Football Club. The first fifteen were undefeated for the season with only 11 points scored against them. Matches included games played against Junior teams. Their second game against Sydney University resulted in their opponents unable to form a team to play against them. President of the club was the Hon. Edmund Barton.[7]
At the time, the Premiership was decided by a committee of the Union. It was not clear how the Union decided upon the Premier club.[8] When the season had concluded, it was suggested that the relative positions of the clubs should not be left up to the allotment of the Union. It was suggested that a set of rules be arranged at the beginning of the season to determine the champion and what was needed to obtain the premiership.[9]
Ladder
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |
13 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 158 | 11 | +147 |
| 2 | |
17 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 188 | 40 | +148 |
| 3 | |
19 | 8 | 2 | 9 | 136 | 125 | +11 |
| 4 | Newtown | 14 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 189 | 72 | +117 |
| 5 | |
12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 87 | 52 | +35 |
| 6 | Oriental | 12 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 101 | 35 | +66 |
| 7 | Glebe | 13 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 117 | 39 | +78 |
| 8 | St. Leonards | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 40 | 40 | +0 |
| 9 | Parramatta | 9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 94 | 39 | +55 |
| 10 | Arfoma | 13 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 69 | 75 | -6 |
| 11 | Paddington | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 28 | 21 | +7 |
- The ladder shown above only includes the principal clubs competing during the season. Other clubs that may have competed and were eligible for the Premiership are not shown.[3]
References
- 1 2 "FOOTBALL". Sydney Daily Telegraph (NSW : 1879 -1883). 1883-04-30. p. 3. Retrieved 2018-07-15.
- ↑ "Sydney Club Rugby History". Green and Gold Rugby. Retrieved 2018-07-29.
- 1 2 3 "Football-The Past Season,". Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1907). 1883-09-22. p. 36. Retrieved 2018-07-15.
- 1 2 "Southern Rugby Football Union". Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912). 1883-05-05. p. 844. Retrieved 2018-07-15.
- ↑ "FOOTBALL". Sydney Daily Telegraph (NSW : 1879 -1883). 1883-05-17. p. 3. Retrieved 2018-07-15.
- ↑ "FOOTBALL". Sydney Daily Telegraph (NSW : 1879 -1883). 1883-06-16. p. 3. Retrieved 2018-07-26.
- ↑ "Redfern Football Club". Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912). 1883-10-20. p. 749. Retrieved 2018-07-15.
- ↑ "FOOTBALL". Sydney Daily Telegraph (NSW : 1879 -1883). 1883-06-16. p. 3. Retrieved 2018-07-15.
- ↑ "SPORTING IN℡LIGENCE". Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954). 1883-10-11. p. 8. Retrieved 2018-07-15.