1921 NSWRFL season

The 1921 New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the fourteenth season of Australia’s first rugby league football club competition which was based in Sydney. Nine teams from across the city contested the season, with North Sydney being crowned premiers by virtue of finishing the season on top of the League.[1] The 1921 season also saw the St George club enter the competition, replacing the Annandale club, who after thirteen seasons, exited the League.

1921 New South Wales Rugby Football League
Teams9
Premiers North Sydney (1st title)
Minor premiers North Sydney (1st title)
Matches played36
Points scored1086
Top points scorer(s) Rex Norman (75)
Top try-scorer(s) Gordon Wright (11)

Season summary

Because the 1921–22 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain departed in mid-July only one series of nine rounds was played, with the second series being devoted to the City Cup. The premiership was decided with no finals on a first-past-the-post basis.

Premiers North Sydney became the second team to go through a season undefeated - seven wins and an 8-8 draw with Easts in round 5. Their brilliant performance earned them their maiden premiership.

University became the third team to have gone through a season winless, as Annandale had done the previous season and in 1918. University’s season yielded eight losses from eight starts, conceding 295 points at an average of 36.88 per match.

The season saw an experiment with referees instead of halfbacks feeding the scrum. Although the experiment was very quickly viewed a dismal failure and abandoned, the amendment was sometimes advocated in later years after scums became largely uncontested.[2]

Teams

With the addition of St George in place of the recently departed Annandale club, the number of teams in the League remained at nine.[3]

  • 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
Balmain
14th season
Ground: Birchgrove Oval
Captain-Coach: Charles Fraser		 Eastern Suburbs
14th season
Ground: Sydney Cricket Ground
Captain-Coach: Sandy Pearce
Captain: Harry Caples		 Glebe
14th season
Ground: Wentworth Park
Captain: Frank Burge
Newtown
14th season
Ground: Marrickville Oval
Captain: Alex Bolewski		 North Sydney
Ground: North Sydney Oval
Coach: Chris McKivat
Captain: Harold Horder/ Duncan Thompson		 St. George

1st season
Ground: Hurstville Oval
Captain & Coach Herb Gilbert

South Sydney
14th season
Ground: Sydney Sports Ground
Coach: Howard Hallett
Captains:Arthur Oxford, Ted McGrath		 University

2nd Season
Coach: Bill Kelly
Captain: Alan McLeod		 Western Suburbs
14th season
Ground: Pratten Park
Captain-Coach: Viv Farnsworth

Ladder
The geographical locations of the teams that contested the 1921 premiership across Sydney.
Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1 North Sydney 8710117282+9017
2 Eastern Suburbs 8611118767+12015
3 Glebe 8602111571+4414
4 Balmain 8503113571+6412
5 South Sydney 84041141104+3710
6 Newtown 8305177117-408
7 St George 8206187124-376
8 Western Suburbs 8206190155-656
9 Sydney University 8008182295-2132

References
  1. Premiership Roll of Honour Archived 2011-05-14 at the Wayback Machine at rl1908.com
  2. Lester, Gary; Clouds of Dust, Buckets of Blood: the Story of the Western Suburbs Rugby League Magpies; p. 56. ISBN 0949853526
  3. "History of the Premiership". centenaryofrugbyleague.com.au. Australian Rugby League. Archived from the original on 9 February 2008. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
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