1937 NSWRFL season

The 1937 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the 30th season of the Sydney, New South Wales-based top-grade rugby league club competition, Australia's first. Nine teams from across the city contested the premiership during the season, which lasted from April until June, with Eastern Suburbs being crowned champions.[1]

1937 New South Wales Rugby Football League
Teams9
Premiers Eastern Suburbs (7th title)
Minor premiers Eastern Suburbs (8th title)
Matches played36
Points scored1088
Top points scorer(s) Jack Beaton (56)
Top try-scorer(s) Fred Tottey (10)

Season summary

The 1937 season only lasted eight rounds due to the Kangaroo tour, and used a “first past the post” system to determine the premiers. There were no Finals. The second half of what would normally have been the NSWRFL season was taken up with a City Cup competition.

Eastern Suburbs won their seventh Premiership going through the season undefeated – a feat achieved by teams in only five other seasons before or since. Having won only two matches in four seasons and only fifteen (plus two draws) in the nine seasons since 1929, the University club withdrew voluntarily from the premiership at the end of the season.

Teams

1937 proved University’s final NSWRFL season.[2] After being allowed one more season to prove themselves, the Students did not win a match in any grade, scoring only 41 points in first grade, 39 in reserves, and 21 in third grade – in which University veterans were allowed to play the second half of the last match as a farewell.[3]

  • Balmain, formed on January 23, 1908, at Balmain Town Hall
  • Canterbury-Bankstown
  • Eastern Suburbs, formed on January 24, 1908, at Paddington Town Hall
  • 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
  • University, formed in 1919 at Sydney University
  • Western Suburbs, formed on February 4, 1908
Balmain
30th season
Ground: Leichhardt Oval
Coach: Harold Matthews
Captain(s): Jim Duckworth, Jack Redman
Canterbury-Bankstown
3rd season
Ground: Belmore Oval
Coach: George Mason
Captain: Alan Brady		 Eastern Suburbs
30th season
Ground: Sydney Cricket Ground
Coach: Arthur Halloway
Captain: Viv Thicknesse
Newtown
30th season
Ground:Henson Park
Coach: Bill Kelly
Captain: Herb Narvo
North Sydney
30th season
Ground: North Sydney Oval
Captain-Coach: Laurie Ward 		South Sydney
30th season
Ground: Sydney Sports Ground
Coach: Charlie Lynch
Captain: Eric Lewis
St. George
17th season
Ground: Earl Park
Coach: Peter Burge / Norm Pope
Captain: Norm Pope & Percy Fairall
University
18th season
Coach: Bob "Botsy" Williams
Captain: Tom Carey		 Western Suburbs
30th season
Ground: Pratten Park
Coach: Jerry Brien
Captain: Cliff Pearce

Ladder
The geographical locations of the teams that contested the 1937 premiership across Sydney.
Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1 Eastern Suburbs 8620118756+13116
2 South Sydney 8512126458+10613
3 St. George 8512115192+5913
4 Newtown 84041144126+1810
5 Canterbury-Bankstown 840419891+710
6 Balmain 84041115136-2110
7 North Sydney 830518494-108
8 Western Suburbs 83051104126-228
9 Sydney University 8008144309-2652

References
  1. Premiership Roll of Honour Archived 2007-04-28 at the Wayback Machine at rl1908.com
  2. "History of the Premiership". centenaryofrugbyleague.com.au. Australian Rugby League. Archived from the original on 9 February 2008. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  3. Lester, Gary; From Berries to Bulldogs: Fifty Years of Canterbury-Bankstown RLFC, p. 25 ISBN 0949853062
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