The 1974

New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership The New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the first rugby league football club competition established in Australia and contributor to today's National Rugby League. Run by the New South Wales Rugby League (initially named the New Sout ...

was the 67th season of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

's professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

football competition, Australia's first. Twelve teams, including six of 1908's foundation clubs and another six from across Sydney, competed for the J. J. Giltinan Shield during the season, which culminated in a

grand final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...

match for the WD & HO Wills Cup between the Eastern Suburbs and Canterbury-Bankstown clubs. This season NSWRFL teams also competed for the inaugural Amco Cup.

Season summary

The preseason saw Eastern Suburbs defeat South Sydney 43-0 in the final of the preseason competition at the Sydney Sports Ground, while Parramatta beat Cronulla 20-8 in the playoff for third at Belmore Oval. This season the NSWRFL made the financial commitment to bring suburban football grounds up to a higher standard in order to take more games to the fans on a home-and-away basis. Twenty-two regular season rounds were played from March until August, resulting in a top five of Eastern Suburbs, Manly-Warringah, Canterbury-Bankstown, Western Suburbs and Souths who battled it out in the finals. This season would mark the first time since 1950 where St. George failed to make the finals and the first time since 1911 that Balmain would finish last and take out the wooden spoon. The 1974

Rothmans Medal The Rothmans Medal was the premier individual award in the New South Wales Rugby League and Brisbane Rugby League competitions, and later in the Australian Rugby League, which was given to the player voted by referees as the best and fairest ...

was awarded to

Manly-Warringah The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rugb ...

's fullback

Graham Eadie Graham "Wombat" Eadie (born 25 November 1953), is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He has been named amongst Australia's finest of the 20th century. A New South Wales State of Origin and Australian ...

. ''

Rugby League Week ''Rugby League Week'' (frequently abbreviated to RLW) was the highest selling Australian rugby league magazine, ahead of major competitor ''Big League''. It was published weekly (on Wednesdays) during the Australian rugby league season, which ru ...

'' awarded their player of the year award to

Eastern Suburbs Eastern Suburbs may refer to: Places *Eastern Suburbs (Mumbai), India *Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Australia **Eastern Suburbs railway line, Sydney, Australia Sports clubs ;Association football *Eastern Suburbs AFC, Auckland, New Zealand * Eastern ...

' forward

Arthur Beetson Arthur Henry "Artie" Beetson OAM (21 January 1945 – 1 December 2011

Teams

Ladder

Finals

Chart

Grand Final

“Master coach” Jack Gibson’s first title – and the Roosters’ first for twenty-nine years – was won by one of the most talented club teams in the Australian game’s history. In

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

convert Russell Fairfax and giant threequarters Mark Harris and Bill Mullins, Easts had three attacking players who dominated Canterbury with their brilliance. Eastern Suburbs 19 (Tries: Beetson, Harris, Mullins. Goals: Peard 3, Brass 2.) defeated Canterbury-Bankstown 4 (Goals: Cutler 2.)

Player statistics

The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 22. Top 5 point scorers Top 5 try scorers Top 5 goal scorers

References

External links

Rugby League Tables – Season 19741974 J J Giltinan Shield and WD & HO Wills Cup at rleague.com
*‘Souths lose centre, five-eighth’; ''Sun-Herald'', 1 September 1974, p. 48 {{National Rugby League seasons NSWRFL season New South Wales Rugby League premiership