The 1913
New South Wales Rugby Football League
The New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was ...
premiership was the sixth 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 top-level
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 ...
club competition,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
's first. Eight teams from across the city contested during the season.
Season summary
By the start of the 1913 season, the
NSWRFL had secured the use of the
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and as ...
for its games.
As occurred in the
1912 season, the minor premiers were deemed the overall premiers.
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 ...
, who finished top of the table for the second time in as many years, claimed their third straight premiership as a result. The team's success could be attributed to the talent in the team at the time, with ten players having played for
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and another three for
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
. Of the team's two losses, one came at the hands of runners-up
Newtown midway through the season and the other in the final round to
Glebe
Glebe (; also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s))McGurk 1970, p. 17 is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved ...
after the title had already been won.
This Eastern Suburbs side is still considered to be one of the greatest club teams ever assembled, with players including
Dally Messenger
Herbert Henry Messenger, nicknamed "Dally" and sometimes "The Master" (12 April 1883 – 24 November 1959) was one of Australasia's first professional rugby footballers, recognised as one of the greatest-ever players in either code. He played f ...
,
Wally Messenger
Walter Messenger (July 1890 – 1961) was the youngest son of Charles A. Messenger and Annie (née Atkinson). He was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1910s and into the 1920s. He was a state and national representative e ...
,
Sandy Pearce
:''Sid Pearce directs here, for his son, the rugby league footballer of the same name, see Joe Pearce''
Sidney Charles Pearce (born 30 May 1883 and died 14 November 1930 Double Bay, New South Wales), better known as Sandy, was a pioneer Austral ...
,
Larry O'Malley
Larry 'Jersey' O'Malley (1883–1967) was a pioneer Australian rugby league player for the Eastern Suburbs club. He was the fifth Australian rugby league captain and the second from the Eastern Suburbs Club.
Before switching codes and joining ...
,
Les Cubitt,
Dan Frawley
Dan Frawley (1882–1967) was a pioneer Australian rugby league footballer, a national representative player. He played his career as a with the Eastern Suburbs club in Sydney and is considered one of the nation's finest footballers of t ...
and
Arthur "Pony" Halloway. This season also saw the retirement from the League of future
Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame
The Australian Rugby LeaguHall of Fame'' honours players who have shown exceptional skill at rugby league, all-time great coaches and referees, and other major contributors to the game who are Australian.
It was officially established in 2002, ...
inductee,
Dally Messenger
Herbert Henry Messenger, nicknamed "Dally" and sometimes "The Master" (12 April 1883 – 24 November 1959) was one of Australasia's first professional rugby footballers, recognised as one of the greatest-ever players in either code. He played f ...
.
Teams
![NSWRL 1910-1919](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/NSWRL_1910-1919.png)
The teams remained unchanged from
the previous season.
*
Annandale
*
Balmain, formed on 23 January 1908 at
Balmain Town Hall Balmain may refer to:
Places
* Balmain, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia
* Electoral district of Balmain, an electoral division in New South Wales, Australia
* Balmain East, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia
* Balmain Hou ...
*
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 ...
, formed on 24 January 1908 at
Paddington Town Hall
The Paddington Town Hall is a heritage-listed former town hall building located at 249 Oxford Street in the inner eastern Sydney suburb of Paddington, in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. Sir Henry Parkes la ...
*
Glebe
Glebe (; also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s))McGurk 1970, p. 17 is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved ...
, formed on 9 January 1908
*
Newtown, formed on 14 January 1908
*
North Sydney, formed on February 7, 1908, at the North Sydney School of Arts in Mount Street
*
South Sydney, formed on 17 January 1908 at
Redfern Town Hall
The Redfern Town Hall is a landmark sandstone civic building located in the heart of , New South Wales, Australia. built in 1870 and designed in the Victorian Regency style by George Allen Mansfield. It was the seat of the Municipality of Redfer ...
*
Western Suburbs, formed on 4 February 1908
Ladder
Records set in 1913
On 19 July, South Sydney's reserve grade team scored 102 points against Mosman, which remains the greatest number of points scored in any grade of NSWRFL/NSWRL/ARL/NRL rugby league. The Rabbitohs scored 49 points in the first half and 59 in the second, conceding only a solitary penalty goal.
['Records Made: St. George and Griffen'; '']Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...
'', 13 May 1935, p. 17
References
External links
Rugby League Tables - Notes''AFL Tables''
''AFL Tables''
''RL1908''
''RL1908''
{{National Rugby League seasons
New South Wales Rugby League premiership
Nswrfl Season