The 1933 NSWRFL season was the twenty-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 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 ...

club competition, Australia’s first. Eight teams from across the city contested the

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 ...

during the season, which lasted from April until September, and culminated in Newtown’s victory over St. George in the final.

Season summary

When the

Kangaroos Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

sailed for England in July, the NSWRFL premiership, with a mere five rounds completed, was turned on its head. After losing the opening four matches of the season, last-placed Newtown won eleven of their next twelve matches to take the premiership, whilst Wests, who had won four and drawn one of six games, lost several key players and did not win another match. The Magpies lost virtually their entire backline of

McMillan MacMillan, Macmillan, McMillen or McMillan may refer to: People * McMillan (surname) * Clan MacMillan, a Highland Scottish clan * Harold Macmillan, British statesman and politician * James MacMillan, Scottish composer * William Duncan MacMill ...

Pearce Pearce may refer to: Places *Pearce, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb *Division of Pearce, an electoral division in Western Australia *Pearce, Arizona, United States, an unincorporated community *RAAF Base Pearce, the main Royal Australian Ai ...

, Ridley,

Mead Mead () is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey mixed with water, and sometimes with added ingredients such as fruits, spices, grains, or hops. The alcoholic content ranges from about 3.5% ABV to more than 20%. The defining character ...

and the up-and-coming

Vic Hey Victor John Hey (18 November 1912 in Liverpool, New South Wales – 11 April 1995), also known by the nickname of "The Human Bullet", was an Australian rugby league national and state representative and later a successful first-grade and natio ...

, and also suffered from their refusal to reappoint coach Jim Craig.Lester, Gary; ''Clouds of Dust, Buckets of Blood: the Story of the Western Suburbs Rugby League Magpies''; p. 94.

Teams

* Balmain, formed on January 23, 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 January 24, 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 ...

* Newtown, formed on January 14, 1908 * North Sydney, formed on February 7, 1908 * South Sydney, formed on January 17, 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 ...

St. George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

, formed on November 8, 1920, at Kogarah School of Arts * Western Suburbs, formed on February 4, 1908 *

University A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

, formed in 1919 at

Sydney University The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's six ...

Ladder

Finals

In the two semi finals, the top two ranked teams Newtown and

beat their lower-ranked opponents

and South Sydney. In their semi-final Newtown were reduced to twelve men after former representative fullback

Alan Righton Alexander Alan Righton (1905–1982) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s and 1930s. Background Righton was born in Redfern, New South Wales on 18 February 1905. Playing career Righton went on to become one of So ...

broke his leg. The two winners then advanced to the final.

Premiership final

The

Sydney Sports Ground The Sydney Sports Ground No. 1 was a Stadium and Dirt track racing venue in Sydney, New South Wales. The ground was located where the car park of the Sydney Football Stadium (SFS) currently sits. The ground had two main grandstands and was surro ...

attracted a large crowd of 18,080 on 9 September to see Newtown take on St George. Both teams were coached by former internationals. St George captain-coach was former Kangaroo and premiership winner with South Sydney Harry 'Mick' Kadwell. Newtown were coached by former dual-international Charles “Boxer” Russell. The match, refereed by William Fry, was level 5–all at halftime, before the Bluebags finished the stronger to take the premiership. Newtown 18 (Tries: Alf Griffiths 2, Joe Gartner, George Braybrook. Goals: Frank Gilmore 3) beat St George 5 (Tries: Percy Fairall. Goal: Mick Kadwell )

References

External links

Rugby League Tables - Notes
''AFL Tables''

''AFL Tables''

''RL1908'' *

at ''rabbitohs.com.au'' {{National Rugby League seasons New South Wales Rugby League premiership Nswrfl Season