The 1912

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 fifth 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

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 during the season for the premiership and the Royal Agricultural Society Challenge Shield.

Season summary

From 1912 to 1925, the team finishing on top of the ladder after the home-and-away rounds was automatically deemed premiers unless two clubs were on equal points at this point in which case a final was held. This move by the

New South Wales Rugby 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 ...

may well have been in response 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 ...

’ victory in the season before, where they overcame minor premiers

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 ...

in two successive finals to claim the premiership. With four rounds remaining in the 1912 season, Eastern Suburbs and Glebe were clearly ahead of the rest of the teams and it looked unlikely that they would be caught. The two clubs were matched up against each other in Round 11 at the Sydney Sports Ground in what would ultimately decide the fate of the premiership, with Glebe just two points behind Eastern Suburbs on the ladder. In front of 25,000 people, the two clubs played out a closely fought match in muddy conditions.

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 ...

was able to break a 4–4 deadlock late in the match by kicking a

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...

after a scrum win close to the sideline and win the game 6–4 for Eastern Suburbs. With a four-point premiership lead and only three rounds to play, Eastern Suburbs, who had only lost one game before in the season to eventual third-placed Newtown, looked uncatchable. That turned out to be the case, with Eastern Suburbs winning their remaining three games to take away the premiership. Also this season

Pratten Park Pratten Park is a sporting complex in the Sydney suburb of Ashfield. It was officially opened on 12 September 1912 by the Governor of New South Wales, Frederic Thesiger. Pratten Park was named after Herbert Pratten, an alderman and then mayor ...

became the Western Suburbs club’s homeground.

Teams

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 ...

, 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 ...

, 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

Premiers

Eastern Suburbs won the premiership when they beat Norths at

North Sydney Oval North Sydney Oval is a multi-use sporting facility in North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, owned and operated by North Sydney Council. First used as a cricket ground in 1867, it is also used for Australian rules football, rugby league, rug ...

15-10 on 17 August. The premiership squad was:

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