The 1951
New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the forty-fourth 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 Mounta ...
’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 ...
competition, Australia’s first. Ten teams from across the city competed for the newly created
J. J. Giltinan Shield
The J.J. Giltinan Shield is an Australian rugby league trophy, awarded annually to the National Rugby League minor premiers. It was named after James J. Giltinan who was central to the founding of rugby league in Australia. Giltinan died in 195 ...
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. S ...
between South Sydney and Manly-Warringah.
Season summary
South Sydney ascended to the
minor premiership with relative ease in 1951, losing only one match during the season to finish the regular season ahead by a record eleven-point margin.
Teams
Ladder
Finals
Odds-on favourites to retain the premiership, Souths reserved their worst performance of the year for the semifinal against St. George being trounced 35–8. This loss meant that a grand final would be necessary to determine the season's premiers. The next week, the Dragons were beaten by a gutsy Manly side in a preliminary final, 18–8. The infant Manly club thus qualified for its first grand final only five seasons after having entered the League in 1947.
Grand Final
Manly were without former Test star and captain-coach Wally O'Connell who had a fractured bone in his wrist. The Sea Eagles were instead captained by hooker Kevin Schubert. Gordon Willoughby played out the match with his leg heavily strapped rather than leave his side further depleted but Manly’s hopes of upsetting the defending premiers were shattered in a spectacular display of attacking rugby league by Souths.
The smallest crowd for a final since 1944 was on hand at the Sports Ground to witness a one-sided game which Souths won 42–14. A highlight of the record win was Test winger John Graves’ four tries in the match – the only time this has been achieved in grand final history. Souths 42 points remains the highest score made in a Grand Final.
Souths scored first through Bernie Purcell and led 15–4 at the break. They then piled on twenty-seven points in the second-half. Tries to
Clive Churchill
Clive Bernard Churchill AM (21 January 1927 – 9 August 1985) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer and coach in the mid-20th century. An Australian international and New South Wales and Queensland interstate representative ...
, Ray Mason, Jack Rayner and Chick Cowie added to Graves' record haul. The Rabbitohs pack, led by front rower
Denis Donoghue, dominated Manly’s forwards with Ernie Hammerton giving his team a feast of possession. Bernie Purcell landed seven goals from nine attempts and was also dynamic in attack, being chosen by ''
The Sunday Herald
The ''Sunday Herald'' was a Scottish Sunday newspaper, published between 7 February 1999 and 2 September 2018. Originally a broadsheet, it was published in compact format from 20 November 2005. The paper was known for having combined a centre ...
'' judge,
Frank McMillan
Frank or Franks may refer to:
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* Frank (given name)
* Frank (surname)
* Franks (surname)
* Franks, a medieval Germanic people
* Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang
Cur ...
as the man-of-the-match, for which he received a £10 reward.
Other records set that day include the most combined points scored in a grand final (56 total); the most tries scored by one team in a grand final (8), (a mark later matched by
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 ...
in
1975 Grand Final, and
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
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 ...
in the
2008 NRL Grand Final
The 2008 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2008 NRL season. It was played between the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and the Melbourne Storm on Sunday, 5 October at ANZ Stadium in Sydney.
The 2008 Grand Final ...
), the most goals scored in grand final by the winning team (9) and the most total combined goals scored in a Grand Final (13).
South Sydney Rabbitohs 42
Tries: Graves (4), Churchill, Mason, Rayner, Cowie
Goals: Purcell (7), Hammerton, Donoghue.
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 14
Tries: Lumsden (2)
Goals: Rowles (4)
Image:Jack Rayner.jpg, Jack Rayner
Rupert John Raynor (11 April 1921 – 17 May 2008) was an Australian state and national representative rugby league player and NSWRFL coach. His club playing career was with the South Sydney Rabbitohs from 1946 to 1957 and he also represented ...
Player statistics
The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 18.
Top 5 point scorers
Top 5 try scorers
Top 5 goal scorers
References
External links
Rugby League Tables - Season 1951''AFL Tables''
''Hunterlink List''
* Whiticker, Alan (1992),'' Grand Finals of the New South Wales Rugby League'', Gary Allen, Sydney
1951 J J Giltinan Shield at rleague.comDoran&searchLimits='1951 coaches''
{{National Rugby League seasons
New South Wales Rugby League premiership
NSWRFL Season