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1944 New South Wales Rugby Football League
Teams	8
Premiers	Balmain (8th title)
Minor premiers	Newtown (4th title)
Matches played	60
Points scored	2159
Top points scorer(s)	Tom Kirk (185)
Top try-scorer(s)	Sid Goodwin (22)
← 19431945 →

The 1944 NSWRFL season was the thirty-seventh season of the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership, Sydney's top-level rugby league competition, and Australia's first. Eight teams from across the city contested the premiership during the season which culminated in Balmain's victory over Newtown in the grand final.

Teams

• Balmain, formed on January 23, 1908, at Balmain Town Hall
• Canterbury-Bankstown
• Eastern Suburbs, formed on January 24, 1908, at Paddington Town Hall
• Newtown, formed on January 14, 1908
• North Sydney, formed on February 7, 1908
• South Sydney, formed on January 17, 1908, at Redfern Town Hall
• St. George, formed on November 8, 1920, at Kogarah School of Arts
• Western Suburbs, formed on February 4, 1908

Balmain 37th season Ground: Leichhardt Oval Coach: Norm Robinson Captain: Arthur Patton	Canterbury-Bankstown 10th season Ground: Belmore Sports Ground Coach: Ron Bailey→Cec Fifield Captain: Ron Bailey	Eastern Suburbs 37th season Ground: Sydney Sports Ground Coach: Sid Pearce Captain: Harry Pierce	Newtown 37th season Ground: Henson Park Coach: Arthur Folwell Captain: Frank Farrell
North Sydney 37th season Ground: North Sydney Oval Captain-Coach: Frank Hyde	South Sydney 37th season Ground: Sydney Sports Ground Coach: Alf Blair Captain: Jack Walsh	St. George 24th season Ground: Hurstville Oval Coach: Bill Kelly Captain: Len Kelly	Western Suburbs 37th season Ground: Pratten Park Coach: Henry Bolewski Captain: Paddy Bugden

Ladder

	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	Newtown	14	11	0	3	379	220	+159	22
2	Balmain	14	10	1	3	402	171	+231	21
3	St. George	14	9	0	5	230	238	-8	18
4	South Sydney	14	7	1	6	193	287	-94	15
5	North Sydney	14	5	1	8	204	202	+2	11
6	Western Suburbs	14	4	2	8	180	246	-66	10
7	Eastern Suburbs	14	4	0	10	227	360	-133	8
8	Canterbury	14	3	1	10	206	297	-91	7

Finals

Newtown looked set for back-to-back titles after finishing as minor premiers. Both Newtown and Balmain won their respective semi-finals with the Bluebags blitzing St George by 55 points to 7, which was to remain the Dragons' largest losing margin until 1994 and the largest margin in a finals match until 2019. However injuries and war duties then ravaged the side including the key losses of Len Smith and Herb Narvo who had starred for them all season. Balmain thus overcame Newtown 19–16 in the final, enabling Newtown a “right of challenge”.

Home	Score	Away	Match Information
			Date and Time	Venue	Referee	Crowd
Semifinals
Newtown	55–7	St. George	26 August 1944	Sydney Cricket Ground	Tom McMahon	34,883
Balmain	15–6	South Sydney	2 September 1944	Sydney Cricket Ground	Jack O'Brien	28,237
Final
Newtown	16–19	Balmain	9 September 1944	Sydney Cricket Ground	Tom McMahon	41,807
Grand Final
Newtown	8–12	Balmain	16 September 1944	Sydney Cricket Ground	Jack O'Brien	24,186

Grand Final

Newtown exercised their “right of challenge” as minor premiers and called for a Grand Final. In a low-scoring affair Balmain's representative centre Joe Jorgenson kicked two late penalty goals to give the Tigers a 12–8 win and their eighth title.

Balmain 12 (Tries: Devery, K Parkinson. Goals: Jorgenson 3)

defeated

Newtown 8 (Tries: Farrell, McLean. Goals: Kirk)

Player statistics

The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 14.

Top 5 point scorers Points Player Tries Goals Field Goals 154 Tom Kirk 2 74 0 89 Joe Jorgenson 3 40 0 85 Les Doyle 5 35 0 74 Frank Driese 8 25 0 60 Sid Goodwin 20 0 0 Top 5 try scorers Tries Player 20 Sid Goodwin 19 Arthur Patton 12 Bernie Burford 11 Keith Parkinson 10 Tom Bourke 10 Jim Armstrong 10 Alf Watsford

Top 5 goal scorers Goals Player 74 Tom Kirk 40 Joe Jorgenson 35 Les Doyle 25 Frank Driese 20 Lin Johnson

References

1. Premiership Roll of Honour Archived 2007-04-28 at the Wayback Machine at rl1908.com
2. St. George: Biggest Losses
3. "Parramatta Eels eliminate Brisbane Broncos from the NRL Finals with a thumping 58-0 win". ABC News. 15 September 2019.
4. "Fuming Seibold fires off at players, promises review of roster after 'embarrassing' loss". Fox Sports. 16 September 2019.
5. "Seibold: 'Top to bottom' review needed as Brisbane search for answers". NRL. 15 September 2019.
6. Cleary, Matt (22 April 2019). "Brisbane Broncos' post-Bennett blues still haunting Anthony Seibold". The Guardian.
7. 1944 Grand Final Archived 2012-03-04 at the Wayback Machine at nrlstats.com

External links

• Rugby League Tables - Notes AFL Tables
• Rugby League Tables - Season 1944 AFL Tables
• Premiership History and Statistics RL1908
• Finals lineups and results Hunterlink site
• 1944 Labor Daily Cup at rleague.com
• Results: 1941-1950 at rabbitohs.com.au

• New South Wales Rugby League premiership
• 1944 in Australian rugby league