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1946 New South Wales Rugby Football League
Teams	8
Premiers	Balmain (9th title)
Minor premiers	St. George (2nd title)
Matches played	60
Points scored	1956
Top points scorer(s)	Tom Kirk (122)
Top try-scorer(s)	Jack Lindwall (16)
← 19451947 →

The 1946 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the thirty-ninth season of Sydney’s top-level rugby league competition, Australia’s first. Eight teams from across the city contested during the season which culminated in Balmain’s victory over St. George in the premiership final.

Season summary

The South Sydney club did not win a single match in 1946, continuing a losing streak that started in round 8, 1945 and which would run till round 1, 1947.

Eastern Suburbs’ Lionel Cooper took out the New South Wales “Player of the Year” award.

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 39th season Ground: Leichhardt Oval Coach: Norm Robinson Captain: Tom Bourke	Canterbury-Bankstown 12th season Ground: Belmore Oval Coach: Ross McKinnon Captain: Ron Bailey	Eastern Suburbs 39th season Ground: Sydney Sports Ground Captain-Coach: Ray Stehr	Newtown 39th season Ground: Henson Park Coach: Frank Farrell & Len Smith Captain: Frank Farrell
North Sydney 39th season Ground: North Sydney Oval Coach: Harry Forbes Captain: Jim Scoular	South Sydney 39th season Ground: Sydney Sports Ground Coach: Arthur Hennessy Captain: Clem Kennedy	St. George 26th season Ground: Hurstville Oval Captain-Coach: Herb Narvo	Western Suburbs 39th season Ground: Pratten Park Captain-Coach: Jack Walsh

Ladder

	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	St. George	14	11	0	3	264	203	+61	22
2	Newtown	14	10	0	4	294	189	+105	20
3	Balmain	14	9	0	5	279	193	+86	18
4	Canterbury	14	8	1	5	212	196	+16	17
5	Eastern Suburbs	14	8	0	6	213	174	+39	16
6	North Sydney	14	5	0	9	248	283	-35	10
7	Western Suburbs	14	4	1	9	224	267	-43	9
8	South Sydney	14	0	0	14	124	353	-229	0

Finals

With just two rounds remaining, Newtown looked on track for the minor premiership until they lost to Eastern Suburbs and then Balmain in the two final rounds of the year. This left St. George to take the minor premiership, and with it, a guaranteed place in a final. This proved costly for Newtown, who were narrowly beaten by Canterbury-Bankstown in the semifinal eliminator, meaning they were out of the competition. St. George also lost their first round match, meaning they immediately got sent into the Grand final against the winner of a Balmain and Canterbury-Bankstown match, which Balmain won by a point.

Home	Score	Away	Match Information
			Date and Time	Venue	Referee	Crowd
Semifinals
St. George	14–22	Balmain	24 August 1946	Sydney Cricket Ground	George Bishop	34,408
Newtown	10–12	Canterbury-Bankstown	31 August 1946	Sydney Cricket Ground	Jack O'Brien	28,012
Preliminary Final
Balmain	8–7	Canterbury-Bankstown	7 September 1946	Sydney Cricket Ground	Tom McMahon	36,445
Grand Final
St. George	12–13	Balmain	14 September 1946	Sydney Sports Ground	George Bishop	32,296

Grand Final

In spite of St George’s status as minor premiers, Balmain were Grand Final favourites due to their comprehensive routing of the Dragons in the first semi-final. The decider, played on Saturday 14 September, was a closely fought contest.

A series of dubious decisions by referee George Bishop gave Balmain an advantage. There was a disallowed try to St George and two Balmain tries which came off what appeared to be forward passes, one when Balmain’s Joe Jorgenson scored after receiving a ball that seemed to have been propelled at least a yard forward.

The Dragons came close to victory when late in the game Jack Lindwall scored in the corner but his brother, prospective Test bowler, Ray Lindwall was unable to convert it. Lindwall in fact missed all four conversion attempts on the day.

The Tigers had won seven straight victories to take the premiership.

Tensions of the encounter overflowed after full-time, and at the conclusion of the match Saints forward, Jim Hale went toe to toe with Balmain hooker, Herb Gilbert, Jr, himself a former Dragon. Hale was then attacked by a spectator and an all-in brawl followed.

Balmain 13 (Tries: Jorgenson 2, Patton. Goals: Bourke 2 )

defeated

St George 12 (Tries: J Lindwall 2, Jones, Munn)

• Joe Jorgenson
• Harry Bath
• Herb Narvo

Player statistics

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

Top 5 point scorers Points Player Tries Goals Field Goals 120 Tom Kirk 2 57 0 84 Bill Keato 0 42 0 77 Dick Dunn 1 37 0 68 Roy Hasson 2 31 0 60 Joe Jorgenson 4 24 0 Top 5 try scorers Tries Player 14 Jack Lindwall 12 C. McMahon 11 Johnny Bliss 10 Denis Boocker 9 Len Smith

Top 5 goal scorers Goals Player 57 Tom Kirk 42 Bill Keato 37 Dick Dunn 31 Roy Hasson 28 Pat Morgan

References

1. Premiership Roll of Honour Archived April 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine at rl1908.com
2. 1946 Grand Final Archived 2012-03-04 at the Wayback Machine at nrlstats.com
3. "Tigerish Grand Final in League". The Sydney Morning Herald. Australia. 16 September 1946. p. 10. Retrieved 2 July 2024 – via National Library of Australia.

External links

• Rugby League Tables - Notes AFL Tables
• Rugby League Tables - Season 1946 AFL Tables
• Premiership History and Statistics RL1908
• Finals lineups and results Hunterlink site
• Results: 1941-1950 at rabbitohs.com.au
• 1946 Labor Daily Cup at rleague.com
• NSWRFL season 1946 at rugbyleagueproject.org

• New South Wales Rugby League premiership
• 1946 in Australian rugby league