1914 NSWRFL season

The 1914 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the seventh season of Sydney's top-grade rugby league football club competition, Australia's first. Eight teams from across the city contested during the season. The 1914 season's gate receipts totalled £24,072, which was £7,038 more than the previous season's.^[2]

1914 NSWRFL season
League	New South Wales Rugby Football League
Duration	2 May to 22 August
Teams	8
Matches played	56
Points scored	1202
Premiers	South Sydney[1] (3rd title)
Minor Premiers	South Sydney (3rd title)
Wooden spoon	Annandale (1st spoon)
Top point-scorer(s)	Harold Horder (87)
Top try-scorer(s)	Harold Horder (19)
Second Grade
Number of teams	14
Premiers	South Sydney
Runners-up	Eastern Suburbs
Third Grade
Number of teams	16
Premiers	Eastern Suburbs
Runners-up	South Sydney Kinkora
← 1913 1915 →

Season summary

Following the retirement of Dally Messenger at the end of the 1913 season, Eastern Suburbs’ stranglehold on the premiership came to an end. In their place, previous premiers South Sydney and Newtown took control of the competition. Newtown were in a good position to take out their second premiership midway through the season but a loss to middle-placed Balmain hurt their cause, although Newtown defeated South Sydney the following week. It turned out that the Balmain loss would make the difference, with South Sydney finishing just one point ahead of Newtown at the end of the season to claim their third premiership. No Finals were contested. Members of the South Sydney premiership winning side included Howard Hallett (Player of the Season), Roy Almond, O. Brown, Arthur Butler, Harry Butler, William Cann, Jim Davis, Wally Dymant, E. Hilliard, Owen McCarthy, Arthur McCabe and Harold Horder.^[3]

The season was punctuated by matches against the 1914 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand, and was the last for future Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame inductee Chris McKivat who went on to have a prominent coaching career.

Teams

The teams remained unchanged from the previous season.

• Annandale
• Balmain, formed on 23 January 1908 at Balmain Town Hall
• Eastern Suburbs, formed on 24 January 1908 at Paddington Town Hall
• Glebe, 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
• Western Suburbs, formed on 4 February 1908

Annandale Ground: Wentworth Park Captain :William Lindsay	Balmain Ground: Birchgrove Oval Coach: Bill Kelly Captain: Charles Fraser	Eastern Suburbs 7th season Ground: Sydney Sports Ground Captain: Dan Frawley	Glebe Ground: Wentworth Park Captain-Coach: Chris McKivat Co-captain: Alby Burge
Newtown Ground: Erskineville Oval Captain: Paddy McCue	North Sydney Ground: North Sydney Oval Captain: Albert Broomham	South Sydney Ground: Sydney Cricket Ground Captain: Arthur Butler	Western Suburbs Ground: Pratten Park Captain: Tedda Courtney

Ladder

The geographical locations of the teams that contested the 1914 premiership across Sydney.

	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	South Sydney	14	11	1	2	166	79	+87	23
2	Newtown	14	11	0	3	185	111	+74	22
3	Eastern Suburbs	14	8	0	6	164	122	+42	16
4	Balmain	14	6	4	4	132	111	+21	16
5	Glebe	14	7	1	6	187	140	+47	15
6	North Sydney	14	5	1	8	158	165	-7	11
7	Western Suburbs	14	3	0	11	104	231	-127	6
8	Annandale	14	1	1	12	106	243	-137	3