1951 NSWRFL season

The 1951 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the forty-fourth season of Sydney’s top-level rugby league competition, Australia’s first. Ten teams from across the city competed for the newly created J. J. Giltinan Shield during the season which culminated in a grand final between South Sydney and Manly-Warringah.

1951 New South Wales Rugby Football League
Teams	10
Premiers	South Sydney (13th title)
Minor premiers	South Sydney (12th title)
Matches played	94
Points scored	3400
Top points scorer(s)	Ron Rowles (220)
Wooden spoon	North Sydney (8th spoon)
Top try-scorer(s)	Johnny Graves (28)
← 1950 1952 →

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

Balmain 44th season Ground: Leichhardt Oval Coach: Jim Duckworth Captain: Stan Ponchard	Canterbury-Bankstown 17th season Ground: Belmore Sports Ground Coach: Vic Bulgin→Alby Why Captain: Vic Bulgin	Eastern Suburbs 44th season Ground: Sydney Sports Ground Coach: Ernie Norman Captain: Alan Cook	Manly-Warringah 5th season Ground: Brookvale Oval Coach: Wally O'Connell Captain: Kevin Schubert	Newtown 44th season Ground: Erskineville Oval Captain-coach: Frank Farrell
North Sydney 44th season Ground: North Sydney Oval Coach: Laurie Doran Captain: Bob Sullivan	Parramatta 5th season Ground: Cumberland Oval Coach: Vic Hey Captain: Don Graham	South Sydney 44th season Ground: Redfern Oval Captain-coach: Jack Rayner	St. George 31st season Ground: Kogarah Jubilee Oval Captain-coach: Johnny Hawke	Western Suburbs 44th season Ground: Pratten Park Coach: Jeff Smith Captain: Peter McLean

Ladder

	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	South Sydney	18	16	1	1	428	237	+191	33
2	Manly	18	11	0	7	424	262	+162	22
3	St. George	18	10	1	7	374	251	+123	21
4	Western Suburbs	18	10	0	8	360	333	+27	20
5	Eastern Suburbs	18	9	0	9	304	340	-36	18
6	Parramatta	18	9	0	9	309	410	-101	18
7	Canterbury	18	7	0	11	266	362	-96	14
8	Newtown	18	6	0	12	261	341	-80	12
9	Balmain	18	6	0	12	283	365	-82	12
10	North Sydney	18	5	0	13	220	328	-108	10

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.^[1] 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.

Home	Score	Away	Match Information
			Date and Time	Venue	Referee	Crowd
Semifinals
South Sydney	8–35	St. George	1 September 1951	Sydney Cricket Ground	Aub Oxford	39,735
Manly-Warringah	37–9	Western Suburbs	8 September 1951	Sydney Cricket Ground	George Bishop	29,444
Preliminary Final
Manly-Warringah	18–8	St. George	15 September 1951	Sydney Cricket Ground	George Bishop	41,845
Final
South Sydney	42–14	Manly-Warringah	23 September 1951	Sydney Sports Ground	Jack O'Brien	28,505

Grand Final

South Sydney	Position	Manly-Warringah
13. Clive Churchill	FB	Ron Beaumont
12. John Graves	WG	2. Ron Rowles
11. Kevin Woolfe	CE	5. Gordon Willoughby
10. Milton Atkinson	CE	4. Warren Simmons
34. Harry Wells	WG	16. Jack Lumsden
28. Norm Spillane	FE	17. Jim Sullivan
58. Ray Mason	HB	7. Ken Arthurson
Denis Donoghue	PR	12. Roy Bull
2. Ernie Hammerton	HK	13. Kevin Schubert (c)
3. Bryan Orrock	PR	11. Fred Brown
5. Bernie Purcell	SR	10. Jack Hubbard
4. Jack Rayner (Ca./Co.)	SR	9. Sandy Herbert
6. Les Cowie	LK	8. George Hunter
	Coach	Wally O'Connell

Manly were without former Test star and captain-coach Wally O'Connell who had a fractured bone in his wrist.^[2] 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.

Manly's Ron Rowles and Gordon Willoughby trying to stop Souths Winger Johnny Graves from scoring the first of his four tries.

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, 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 judge, Frank McMillan as the man-of-the-match, for which he received a £10 reward.^[3]

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 in 1975 Grand Final, and Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the 2008 NRL 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).

Manly 1951 Grand Finalists. Back Row - Sandy Herbert, Gordon Willoughby, Roy Bull, Jack Hubbard, Fred Brown, Warren Simmons. Front Row - Ron Beaumont, Ken Arthurson, Jim Sullivan, Kevin Schubert (c), George Hunter, Ron Rowles, Jack Lumsden. Ball Boy W. Sullivan

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)

Player statistics

The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 18.

Top 5 point scorers Points Player Tries Goals Field Goals 199 Ron Rowles 11 83 0 183 Noel Pidding 13 72 0 128 Johnny Graves 22 31 0 117 Don Worne 1 57 0 115 Ian Johnston 13 38 0 Top 5 try scorers Tries Player 22 Johnny Graves 18 Mitchell Wallace 13 Noel Pidding 13 Ian Johnston 12 Kevin Woolfe 12 Ron Roberts 12 Jack Troy 12 John McClean

Top 5 goal scorers Goals Player 83 Ron Rowles 72 Noel Pidding 57 Don Worne 46 Joe Jorgenson 45 Ron Willey