# 1940 NSWRFL season

The 1940 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the thirty-third season of Sydney’s top-level rugby league club competition, Australia’s first. Eight teams from across the city contested the premiership during the season, which lasted from April until August, culminating in Eastern Suburbs’ victory over Canterbury-Bankstown in the final.

## Season summary

For this season St. George returned to Hurstville Oval as their home ground.

### 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, at the North Sydney School of Arts in Mount Street
* 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

## Ladder

| | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Eastern Suburbs | 14 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 250 | 136 | +114 | 19 |
| 2 | Newtown | 14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 261 | 200 | +61 | 18 |
| 3 | St. George | 14 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 263 | 203 | +60 | 16 |
| 4 | Canterbury | 14 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 204 | 195 | +9 | 16 |
| 5 | Balmain | 14 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 199 | 162 | +37 | 15 |
| 6 | South Sydney | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 165 | 259 | -94 | 14 |
| 7 | North Sydney | 14 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 156 | 243 | -87 | 8 |
| 8 | Western Suburbs | 14 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 159 | 259 | -100 | 6 |

## Finals

In the two semi finals, minor premiers Eastern Suburbs defeated St. George whilst fourth-placed Canterbury-Bankstown beat second-placed Newtown. Eastern Suburbs then beat Canterbury-Bankstown in the final to collect their eighth premiership.
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | Match Information | Match Information | Match Information |
| Home | Score | Away | Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd |
| Semifinals |||||||
| Eastern Suburbs | 10–3 | St. George | 17 August 1940 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Jack O'Brien | 17,473 |
| Newtown | 11–19 | Canterbury-Bankstown | 24 August 1940 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Jack O'Brien | 22,061 |
| Final |||||||
| Eastern Suburbs | 24–14 | Canterbury-Bankstown | 31 August 1940 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Jack O'Brien | 24,167 |

### Premiership final

| Eastern Suburbs | Position | Canterbury-Bankstown |
| 13. Doug Bartlett | FB | 13. Lindsay Johnson |
| 12. Rod O'Loan | WG | 17. Edgar Newham |
| 37. Stan Callaghan | CE | 9. Merv Denton |
| 10. Dick Dunn | CE | 23. Bob Russell |
| 22. Bill Brew | WG | 11. Jack Bonnyman (c) |
| 8. Fred May | FE | 8. Ted Anderson |
| 25. Sel Lisle | HB | 7. Roy McCarter |
| Ray Stehr (c) | PR | 14. Jim Gibbs |
| 2. Noel Hollingdale | HK | 2.Roy Kirkaldy |
| 18. John Clarke | PR | 6. Jack Reilly |
| 4. Harry Pierce | SR | 5. Bob Allison |
| 5. Sid Pearce | SR | 15. Bob Farrar |
| 6. Andrew Norval | LK | 31. Gordon Clunas |
| Dave Brown | Coach | Alan Brady |
Led by their standard-setting captain-coach Dave Brown, the Tricolours continued their strong season performance with a semi-final victory over St George to gain a final berth.
Although Brown was ruled out on the morning of the decider with a leg injury, replacement Bill Brew slotted into the side and scored a try after backing up second rower Sid “Joe” Pearce who also scored the next try. The young Easts team, who averaged twenty years of age, overcame Canterbury by six tries to two.
Eastern Suburbs 24 (Tries: Pierce 2, O'Loan, Brew, Pearce, Clarke. Goals: Dunn 2 )
defeated
Canterbury-Bankstown 14 (Tries: Bonnyman, Denton. Goals: Johnson 4)