# 1941 NSWRFL season

The 1941 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the thirty-fourth season of Sydney’s top-level rugby league 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’ loss to St. George 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

## Ladder

| | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Eastern Suburbs | 14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 217 | 160 | +57 | 18 |
| 2 | Balmain | 14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 243 | 205 | +38 | 18 |
| 3 | Canterbury | 14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 205 | 182 | +23 | 18 |
| 4 | St. George | 14 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 307 | 248 | +59 | 17 |
| 5 | Newtown | 14 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 219 | 242 | -23 | 14 |
| 6 | Western Suburbs | 14 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 247 | 226 | +21 | 12 |
| 7 | South Sydney | 14 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 193 | 277 | -84 | 8 |
| 8 | North Sydney | 14 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 171 | 262 | -91 | 7 |
As three clubs were equal on points at the end of the home-and-away season, no club had the right of challenge in the finals.

## Finals

Eastern Suburbs and St. George won their respective semi finals, allowing them to meet in the final.
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | Match Information | Match Information | Match Information |
| Home | Score | Away | Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd |
| Semifinals |||||||
| Eastern Suburbs | 24–22 | Canterbury-Bankstown | 16 August 1941 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Tom McMahon | 21,000 |
| Balmain | 8–32 | St. George | 23 August 1941 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Tom McMahon | 26,790 |
| Final |||||||
| Eastern Suburbs | 14–31 | St. George | 30 August 1941 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Tom McMahon | 39,957 |

### Premiership final

| Eastern Suburbs | Position | St. George |
| 13. Doug Bartlett | FB | 13. Jack Wedgwood |
| 44. Percy Dermond | WG | 9. Owen Campbell |
| 10. Dick Dunn | CE | 8. Gordon Hart |
| 14. Dave Brown | CE | 49. Jack Gilbert |
| 21. Brian Walsh | WG | 12. Noel Jones |
| 8. Fred May | FE | 20. Roy Hasson |
| 7. Sel Lisle | HB | 7. Albert McAndrew |
| 3. Jack Arnold | PR | 3. Charlie Montgomery |
| 2. Noel Hollingdale | HK | Herb Gilbert Jnr |
| Ray Stehr (Ca./Co.) | PR | 2. Lindsay Spencer |
| 30. Don Gulliver | SR | 5. Neville Smith (Ca./Co.) |
| 5. Sid Pearce | SR | 6. Len Kelly (v.capt) |
| 27. Wal Bamford | LK | 23. Bill Tyquin |
| | Reserve | 47. Bill Collier |
| | Reserve | 58. Jim Hale |
In a tough encounter the Dragons won their first ever premiership in their twenty-first season in the competition. St. George captain-coach Neville Smith was knocked out after a heavy tackle early in the match. Smith recovered and scored 13 points through one try and five goals.
Along with Smith, St. George centre Gordon Hart also gave a sparkling display of free-running rugby league. Recently enlisted in the AIF, Hart had been given permission to leave barracks to participate in the finals.
In another incident Easts’ prop Jack Arnold and Saints’ lock Bill Tyquin were sent off after an almighty punch up. Tyquin, a Queensland representative who would later captain Australia, played only the 1941 war-time season in Sydney while he was stationed there on duty with the AIF.
It was to prove to be the final match in the stellar, record-setting career of Easts’ Dave Brown who at twenty-nine years of age announced his retirement at game’s end.
St. George 31 (Tries: Campbell 2, Hanson 2, Smith, Kelly, Hart. Goals: Smith 5)
defeated
Eastern Suburbs 14 (Tries: Dermond 2, Brown, Bamford. Goals: Brown 1)

## Player statistics

The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 14.
| Points | Player | Tries | Goals | Field Goals |
| 68 | Lin Johnson | 0 | 34 | 0 |
| 62 | N. Parkinson | 6 | 22 | 0 |
| 58 | Ray Pratt | 0 | 29 | 0 |
| 57 | Neville Smith | 7 | 18 | 0 |
| 54 | Fred Felsch | 2 | 24 | 0 |
| Tries | Player |
| 13 | Sel Lisle |
| 12 | Arthur Patton |
| 11 | William Ryan |
| 10 | Sid Goodwin |
| 10 | Jack Lindwall |
| 10 | Bruce Ryan |
| 10 | Bruce Brown |
| Goals | Player |
| 34 | Lin Johnson |
| 29 | Ray Pratt |
| 26 | Percy Williams |
| 24 | Fred Felsch |
| 22 | N. Parkinson |