# 1946 NSWRFL season

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

### 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 | Match Information | Match Information | Match Information |
| Home | Score | Away | 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

| St George | Position | Balmain |
| 44. Ray Lindwall | FB | 30. Jack McCullough |
| 18. Noel Jones | WG | 2. Arthur Patton |
| 10. Doug McRitchie | CE | 6. Pat Devery |
| 8. Fred Brown | CE | 4. Tom Bourke (c) |
| 40. Jack Lindwall | WG | 3. Joe Jorgenson |
| 48. Don Graham | FE | 19. George Williams |
| 7. Max Hayward | HB | 7. Stan Ponchard |
| Jack Munn | PR | 10. Hilton Kidd |
| 2. Ken Banks | HK | 9. Herb Gilbert Jnr |
| 3. Jack McPherson | PR | 8. Jack Spencer |
| 4. Jim Hale | SR | 25. Fred de Belin |
| 5. Herb Narvo (c/c) | SR | 11. Harry Bath |
| 22. Chick Donnelley | LK | 13. Jack Hampstead |
| | Coach | Norm Robinson |
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.
| 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 |
| Tries | Player |
| 14 | Jack Lindwall |
| 12 | C. McMahon |
| 11 | Johnny Bliss |
| 10 | Denis Boocker |
| 9 | Len Smith |
| Goals | Player |
| 57 | Tom Kirk |
| 42 | Bill Keato |
| 37 | Dick Dunn |
| 31 | Roy Hasson |
| 28 | Pat Morgan |