page_title: 1943 NSWRFL season
section_title: Premiership final
hierarchical_section_title: 1943 NSWRFL season / Finals / Premiership final
caption_attribution_description: English: 1943 Newtown Jets premiership rugby team Back row: F Speechley, Tom Kirk, Len Smith, Keith Phillips, Gordon McLennan, Herb Narvo Front row: Paddy Budgen, Norm Jacobson, Charles Cahill, Frank Farrell, Jimmy Brailey, Tom Nevin, D Fullerton
context_page_description: The 1943 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the thirty-sixth season of Sydney’s top-level rugby league competition, Australia's first. Eight teams from across the city contested during the season which lasted from April until September, culminating in the Newtown club’s Grand Final victory over North Sydney.
context_section_description: The Final was played at the SCG before a record crowd of 60,922, though there were thousands more on roofs and vantage points outside the ground. Because of the War all service people got in, if they were in uniform, for free. Norths were missing two stars on active service who had contributed to their season’s performance – lock Harry Taylor and full-back Neville Butler who was killed in an Air Force action not long before the Final.
   Police closed the gates two hours before kick-off leaving ten thousand fans locked out. Latecomers offered up to £10 for seats in the stand. The match provided a great betting orgy with bets of £100 common and more than £25,000 laid before the match began.
  Captained by the colourful Frank "Bumper" Farrell, Newtown took on the fancied North Sydney side. The men from across the harbour were led by Frank Hyde and his Norths' side had shown no sympathy for his former club, having beaten Newtown three times already that season. Newtown countered the short-kicking tactics of the Bears into an advantage of their own, gaining a strong lead at half-time and going on to win 34–7. The 27-point margin was a grand final record. Stars of the day for Newtown were forward Charles Cahill along with backs Len Smith and Tom Kirk. It was the third premiership win for Newtown, and would turn out to be their last.
  Newtown 34 (Tries: Goodwin 2, Ryan, Brailey, Phillips, Narvo, Smith, Farrell. Goals: Kirk 5)
  defeated
  North Sydney 7 (Tries: McLachlan. Goals: Rudd 2)
caption: Newtown 1943 premiers
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