1944 NSWRFL season
# 1944 NSWRFL season

The 1944 NSWRFL season was the thirty-seventh season of the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership, Sydney’s top-level rugby league competition, and Australia’s first. Eight teams from across the city contested the premiership during the season which culminated in Balmain’s victory over Newtown 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 | Newtown | 14 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 379 | 220 | +159 | 22 |
| 2 | Balmain | 14 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 402 | 171 | +231 | 21 |
| 3 | St. George | 14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 230 | 238 | -8 | 18 |
| 4 | South Sydney | 14 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 193 | 287 | -94 | 15 |
| 5 | North Sydney | 14 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 204 | 202 | +2 | 11 |
| 6 | Western Suburbs | 14 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 180 | 246 | -66 | 10 |
| 7 | Eastern Suburbs | 14 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 227 | 360 | -133 | 8 |
| 8 | Canterbury-Bankstown | 14 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 206 | 297 | -91 | 7 |

## Finals

Newtown looked set for back-to-back titles after finishing as minor premiers. Both Newtown and Balmain won their respective semi-finals with the Bluebags blitzing St George by 55 points to 7, which was to remain the Dragons’ largest losing margin until 1994 and the largest margin in a finals match until 2019. However injuries and war duties then ravaged the side including the key losses of Len Smith and Herb Narvo who had starred for them all season. Balmain thus overcame Newtown 19–16 in the final, enabling Newtown a “right of challenge”.

| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | Match Information | Match Information | Match Information |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Home | Score | Away | Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd |
| Semifinals |||||||
| Newtown | 55–7 | St. George | 26 August 1944 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Tom McMahon | 34,883 |
| Balmain | 15–6 | South Sydney | 2 September 1944 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Jack O'Brien | 28,237 |
| Final |||||||
| Newtown | 16–19 | Balmain | 9 September 1944 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Tom McMahon | 41,807 |
| Grand Final |||||||
| Newtown | 8–12 | Balmain | 16 September 1944 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Jack O'Brien | 24,186 |

### Grand Final

| Newtown | Position | Balmain |
| - | - | - |
| Tom Kirk | FB | Dave Parkinson |
| Sid Goodwin | WG | Arthur Patton (c) |
| Lin McLean | CE | Joe Jorgenson |
| Bruce Ryan | CE | Tom Bourke |
| Norm Jacobson | WG | Keith Parkinson |
| Tom Nevin | FE | Stan Ponchard |
| Jack Kadwell | HB | Pat Devery |
| Charlie Montgomery | PR | Jack Hampstead |
| Jimmy Brailey | HK | George Watt |
| Frank Farrell (c) | PR | Colin Campbell |
| Keith Phillips | SR | Athol Smith |
| Leo Ryan | SR | Sid Ryan |
| Charles Cahill | LK | Dawson Buckley |
| Arthur Folwell | Coach | Norm "Latchem" Robinson |

Newtown exercised their “right of challenge” as minor premiers and called for a Grand Final. In a low-scoring affair Balmain's representative centre Joe Jorgenson kicked two late penalty goals to give the Tigers a 12–8 win and their eighth title.

Balmain 12 (Tries: Devery, K Parkinson. Goals: Jorgenson 3)

defeated

Newtown 8 (Tries: Farrell, McLean. Goals: Kirk)

## Player statistics

The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 14.

| Points | Player | Tries | Goals | Field Goals |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 154 | Tom Kirk | 2 | 74 | 0 |
| 89 | Joe Jorgenson | 3 | 40 | 0 |
| 85 | Les Doyle | 5 | 35 | 0 |
| 74 | Frank Driese | 8 | 25 | 0 |
| 60 | Sid Goodwin | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| Tries | Player |
| 20 | Sid Goodwin |
| 19 | Arthur Patton |
| 12 | Bernie Burford |
| 11 | Keith Parkinson |
| 10 | Tom Bourke |
| 10 | Jim Armstrong |
| 10 | Alf Watsford |
| Goals | Player |
| 74 | Tom Kirk |
| 40 | Joe Jorgenson |
| 35 | Les Doyle |
| 25 | Frank Driese |
| 20 | Lin Johnson |
