| | | St George Dragons Rugby League History
Since 1921 - Our Proud
History
1921-1925 |
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In
the Big League
Persistence
finally paid off for St George when they were admitted into
the Big League in 1921.
Monday 7 February 1921, Kogarah School of Arts:
A meeting was held and the following officers were
elected: patron G.B. Holt; president A.W. Yager; vice-presidents
Wentworth, Harper, Judd, Munn, Gosling, Langton, Bowley, Gent,
Farmer and Gluyas; secretary J. McGraw; treasurer A. Moymow;
representatives to the NSWRL J. McGraw and A. Clark, selectors
McCue, Gilbert, Tye, McMurtrie, Jordan, Harper, Burt.
It was decided to enter a first grade and second grade team.
A third grade team to be considered at a later date.
St George team, 1921 (click on pic for
larger image) |
Sunday
6 March 1921, Sans Souci: Practice match amongst players.
The advertised session came with the following message: "Intending
players are reminded to bring their guernseys, knickers, hose
and boots, and be punctual, or they might be left."
Tuesday 8 March 1921, Drill Hall, Arncliffe: Training
session in a poorly lit hall with no proper training facilities.
Council administration had made it difficult to use the Hurstville
Oval facilities.
Saturday
26 March 1921, San Souci: Player
trials with players from North Sydney attending. Indications are
that this was more of a practice session.
The
St George Call ran a report that the day was well attended
by locals and the trams were packed with people keen to see what
the new team had on offer. It was also reported that a number
of players tired themselves out and were unable to complete the
trials.
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1921
NSWRL First Grade
Ladder
(no semis)
| Norths
p |
17 |
| Easts |
15 |
| Glebe |
14 |
| Balmain |
12 |
| Souths |
10 |
| Newtown |
8 |
| St
George |
6 |
| Wests |
6 |
| University |
2 |
p = Season Premiers
Saints
1921
AFTER 9 ROUNDS
Minor Premiership
Won-Lost-Draw-Bye
Points For 87
(8th best attack)
Points Against 124
(7th best defence)
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MP Standing
7th
(9 teams)
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Saturday
1 April 1921, Agricultural (Sydney) Showground: First recorded trial
matches.
Three matches: The first match between St George v Glebe was won by
St George 2-0 with a goal to Tom Killiby.
The second match was a 3-all draw.
The third match was won by Glebe, 6-3 with a report of a brilliant try
from St George half back, Tommy Burns.
April 1921, Sans Souci: St George players get together for a
'Possibles vs Probables' match.
Sunday 16 April 1921, Sans Souci: Final trial matches. Saints
were defeated in all three matches by South Sydney by 3-0, 10-3 and
14-12. Reports are that it took the incredible try scoring skills of
South Sydney's Benny Wearing to win the first two matches for
Souths.
For Saints, Tony Redmond and fast running forward Ernie Lapham
scored tries while fullback Lyall Wall kicked three goals.
SAINTS'
FIRST PREMIERSHIP MATCH
KICKOFF ON 'ST GEORGES DAY', 1921Saturday,
April 23, 1921. Venue: Sydney Sports Ground. Kickoff: 3:15pm
 Saints'
first match was coincidentally scheduled for 'St George's Day',
1921. Their opponents were Glebe, captained by William 'Binghi'
Benson who went on to play for Saints in 1927 and featured
the mighty Frank 'Chunky' Burge who would later captain-coach
St George.
Herb Gilbert Snr (pic left) had the honour of being
the inaugural first grade captain and coach. A veteran of 33 years
old, Gilbert was regarded as one of the greatest centres in the
game. His inspiration and experience brought instant respect to
the new club.
Saints went down 4 -3 but kept the more fancied Glebe tryless.
 George
Carstairs (pic right) had the honour of scoring Saints'
first ever try. A standout player for St George was forward, Ernie
Lapham who out-performed his rivals.
The inaugural FIRST GRADE TEAM on the
day (with numbers)
Fullback:1- Lyall Wall.
Wing three quarters: 2- George 'Bluey' Carstairs;
5- Norman Shadlow.
Centre three quarters: 3- Herb Gilbert (captain-coach);
4- Reg Fusedale.
Halves: 8- Tommy Burns; 9- Frank Gray.
Forwards: 10- Clarrie Tye; 11- Roy 'Bunny' Bossi; 12- Tony Redmond;
13- Ernie 'Curly' Lapham; 14- Sid Field; 15- Jack Clark. Reserves:
6- Lew Heuschkel; 7- A. Bossi, 16- F 'Skinny' Wilkins; 17-
J. Morris
The second grade team were also defeated 27-5 by Glebe. First
scorers in the earlier match for Saints were:
R. Jackson (try) and Tom Killiby (goal).
The Second Grade team: G. Williams, R. Swanson, G. Turner, H.
Harper, H.J. Sherringham, G. Miller, W. Jordan, T. Killiby, T.
Molloy, H. Antilla, S. Buttel, R. Jackson, A. Clarke (captain).
2nd grade reserves: Grainger, McMurtrie, Lynch, Wilson, Leahey.
Pic above: Treasurer, Arthur Moymow with
1921 Kangaroos, A 'Ricketty' Johnston (left) and George
Carstairs. |
SAINTS'
FIRST WIN!
Sydney
Sports Ground, 21 May 1921:
In just their fifth appearance in the NSWRL first grade,
St George have posted their first ever win by defeating Newtown
11-9.
In the first half, Saints were denied a number of scoring chances
as they wore down a tiring Newtown defence who were often guilty
of infringements as they tried to hold Saints out.
The referee responded by penalising Newtown within range of their
posts giving St George fullback, Lyall Wall ample opportunities.
Leading 6-5 at half time, Saints lost the lead and at one point
found themselves with a 9-6 deficit. But the red and whites hit
back following a spectacular second half try to winger Norman
Shadlow.
In a eventful match, referee Barrow sent off forwards Tony
Redmond (St George) and Townsend (Newtown) for fighting.
Saints scored soon after following a movement set up by Ricketty
Johnston, Herb Gilbert and Reg Fusedale, and
then to Shadlow who finished well against the cover defence to
score just five yards in from touch.
With 10 minutes to go and the scores locked up at 9-all, Wall
lined up the difficult conversion attempt from out wide while
looking into the wind. Described as a 'Bobby Dazzler' (St George
Call), the kick sailed across the uprights and then veered
in enough to add the extras.
In the remaining minutes, Newtown maintained possession and attacked
the St George line but the Saints' defence held firm.
Full time score: Saints 11 (Shadlow try, Wall 4 goals,
7 attempts) bt Newtown 9 (1 try, 3 goals).
SAINTS DEFEAT UNIVERSITY AT FIRST EVER HOME MATCH
Hurstville Oval, 28 May 1921:
St George, competition nomads in 1921, played just two home matches
throughout the season due to Hurstville Oval being unfenced.
10,000 were in attendance to see Saints defeat University 19-16
but only 643 actually paid to get into the unenclosed ground.
As a result, the gate takings of £34/13/- were disappointing.
The match itself was an exciting affair which saw play often swing
to both ends of the field.
 At
half time, Uni led 11-6. In the 2nd half, George Carstairs
moved from wing to five eighth, swapping with Frank Gray
who was having an off day. Both men played well in the 2nd half,
Gray scoring a try, and Carstairs setting up one for lock Ernie
Wilson who successfully chased a Carstairs' kick.
Five minutes from fulltime, Saints were trailing 16-14. Tommy
Burns, playing on the wing, intercepted a pass & found
skipper Herb Gilbert backing up who found Clarrie Tye
(pictured right) in support on the inside and the front
rower dived over for the match winning try.
Lyall Wall converted to make it 19-16. It was a classic
football moment and the perfect start to St George's association
with Hurstville Oval.
St
George players gain rep honours
Saints begin a tradition of providing
representative players with 'Ricketty' Johnson
(half ) and George Carstairs (winger) selected
on the 1921/22 Kangaroo tour. In the above picture, Carstairs
is circled. This UK tour match photo taken at Barrow also
shows Frank Burge standing left with arms folded.
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Saints
and the Goulburn 'blizzard'
July 1921: In what was the beginning of
a long tradition, Saints ventured south into the Illawarra and
beyond to play what was their second country match.
On a sunny winter's morning, they caught the Goulburn train via
Moss Vale but sunshine soon gave way to rain and by the time they
arrived at their destination, Goulburn was enveloped in a snowstorm!
In near blizzard conditions, Goulburn managed to score three tries
and at half time were in front 13-0. Saints' captain Herb Gilbert,
wanted to change ends immediately and continue but the freezing,
ice-hard pitch was taking its toll. Despite holding a handy lead,
the locals refused to return to the field, forfeiting the match
to St George.
Earlier in the year, Saints also played in Bathurst defeating
the locals 31-7.1921:
Summary on first year in the Big League:
St George District RLFC successfully completed their first premiership
season with 2 wins, 1 bye and 6 losses. Norths eventually won
the 1921 competition with Saints finishing 7th ahead of
Wests and wooden spooners, University.
The biggest gate was against Norths, St George receiving £75/2/8
Total income: £700/15/8 ($1,401.50). Bonuses £353/6/9
went to the players.
(average weekly wage for adult males in 1921 was £4/15/10).
The payout night was in a church near where Arncliffe Scots club
now stands.
1922
NSWRL
First Grade
Ladder
(top
2 in final)
| Norths
p |
28 |
| Glebe |
28 |
| Easts |
24 |
| Souths |
23 |
| Balmain |
22 |
| Wests |
16 |
| Newtown |
15 |
| University |
14 |
| St
George |
8 |
(18
ROUNDS)
Saints
'22 record
Win Loss Draw Bye
2W, 14L, 0D, 2B
Pts for/against
For 140 (9th)
Against 316 (9th) |
Hard
times to better times
1922:
 Despite
a promising start in 1921,
St George had a terrible second year in the Sydney Premiership.
1922 saw 18 rounds played, twice as many as the year before.
In one of St George's biggest ever losses, Glebe thrashed
Saints 41-0. Eventual premiership winners, Norths handed
Saints another hiding 41-8. On the bright side, Saints
scored the biggest win of the season when they romped
all over University 45-2 but by the season's end, St George
were languishing at the bottom of the table as wooden
spooners.
NEW SIGNING:
Saints signed a new prospect, rugged hooker, Arthur
'Snowy' Justice (pic right).
1923:
Saints defeat Souths 28-5
Sydney Cricket Ground, 30 June 1923:
With 7000 people in attendance,
St George scored six tries to one to defeat premiership
front runners, South Sydney at the SCG. This was a major
win for the new club who for intents and purposes were
showing up for a thrashing.
Saints acquitted themselves well in 1923 and lost by narrow
margins on a number of occasions.
Additionally, Saints appear to have the wood on University
with two more wins in 1923, bringing their head to head
record to 5 - 0. In what has been their best year yet,
Saints finished 7th on 14 points, ahead of Newtown
and University. |
1923
NSWRL First Grade
Ladder
(top 2 in final)
| Easts
p |
30 |
| Souths |
30 |
| Balmain |
25 |
| Wests |
22 |
| Norths |
20 |
| Glebe |
16 |
| St
George |
14 |
| Newtown |
14 |
| University |
9 |
(18
ROUNDS)
Saints
'23 record
Win Loss Draw Bye
5W, 11L, 0D, 2B
Pts for/against
For 168 (6th)
Against 236 (8th) |
1924
NSWRL
First Grade
Ladder
(top 2 in final)
| Balmain
p |
15 |
| Souths |
15 |
| Wests |
10 |
| Glebe |
10 |
| St
George |
10 |
| Norths |
8 |
| Easts |
8 |
| University |
7 |
| Newtown |
7 |
(9
ROUNDS)
Saints
'24 record
Win Loss Draw Bye
3W, 3L, 2D, 1B
Pts for/against
For 94 (6th)
Against 125 (7th) |
1924:
Saints beat last year's
premiers
Sydney Sports Ground,
14 June 1924: St George will no longer be taken lightly
after their defeat of 1923 premiership winners, Easts.
Saints held Easts scoreless in their 9-0 win at the Sports
Ground in front of 1500 people. This year, Saints also
had wins over Wests and Glebe, draws with Newtown and
University plus 2 byes. The 9 round season finishing with
Saints in 5th position.
1925:
Saints best year yet
Marrickville Oval, Arncliffe, 27 June
1925: Saints have defeated
Newtown by 23-12 (5 tries to 2) at Marrickville Oval in
front of 3500 people. The referee was J. Murray.
1925 saw Saints with 5 wins, 5 losses, one draw and 2
byes.
With the 5th best attack record in the comp, Saints have
had their best year yet.
St George finished the 13 round season in 5th position.
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1925
NSWRL
First Grade
Ladder
(no semis)
| Souths
p |
26 |
| Wests |
16 |
| Balmain |
15 |
| Norths |
15 |
| St
George |
15 |
| Glebe |
12 |
| University |
11 |
| Easts |
10 |
| Newtown |
10 |
(13
ROUNDS)
Saints
'25 record
Win Loss Draw Bye
5W, 5L, 1D, 2B
Pts for/against
For 132 (5th)
Against 141 (6th) |
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SAINTS
FIND HOME AT EARL PARK
Earl Park, Arncliffe, 16 May 1925:
Since joining the first grade
premiership, Saints were without a true home ground.
Hurstville Oval was not an acceptable football ground
and the search was on for somewhere suitable.
In 1925, St George found a home at Earl Park in Arncliffe
and it soon became a popular venue for the growing St
George support base.
Their first game at Earl Park on May 16th was
in front of 5,000 people who came to see Saints defeat
Wests 6 - 5, Saints scoring two tries to one. The referee
was W. Neill.
St George had a great year at Earl Park also defeating
University (twice) and Easts. Saints only loss at Earl
in 1925 was to eventual premiers, Souths in a tight
match which saw Saints score two tries to one but go
down 11-10 in front of 8000 people.
Pic: St George players pose for a photo shoot at
Earl Park
Click
on the pic for larger image
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Seasons
In Review
