| | | St George Dragons Rugby League History
 |
1950:
SAINTS
LEAVE RUN TOO LATE
Season
Snapshot
In
1950, St George narrowly missed out on a semi-finals berth,
ending their season in fifth position on 21 points, just
behind Wests on 22 points. |
Kogarah
Oval, 26 August 1950: Despite a late charge for the playoffs,
St George were unable to qualify for the semi-finals of 1950.
In the round 18 match at Kogarah, Saints hammered
Easts 40-15. Saints also had victories over Norths (32-10), Balmain
(31-10) and a 15-all draw with Parramatta coming into the semis.
But it wasn't enough to make the top four.
NEW HOME GROUND AT KOGARAH
1950
Saints make the move from Hurstville to
Kogarah |
McRITCHIE
AND FACER RETIRE FROM FIRST GRADE
1950 was the last year for Doug McRitchie, a local junior,
Doug McRitchie was captain of St George in 1947 and 1948. An unselfish
player, Doug perfected centre defence and gave great service to
his outside backs, only scoring one try for himself in 81 matches.
He was a NSW rep in 1948. He was also a Kangaroo on a number of
occasions (four Tests) and appeared in the historic 1950 third
Test match against Great Britain.
|
 RON
ROBERTS TOPS TRY SCORERS LIST
The season's leading try scorer was Ron Roberts
(13 tries) for the second year running.
NORM
PROVAN GRADED
In
other news, 1950 was the year that forward Norm
'Sticks' Provan was graded with St George.
|
It was McRitchie
who made the initial break which led to Saints team mate, Ron
Roberts scoring the historic Ashes winning try of 1950.
McRitchie
later joined Queanbeyan as captain-coach on a contract which at
the time was the biggest ever offered to a Sydney-based player.
One
year after playing in Saints' second premiership winning side,
Frank Facer has retired from Rugby League as a player. He
will however make his mark elsewhere as he becomes involved with
club administration.
|
1950
NSWRL First Grade
Ladder
(top
4 in semis)
| Souths
p |
28 |
| Balmain |
26 |
| Newtown |
24 |
| Wests |
22 |
| St
George |
21 |
| Canterbury |
18 |
| Easts |
14 |
| Manly |
12 |
| Parramatta |
9 |
| Norths |
6 |
p = Season Premiers
Saints 1950
AFTER 18 ROUNDS
Minor Premiership
Won-Lost-Draw-Bye
Points For 336
(2nd best attack)
Points Against 261
(4th best defence)
|
|
MP Standing
5th
(10 teams)
|
|
ROBERTS
SCORES HISTORY MAKING TRY
 Third
Rugby League Test, Sydney Cricket Ground, 1950: Australia
has won the Ashes defeating Great Britain in the series deciding
Test of 1950. In atrocious conditions which saw 40 tons of sand
dumped on the muddy pitch, both sides grafted out little territory.
With 14 minutes to go, it was just 2-all.
Ron Roberts scores the winning
try in the SCG mud giving Australia the Ashes for the
first time in 30 years.
This try was rated the single most important moment
in the code's history by a
'Rugby League Week' poll. |
Wests'
halfback Keith Holman ignored the mud underfoot and sent
the ball wide which saw Doug McRitchie break the defensive
line.
With quick hands that defied the conditions, the Australians
suddenly had an overlap. Ron Roberts caught a long floating
pass and set sail for the try-line, scampering 30 yards through
the slosh to crash over in the corner. Roberts had just scored
the only try of the match to give Clive Churchill’s
Australia a 5-2 win and an Ashes victory for the first time
in 30 years.
It was a sensational moment that brought the house down. There
were scenes of hats and umbrellas being thrown into the air.
There were men kissing the SCG mud while others made souvenirs
of corner posts, flags and buckets. The pandemonium wasn’t
just restricted to the mob as a touch judge claimed the ball.
The father of Australian Rugby League, James Giltinan
expressed his joy that he had lived long enough to see Australia
win back the Ashes. Aged 84, J.J. Giltinan passed away a few
weeks later. The end result was that Australia had turned around
a generation of loss and Ron Roberts was elevated to legendary
status. More: Ron
Roberts (2003).
|
'ILLAWARRA'
TEAM BEATS GREAT BRITAIN IN 1950
The might of Southern Division
football was evident once again when they defeated Great Britain
18-11.
The giant killers of 1950
|
1951:
ST GEORGE KNOCKED OUT IN FINAL
 Sydney
Cricket Ground, 15 September 1951: Saints ended their semis
run going down 18-8 to Manly in the preliminary final. 1951 was
dominated by Souths who slaughtered Manly a week later in the
Grand Final 42-14. Minor premiers, Souths were on 33 points after
18 rounds with the nearest team, Manly on 22 points.Saints
position on the ladder was 3rd with 21 points. St George and
Souths met three times at the SCG in 1951 with a 16-all draw being
the result in the 1st encounter on May 9th. Souths then beat Saints
22-16 on August 11th but the South Sydney's 1951 campaign
took a jolt on September 1st when Saints thrashed the favourites
35-8 in the major semi-final.
 The
year also saw Noel Pidding achieve greatness when he became
the first St George player to score 200 points at Test level with
14 tries and 79 goals.
It was also the the first year in first grade for second rower,
Norm Provan. Lanky and raw boned, 'Sticks' played 20 games
in his debut year, scoring five tries. In 2001, Norm's portrait
(pic above right) still had pride of place near the entrance in
St George Leagues Club.
JJ GILTINAN SHIELD
In 1951, a tradition began with the J.J. Giltinan Shield being
introduced as the premiership shield to be awarded to the season
premiers.
It was named after Australian Rugby League pioneer James Giltinan,
the 'father of rugby league', who passed away in 1950. |
1951
NSWRL
First Grade
Ladder
(top 4 in semis)
| Souths
p |
33 |
| Manly |
22 |
| St
George |
21 |
| Wests |
20 |
| Easts |
18 |
| Parramatta |
18 |
| Canterbury |
14 |
| Newtown |
12 |
| Balmain |
12 |
| Norths |
10 |
(18
ROUNDS)
Saints
'51 record
Win
Loss Draw
10W, 7L, 1D
Pts for/against
For 374 (3rd)
Against 251 (2nd)
|
1952:
DRAGONS 2ND ON LADDER
 Kogarah,
23 August 1952: St George have completed 18 rounds in 2nd
position on the ladder with 26 points following their defeat
of cellar dwellers, Parramatta by 34-8. Unfortunately, Saints
were unable to push on being downed 21-9 by Norths in the minor
semi final on 6th September at the SCG.
Noel Pidding (pictured) toured as
a Kangaroo in 1952 playing in 22 tour matches (inc. five
Tests) scoring 18 tries + 87 goals for a personal tally of 228
points (average 10.36 per game) -
the second highest ever on a Kangaroo tour.
The highest ever tally being attained by Dave Brown who
scored 258 points (10 tries. 114 goals) but did so in 32 tour
matches. (average 8.06 per game) Given the average / game
was Noel Pidding the greatest Kangaroo ever?
Matt McCoy suffered a knee injury which has
seen the end to his first grade career. Originally from Bega NSW,
the robust St George centre played 65 games scoring 26 tries,
65 goals (208 points) as well as touring New Zealand in 1949 playing
in two Tests.
Saints lost
another great player in 1952 when Norman 'Johnny' Hawke decided
to call it a day after 56 games with the Dragons between 1949-52.
Originally from Canberra, Hawke was a 1948 Kangaroo and
NSW rep before becoming an inspirational premiership winning captain
for the Saints in 1949. At five eighth, he dictated play and was
largely responsible for Saints winning their 2nd Grand Final in
1949. He has accepted the job of captain coach of Kyogle to see
out his footballing career.
'Killer' Ken Kearney, a tough and cunning
Hooker, joined Saints in 1952. The former W.W.II RAAF serviceman
was noted as being a ruthless professional. Kearney, a former
Rugby Union player represented Australia with the Wallabies in
7 Tests before joining Rugby League in England in 1948. He was
a 1952 Kangaroo.
|
1952
NSWRL
First Grade
Ladder
(top 4 in semis)
| Wests
p |
29 |
| St
George |
26 |
| Souths |
24 |
| Norths |
22 |
| Manly |
22 |
| Balmain |
16 |
| Newtown |
12 |
| Easts |
12 |
| Canterbury |
11 |
| Parramatta |
6 |
(18
ROUNDS)
Saints
'52 record
Win Loss
Draw
13W, 5L, 1D
Pts for/against
For 377 (2nd)
Against 279 (6th) |
1953:
SAINTS
THRASHED IN UPSET
Brookvale Oval, 6 June 1953: In one of
the biggest upsets since W.W.II, Manly-Warringah have thrashed
St George 36-0 in front of an overjoyed crowd at Brookvale
Oval.
SAINTS
RUNNERS-UP IN '53
 Sydney
Cricket Ground, 12 September 1953: After 18 rounds of football,
Saints were positioned 2nd on the ladder with 22 points
behind Souths on 23 points. 1953 saw a brief return to 'sudden
death' semis. Saints defeated Easts in the minor semi by 25-7
on September 5. However, Saints went down in the Final to Souths
by 31-12.
St George hooker, Ken Kearney (pic left)
was criticised for the loss and was to receive more criticism
over the next two years as Saints were constantly copping a
hiding in the penalty count due to Kearney consistently feuding
with the game's No.1 referee, Darcy Lawler.
LAST SEASON FOR NOEL PIDDING
Noel Pidding leaves Saints to return to
Maitland but not before playing for Australia again against
New Zealand. His career as a deceptive fullback / winger and
exceptional goal kicker also continued when he was selected
to play in the 1954 World Cup and Test series (against GB).
Whilst in Maitland, he was selected to play for NSW, scoring
67 points in four matches. He later played 1½ seasons
with Easts before finally hanging up his boots.
In other news, fullback, Doug Fleming has
indicated that he will sit out 1954.
|
1953
NSWRL
First Grade
Ladder
(top 4 in semis)
| Souths
p |
23 |
| St
George |
22 |
| Norths |
21 |
| Easts |
21 |
| Newtown |
20 |
| Canterbury |
20 |
| Parramatta |
17 |
| Balmain |
14 |
| Manly |
12 |
| Wests |
10 |
(18
ROUNDS)
Saints
'53 record
Win Loss
Draw
11W, 7L, 0D
Pts for/against
For 313 (4th)
Against 289 (4th) |
1954:
 SAINTS
DEFEATED IN PRELIMINARY FINAL
Sydney Cricket Ground, 11 September 1954: Newtown
have defeated St George 27-13 in the preliminary final thus ending
Saints' 1954 campaign. Saints finished 18 rounds of football in
third position on 23 points.
1954 was the first year for, Bobby Bugden
(pictured). The little halfback had an immediate impact.
NEW SEMIS SYSTEM
In 1954 the
grand final became mandatory in a new semi finals system where
the minor premiers were no longer guaranteed a grand final berth.
Instead, the minor premiers and the second place-getters would
play in the major semi final and
the winner would qualify for the grand final. The loser would
get one last chance in the preliminary final against the winner
of the minor semi which is contested by the third and fourth place-getters.
 FRANK
JOHNSON RETIRES FROM RUGBY LEAGUE
Frank Johnson (picture) has played his last year with Newtown.
A popular hooker, Frank originally played with Port Kembla
before playing 23 games with St George in 1944-45. He represented
Country in 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943 and 1946. He also captain-coached
Wollongong in 1946. In 1947, Frank played for NSW and in 1948
toured with the Kangaroos. He also represented Southern Division
against Great Britain. In later years, Frank Johnson was awarded
an OAM for his tireless services to the game for 50 years. Born
1922, Johnson passed away in 1993. |
1954
NSWRL First Grade
Ladder
(top 4 in semis)
| Newtown |
32 |
| Souths
p |
29 |
| St
George |
23 |
| Norths |
22 |
| Manly |
21 |
| Balmain |
19 |
| Wests |
13 |
| Canterbury |
8 |
| Easts |
7 |
| Parramatta |
6 |
(18
ROUNDS)
Saints
'54 record
Win
Loss Draw
11W, 6L, 1D
Pts for/against
For 345 (6th)
Against 292 (3rd)
|
Getting
closer...
1955:
SAINTS
RUNNERS UP AGAIN
NSWRL Club Champions
Sydney Cricket Ground, 10 September 1955: Saints have been
defeated yet again just short of qualifying for the grand final
when they were overcome by Souths 18-12 in the preliminary final.
|
 Top
scorer for Saints in 1955 was fullback, Doug Fleming
(pic right) who scored one try, 87 goals for 177 points.
|
Saints
finished up in second position on the ladder after 18 rounds
of the competition.
The season was marked by Souths
winning 11 sudden death matches in a row (the last four without
Clive Churchill) to claim the 1955 premiership.
For four seasons in a row,
Saints have been agonisingly close to snaring a third premiership.
In
fact, Saints won the 1955 Club Championship with teams from all
three grades making the semis.
NORM TIPPING APPOINTED COACH
The
big news for Saints was the replacement of Ken Kearney
as coach. The new coach for 1956 will be Norm
Tipping. Tipping had earlier coached Saints in the 1953 Grand
Final loss but was replaced by Kearney for 1954 and 1955.
|
1955
NSWRL
First Grade
Ladder
(top 4 in semis)
| Newtown |
29 |
| St
George |
28 |
| Manly |
23 |
| Souths
p |
22 |
| Norths |
20 |
| Easts |
17 |
| Balmain |
17 |
| Parramatta |
10 |
| Canterbury |
8 |
| Wests |
6 |
(18
ROUNDS)
Saints
'55 record
Win
Loss Draw
14W, 4L, 0D
Pts for/against
For 396 (1st)
Against 247 (3rd)
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Seasons
In Review
