View source for 1953 NSWRFL season

{{Short description|Rugby league competition}}
{{Use Australian English|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox rugby league season
 | year = 1953
 | competition = New South Wales Rugby Football League
 | image =
 | imagesize = 
 | caption = 
 | teams = 10
 | premiers = [[Image:South Sydney colours.svg|16x16px]] [[South Sydney Rabbitohs|South Sydney]]
 | count = 14th
 | minor premiers = [[Image:South Sydney colours.svg|16x16px]] [[South Sydney Rabbitohs|South Sydney]]
 | mpcount = 13th
 | matches = 93
 | points = 3241
 | attendance = 
 | top point scorer = [[Image:Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg|16x16px]] [[Ron Rowles]] (152)
 | top try scorer = [[Image:South Sydney colours.svg|16x16px]] [[Ian Moir]] (23)
 | wooden_spoon        = [[File:Western Suburbs colours.svg|16x16px]] [[Western Suburbs Magpies|Western Suburbs]]
 | wooden_spoon_count  = 9th
 | prevseason_link     = 1952 NSWRFL season
 | prevseason_year     = 1952
 | nextseason_link     = 1954 NSWRFL season
 | nextseason_year     = 1954
}}
The 1953 '''[[New South Wales Rugby League premiership|New South Wales Rugby Football League season]]''' was the forty-sixth season of the [[rugby league]] competition based in [[Sydney]]. Ten teams from across the city competed for the [[J. J. Giltinan Shield]] during the season, which culminated in a final between South Sydney and St. George.

==Teams==
{| class="toccolours" style="margin:auto; text-valign:center;" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="2"
|-
!width=195|
!width=195|
!width=195|
!width=195|
!width=195|
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|'''[[Balmain Tigers|Balmain]]'''[[Image:Balmain Jersey 1943.png|100px|center]]
<small>46th season<br />Ground: [[Leichhardt Oval]] <br />
Coach: [[Arthur Patton]]<br />Captain: [[Bob Lulham]]</small>
| style="text-align:center;"|'''[[Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs|Canterbury-Bankstown]]'''[[Image:Canterbury-Bankstown Jersey 1938.png|100px|center]]
<small>[[1953 Canterbury-Bankstown season|19th season]]<br />Ground: [[Belmore Oval]]<br />
Coach: [[Jack Hampstead]]<br />Captain: [[Cec Cooper]]</small>
| style="text-align:center;"|'''[[Sydney Roosters|Eastern Suburbs]]'''[[Image:Eastern Suburbs Jersey 1914.png|100px|center]]
<small>[[1953 Eastern Suburbs DRLFC season|46th season]]<br />Ground: [[Sydney Sports Ground]] <br />
Captain-Coach: [[Col Donohoe]]</small>
| style="text-align:center;"|'''[[Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles|Manly-Warringah]]'''[[Image:Manly-Warringah Jersey 1951.png|100px|center]]
<small>[[1953 Manly-Warringah season|7th season]]<br />Ground: [[Brookvale Oval]]<br />
Captain-Coach: [[Roy Bull]]</small>
| style="text-align:center;"|'''[[Newtown Jets|Newtown]]'''[[Image:Newtown Jersey 1915.png|100px|center]]
<small>46th season<br />Ground: [[Erskineville Oval, Sydney|Erskineville Oval]] <br />
Captain-Coach: [[Frank Johnson (rugby league)|Frank Johnson]]</small>
|-
| style="text-align:center;"|'''[[North Sydney Bears|North Sydney]]'''[[Image:North Sydney Jersey 1941.png|100px|center]]
<small>46th season<br />Ground: [[North Sydney Oval]]<br />
Coach: [[Ross McKinnon]]<br />Captain: [[Lloyd Hudson]]</small>
| style="text-align:center;"|'''[[Parramatta Eels|Parramatta]]'''[[Image:Parramatta Jersey 1953.png|100px|center]]
<small>[[1953 Parramatta DRLFC season|7th season]]<br />Ground: [[Cumberland Oval]]<br />
Coach: [[Vic Hey]]<br />Captain: [[Ian Johnston (rugby league)|Ian Johnston]]</small>
| style="text-align:center;"|'''[[South Sydney Rabbitohs|South Sydney]]'''[[Image:South Sydney Jersey 1930.png|100px|center]]
<small>[[1953 South Sydney season|46th season]]<br />Ground: [[Redfern Oval]]<br />
Captain-coach: [[Jack Rayner]]</small>
| style="text-align:center;"|'''[[St. George Dragons|St. George]]'''[[Image:St George Jersey 1948.png|100px|center]]
<small>33rd season<br />Ground: [[Jubilee Oval]] <br />
Coach: [[Norm Tipping]]<br />Captain: [[Ken Kearney]]</small>
| style="text-align:center;"|'''[[Western Suburbs Magpies|Western Suburbs]]'''[[Image:Western Suburbs Jersey 1953.png|100px|center]]
<small>46th season<br />Ground: [[Pratten Park]]<br />
Captain-Coach: [[Peter McLean (rugby league)|Peter McLean]]</small>
|}

==Ladder==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! style="width:20px;" abbr="Position×"|
!width=175 |Team
! style="width:20px;" abbr="Played"|Pld
! style="width:20px;" abbr="Won"|W
! style="width:20px;" abbr="Drawn"|D
! style="width:20px;" abbr="Lost"|L
! style="width:20px;" abbr="Points for"|PF
! style="width:20px;" abbr="Points against"|PA
! style="width:20px;" abbr="Points difference"|PD
! style="width:20px;" abbr="Points"|Pts
|- style="background:#cfc;"
|1||style="text-align:left;"| [[Image:South Sydney colours.svg|16x16px]] [[South Sydney Rabbitohs|South Sydney]]
|18||11||1||6||384||278||+106||'''23'''
|- style="background:#cfc;"
|2||style="text-align:left;"| [[Image:St. George colours.svg|16x16px]] [[St. George Dragons|St. George]]
|18||11||0||7||313||289||+24||'''22'''
|- style="background:#cfc;"
|3||style="text-align:left;"| [[Image:North Sydney colours.svg|16x16px]] [[North Sydney Bears|North Sydney]]
|18||10||1||7||421||283||+138||'''21'''
|- style="background:#cfc;"
|4||style="text-align:left;"| [[Image:Eastern Suburbs colours.svg|16x16px]] [[Sydney Roosters|Eastern Suburbs]]
|18||10||1||7||330||310||+20||'''21'''
|- 
|5||style="text-align:left;"| [[Image:Newtown colours.svg|16x16px]] [[Newtown Jets|Newtown]]
|18||9||2||7||292||268||+24||'''20'''
|- 
|6||style="text-align:left;"| [[Image:Canterbury colours.svg|16x16px]] [[Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs|Canterbury]]
|18||9||2||7||252||291||-39||'''20'''
|- 
|7||style="text-align:left;"| [[Image:Parramatta colours.svg|16x16px]] [[Parramatta Eels|Parramatta]]
|18||8||1||9||271||291||-20||'''17'''
|- 
|8||style="text-align:left;"| [[Image:Balmain colours.svg|16x16px]] [[Balmain Tigers|Balmain]]
|18||7||0||11||313||377||-64||'''14'''
|- 
|9||style="text-align:left;"| [[Image:Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg|16x16px]] [[Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles|Manly]]
|18||6||0||12||294||393||-99||'''12'''
|- 
|10||style="text-align:left;"| [[Image:Western Suburbs colours.svg|16x16px]] [[Western Suburbs Magpies|Western Suburbs]]
|18||5||0||13||287||377||-90||'''10'''
|}

==Finals==
{| border="1" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse:collapse; font-size:90%; text-align:center; width:100%;"
|- style="background:#c1d8ff;"
! rowspan="2" style="width:21%;"|Home
! rowspan="2" style="width:6%;"|Score
! rowspan="2" style="width:21%;"|Away
!colspan=6|Match Information
|- style="background:#efefef;"
!width=17%|Date and Time
!width=17%|Venue
!width=11%|Referee
!width=7%|Crowd
|- style="background:#d0e7ff;"
|  colspan=7 | '''Semifinals'''
|- style="background:#f5faff;"
|align=left | [[Image:South Sydney colours.svg|23x23px]] [[South Sydney Rabbitohs|South Sydney]]
|5–4
|align=left | [[Image:North Sydney colours.svg|23x23px]] [[North Sydney Bears|North Sydney]]
|29 August 1953
|[[Sydney Cricket Ground]]
|Jack O'Brien
|30,392
|- style="background:#f5faff;"
|align=left | [[Image:St. George colours.svg|23x23px]] [[St. George Dragons|St. George]]
|25–7
|align=left | [[Image:Eastern Suburbs colours.svg|23x23px]] [[Sydney Roosters|Eastern Suburbs]]
|5 September 1953
|[[Sydney Cricket Ground]]
|[[Darcy Lawler]]
|37,753
|- style="background:#d0e7ff;"
|  colspan=7 | '''Final'''
|- style="background:#f5faff;"
|align=left | [[Image:South Sydney colours.svg|23x23px]] [[South Sydney Rabbitohs|South Sydney]]
|31–12
|align=left | [[Image:St. George colours.svg|23x23px]] [[St. George Dragons|St. George]]
|12 September 1953
|[[Sydney Cricket Ground]]
|[[Darcy Lawler]]
|44,581
|}

===Chart===
{{5TeamBracket-ByeToFinal
|RD1=Semi-finals
|RD2=[[1953 NSWRFL season#Final|Final]]
|RD3=Grand final
|boldwinner=yes

|RD1-seed1=1
|RD1-team1={{league icon|South Sydney|13}} [[South Sydney Rabbitohs|Souths]]
|RD1-score1=5
|RD1-seed2=3
|RD1-team2={{league icon|North Sydney|12}} [[North Sydney Bears|Norths]]
|RD1-score2=4
|RD1-seed3=2
|RD1-team3={{league icon|St George|13}} [[St. George Dragons|St George]]
|RD1-score3=25
|RD1-seed4=4
|RD1-team4={{league icon|Easts|13}} [[Sydney Roosters|Easts]]
|RD1-score4=7

|RD2-seed1=
|RD2-team1={{league icon|South Sydney|13}} [[South Sydney Rabbitohs|Souths]]
|RD2-score1=31
|RD2-seed2=
|RD2-team2={{league icon|St George|12}} [[St. George Dragons|St George]]
|RD2-score2=12

|RD3-seed1=MP
|RD3-team1='''{{league icon|South Sydney|13}} [[South Sydney Rabbitohs|Souths]]'''
|RD3-score1=X
|RD3-seed2=
|RD3-team2={{league icon|South Sydney|12}} [[South Sydney Rabbitohs|Souths]]
|RD3-score2=X
}}

===Final===
{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; font-size:90%; margin-left:1em;"
|- style="background:#f03;"
! style="width:140px; border:3px solid red; background: green; color: white"|South Sydney
! style="width:40px; text-align:center; background:#eee; color:black;"|Position
! style="width:140px; border:3px solid red; background: white; color: red"|St. George
|- align=center
| 13. [[Clive Churchill]] || [[Fullback (rugby league)|FB]] || 3. [[Noel Pidding]] 
|- align=center
| 12. [[Ian Moir]] || [[Rugby league positions#Wing|WG]]|| 15. [[Kevin Hole]]
|- align=center
| 18. [[Martin Gallagher (rugby league)|Martin Gallagher]] || [[Rugby league positions#Centre|CE]] || 5. [[Tommy Ryan (rugby league)|Tommy Ryan]]
|- align=center
| 14. [[Kevin Woolfe]] || [[Rugby league positions#Centre|CE]]|| 44. [[Merv Lees]]
|- align=center
| 11. [[Frank Threlfo]] || [[Rugby league positions#Wing|WG]] || 2. [[Ross Kite]]
|- align=center
| 21. [[John Dougherty (rugby league)|John Dougherty]] ||[[Five-eighth|FE]] || 4. [[Allan Staunton (rugby league)|Allan Staunton]]
|- align=center
| 22. [[Ray Mason|Greg Hawick]] || [[Rugby league positions#Scrum half|HB]]|| 20. [[Peter Bracken (rugby league)|Peter Bracken]]
|- align=center
|
# [[Denis Donoghue (rugby league)|Denis Donoghue]]
| [[Rugby league positions#Prop forward|PR]] || 39. [[Kevin Brown (rugby league, Australia)|Kevin Brown]]
|- align=center
| 2. [[Ernie Hammerton]] || [[Hooker (rugby league)|HK]] || 12. [[Ken Kearney]] (c)
|- align=center
| 5. [[Jim Richards (rugby league)|Jim Richards]] || [[Rugby league positions#Prop forward|PR]] || 11. [[Bob Bower]]
|- align=center
| 41. [[Bob Moon (rugby league)|Bob Moon]] || [[Rugby league positions#Second-row forward|SR]]|| 10. [[Norm Provan|Barry Passfield]]
|- align=center
| 4. [[Jack Rayner]] (Ca./Co.) ||[[Rugby league positions#Second-row forward|SR]] || 9. [[Barry Passfield|Norm Provan]] 
|- align=center
| 6. [[Les Cowie]]|| [[Lock (rugby league)|LK]] || 8. [[Billy Wilson (Australian rugby league)|Billy Wilson]]
|- align=center
| || Coach || [[Norm Tipping]]
|}
To win the 1953 premiership St George would need to beat minor premiers Souths in both a final and a [[Grand final]], emulating the feats of the Dragons of [[New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1949#Finals|1949]] from which team only Noel Pidding was still playing. A crowd of 44,581 were at the [[Sydney Cricket Ground]] to see the first phase of this attempt.

Souths opened the scoring with a penalty goal in the ninth minute kicked by Clive Churchill from 40 yards. The Dragons threatened Souths' line continuously in the next stanza but bombed three tries and then lost some momentum in the 14 minutes before half-time during the absence of centre Merv Lees while he was off the field having stitches to his lip after driving a tooth through it. Souths scored 13 points in this period. Ian Moir capitalised on a spillage of the ball by Pidding behind his own line after a heavy tackle, Churchill then featured when he firstly sent Threlfo in and then set up Moir for his second try. The score at half time was 15–0.

Early in the second half Pidding kicked a penalty and a few minutes later Wilson and Gallagher were sent off for fighting. With Wilson gone Rabbitoh hard-men Rayner and Donoghue then took control and four Souths tries flowed to Woolfe, Dougherty, Hammerton and Moir’s third. Two late Dragons’ tries to Brown and Lees made no difference and South Sydney powered to their fourteenth premiership.

'''South Sydney Rabbitohs 31'''<br />
<small>Tries: Moir (3), Woolfe, Threlfo, Dougherty, Hammerton<br />
Goals: Dougherty (4), Churchill (1)</small>

'''St George Dragons 12'''<br />
<small>Tries: Lees, Brown<br />
Goals: Pidding (3)</small>

{{Clear}}

==Player statistics==
The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 18.
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
'''Top 5 point scorers'''
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left;"
|-
!width=50 |Points
!width=200 |Player
!width=30 |Tries
!width=30 |Goals
!width=30 |Field Goals
|-
!152
|{{leagueicon|Manly}} [[Ron Rowles]]
|align=center|8
|align=center|64
|align=center|0
|-
!114
|{{leagueicon|Parramatta}} [[Bob Hobbs]]
|align=center|2
|align=center|54
|align=center|0
|-
!99
|{{leagueicon|St. George}} [[Noel Pidding]]
|align=center|3
|align=center|45
|align=center|0
|-
!91
|{{leagueicon|North Sydney}} Norm Stewart
|align=center|1
|align=center|44
|align=center|0
|-
!88
|{{leagueicon|Newtown}} [[Gordon Clifford (rugby league)|Gordon Clifford]]
|align=center|0
|align=center|44
|align=center|0
|}
'''Top 5 try scorers'''
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left;"
|-
!width=50 |Tries
!width=200 |Player
|-
!20
|{{leagueicon|South Sydney}} [[Ian Moir]]
|-
!18
|{{leagueicon|North Sydney}} [[Horrie Toole]]
|-
!18
|{{leagueicon|Newtown}} [[Ray Preston (rugby league)|Ray Preston]]
|-
!14
|{{leagueicon|Canterbury}} Barry Stenhouse
|-
!13
|{{leagueicon|North Sydney}} [[Peter O'Brien (rugby league)|Peter O'Brien]]
|}
{{col-2}}
'''Top 5 goal scorers'''
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:left;"
|-
!width=50 |Goals
!width=200 |Player
|-
!64
|{{leagueicon|Manly}} [[Ron Rowles]]
|-
!54
|{{leagueicon|Parramatta}} [[Bob Hobbs]]
|-
!45
|{{leagueicon|St. George}} [[Noel Pidding]]
|-
!44
|{{leagueicon|North Sydney}} Norm Stewart
|-
!44
|{{leagueicon|Newtown}} [[Gordon Clifford (rugby league)|Gordon Clifford]]
|}
{{col-end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{cite web |url=http://www.stats.rleague.com/rl/seas/1953.html |title=Rugby League Tables – Season 1953 |publisher=rleague.com |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008072515/http://stats.rleague.com/rl/seas/1953.html |archivedate=8 October 2014}} ''The World of Rugby League''
* Haddan, Steve [2007] ''The finals – 100 Years of National Rugby League Finals'', Steve Haddan Publishing, Brisbane
* {{cite web |url=http://www.rabbitohs.com.au/The-Club/Tradition/Results---1951-1960.html |title=Results: 1951-60 |publisher=rabbitohs.com.au |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319201723/http://www.rabbitohs.com.au/The-Club/Tradition/Results---1951-1960.html |archivedate=19 March 2012}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.rleague.com//db/year/1953/j_j_giltinan_shield/index.php |title=J J Giltinan Shield |publisher=rleague.com |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120603123825/http://www.rleague.com//db/year/1953/j_j_giltinan_shield/index.php |archivedate=3 June 2012}}
* {{cite web |url=https://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/seasons/nswrfl-1953/summary.html |title=NSWRFL season 1953 |publisher=rugbyleagueproject.org |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081023235917/http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/competitions/NSWRL_1953.html |archive-date=23 October 2008}}
{{South Sydney Rabbitohs squad 1953 NSWRFL premiership}}
{{South Sydney Rabbitohs}}
{{National Rugby League seasons}}

[[Category:New South Wales Rugby League premiership]]
[[Category:1953 in Australian rugby league|Nswrfl Season]]