1918 NSWRFL season

1918 NSWRFL season
Teams	8
Premiers	South Sydney (4th title)
Minor premiers	South Sydney (4th title)
Matches played	56
Points scored	1345 (total) 24.018 (per match)
Top point scorer(s)	Harold Horder (87)
Top try scorer(s)	Frank Burge (24)

The 1918 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the 11th season of Sydney's professional rugby league football club competition, Australia's first. Eight teams from across the city contested during the season, with South Sydney finishing on top of the lader to claim the premiership.^[1]

Season summary

Both South Sydney and Western Suburbs dominated the season, dropping just two and three games respectively. With just three rounds to go, both sides met each square on 18 points each. A win for South Sydney would virtually guarantee them the premiership unless they dropped their final two games. At the end of the day, South Sydney prevailed 11-3 and went on to win their remaining games as well, taking away their fourth premiership from 11 starts.

The season also saw the struggling Dales fail to win a game from fourteen starts. It signalled the beginning of the downfall of the side, who would just play a further two seasons in the premiership.

The Western Suburbs club claim their first title by winning the knockout competition, the City Cup.

Teams

The lineup teams remained unchanged from the 1917 season.

• Annandale
• Balmain, formed on January 23, 1908 at Balmain Town Hall
• Eastern Suburbs, formed on January 24, 1908 at Paddington Town Hall
• Glebe, formed on January 9, 1908
• Newtown, formed on January 14, 1908
• North Sydney, formed on February 7, 1908
• South Sydney, formed on January 17, 1908 at Redfern Town Hall
• Western Suburbs, formed on February 4, 1908

Annandale	Balmain	Eastern Suburbs	Glebe
Newtown	North Sydney	South Sydney	Western Suburbs

Ladder

The geographical locations of the teams that contested the 1918 premiership across Sydney.

	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	South Sydney	14	12	0	2	257	121	+136	24
2	Western Suburbs	14	11	0	3	182	102	+80	22
3	Glebe	14	9	0	5	212	128	+84	18
4	Balmain	14	8	1	5	215	148	+67	17
5	Eastern Suburbs	14	8	0	6	160	153	+7	16
6	North Sydney	14	3	2	9	131	202	-71	8
7	Newtown	14	2	3	9	115	175	-60	7
8	Annandale	14	0	0	14	73	316	-243	0

References

• Rugby League Tables - Notes The World of Rugby League
• Rugby League Tables - Season 1918 The World of Rugby League
• Premiership History and Statistics RL1908
• Results: 1911-20 at rabbitohs.com.au