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 THE
EARLY YEARS OF ST GEORGE: 1926 - 1929
1926:
 Another
dark year for St George who finished as
wooden spooners
for the second time. Even a rejuvenated
University finally managed to defeat Saints,
something they were unable to do in 10
prior meetings.The highlight of the year
was the Final between Souths and University
at the Agricultural Showground. The match
drew 20,000 people. Souths won 11-5.
1926 was also the final year for Ernie
Lapham [pic left] rated as the fastest
forward in the game, 'Curly' Lapham came
to Saints in 1921. He later joined Souths
and was a NSW rep in 1926-28. In all,
he scored 11 tries for Saints in 53 games.
 Despite
the disastrous year, St George provided
three players for the NSW side in Arthur
'Snowy' Justice, Bill Hardman
and Aubrey 'Jockey' Kelly.
Fielding a reasonable team and captained
by Arnold Traynor [pic right],
Saints were accused of showing a 'lack
of enthuiasm in training, discipline and
cooperation' by The Rugby League News.
Sydney Cricket Ground, 24 April 1926:
In contrast to Saints' team performances
were the brilliant individual efforts
from hooker 'Snowy' Justice and five eighth
and captain Arnold Traynor. In particular,
during a round one match against eventual
premiers South Sydney, Traynor played
the game of his life setting up a number
of plays and adding further points with
the boot.
The Saints skipper comprehensively out-played
his opposite, 'Smacker' Blair but it wasn't
enough with St George eventually going
down 16-12 in front of approximately 15,000
people.
South Sydney 16 (4 tries, 2 goals) defeated
St George 12 (2 tries, 3 goals). Ref:
W Neill.
SAINTS APPROACH FRANK
BURGE
In an attempt to avoid a repeat of the
1926 season, St George have approached
retiring Glebe and international forward,
Frank Burge. Hooker Snowy Justice
urged club secretary Reg Fusedale
to meet with Burge and to sign up the
veteran as player-coach for the 1927 season. |
RL
Ladder
1926
(top 4 in semis)
| Souths
p |
32 |
| Glebe |
23 |
| Easts |
23 |
| University |
22 |
| Wests |
20 |
| Newtown |
18 |
| Norths |
18 |
| Balmain |
16 |
| St
George |
8 |
(18
ROUNDS)
Saints
'26 record
Win
Loss Draw Bye
2W,
14L, 0D, 2B
Pts
for/against
For 169 (9th)
Against
307 (9th)
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1927:
 ST
GEORGE MAKE FINAL FOR FIRST TIME
THE MIGHTY FRANK BURGE
The
appointment of international and Glebe
forward Frank 'Chunky' Burge [pic
right]as St George captain-coach was
greeted with controversy with critics noting Burge's
already lengthy career and that he had just announced
his retirement. Following several meetings,
Saints agreed to pay Burge the exorbitant amount
of £200; Arthur 'Snowy' Justice, who
first suggested Burge's appointment remarked that,
"everyone thought we'd gone mad."
The critics however were proven wrong when under
the guidance of Burge, St George made a remarkable
turnaround. Coming from last in '26 to runners up
in '27. In 18 rounds, Saints lost just three matches,
one to Wests and two to the minor premiers and '27
champions, South Sydney. At the age of 33, Frank
'Chunky' Burge played only the one season with Saints
as player-coach but he still scored nine tries in
16 games. Frank Burge will go down in history as
one of the greatest try scoring forwards the game
has ever produced.
In a first grade career which began in 1911, Frank
Burge scored 146 tries (154 games) before retiring
in 1927.
It was to become one of Rugby League's most enduring
records. No other forward has been able to manage
this achievement.
1927 team:
Click pic for larger image and player names |
Frank
continued as St George's coach until 1930 before
going on to coaching other teams. He returned again
in 1937 to once again lift Saints' fortunes.
MORE:
THE MIGHTY FRANK BURGE - CLICK HERE
With
the competition's best defensive record, Saints
finished 2nd in the season proper on 29 points
going into the 1927 semi-finals. These were uncharted
waters for the club which joined the competition
just six years earlier. They must have been pleased
to learn that their minor semi final against Easts
was scheduled to be played at Earl Park where Saints
were enjoying a great deal of success. The minor
semi-final was played on 27th September, 1927 in
front of 5,040 people. Despite being a man down
(fullback Frank Meighan was sent off allegedly
for kicking), Saints won the match 26-11 scoring
six tries to one. Winger Frank 'Fatty' Saunders
was the star of the match bagging a hat trick of
tries. |
RL
Ladder
1927
(top 4 in semis)
| Souths
p |
32 |
| St
George |
29 |
| Wests |
22 |
| Easts |
22 |
| Newtown |
20 |
| Norths |
17 |
| Balmain |
16 |
| Glebe |
12 |
| University |
10 |
(18
ROUNDS)
Saints
'27 record
Win
Loss Draw Bye
12W, 3L,
1D, 2B
Pts for/against
For 284 (2nd)
Against 141
(1st) |
Royal
Agricultural Showground, 17 September 1927: The
victory in the minor semi-final meant that St George
had qualified for their first ever final in their
first ever semis.
Saints eventually went down 20-11 to minor premiers,
South Sydney but it was a tremendous turnaround for
the red and whites who had gone from wooden spooners
to runners up in one season.
Playing
on a quagmire, Saints confronted the might of Souths
in the final at the RAS in front of 12,124 people.
The two teams had already met earlier in the season
at the Sydney Cricket Ground when Souths defeated
Saints 17-14 in front of a massive crowd of 31,500
With heavy rain falling throughout the match, Souths
won the decider scoring four tries to three.
Souths 20 (4 tries, 4 goals) defeated St George 11
(3 tries, 1 goal). Ref: W Neill.
 SAINTS
SIGN STAN BRAIN
Another big signing for St George in 1927 was
NSW rep player, Stan Brain. A country winger,
Brain played in the 1927 Final.
CLARRIE
TYE RETIRES
In other news, 1927 was the final year for forward,
Clarrie F Tye [pic right] who announced his
retirement from premiership football. Clarrie came
to Saints from Wests in 1921 and played in Saints
inaugural first grade match.
A NSW rep in 1919 and 1921, Clarrie Tye captained
Saints in 1923.
In all, Clarrie played 78 games for St George scoring
11 tries. |
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The
Red V
1928:
 Police
intervene as Earl Park erupts!
Earl Park, 11 August
1928: Following
a firey on-field encounter between St George and
Balmain, Earl Park has erupted into crowd violence.
The match was won 21-3 by St George in front of
6000 people, but not before fighting between players
spilled across the ground. An all in brawl followed
and spectators got involved. Police intervened using
hand cuffs, batons and fists in an effort to quell
what the press have dubbed, 'the Earl Park riot'.
According to reports, St George players retaliated
when team mate George Carstairs was kicked
about the head by a Balmain player.
It appears the source of the crowd's aggravation
was referee Brannaghan who lost control of
the match when he sent off St George forward Harry
Flower early in the second half but allowed
Balmain players to stay on the field.
The incident with Carstairs occurred five minutes
from fulltime. Earlier, Carstairs had been kicked
in the face while playing the ball but on this occasion
he was knocked unconscious when kicked in the head
by Balmain forward, Tony Russell. Brannaghan's
decision to only cautioned Russell brought a strong
reaction from players, officials, and the crowd.
St George coach, Frank Burgh and secretary,
Reg Fusedale approached Brannaghan for an
explanation following an on field brawl amongst
the players.
The game continued but another incident at fulltime
escalated the already volatile situation. With the
match over, Balmain's George Bishop began
chasing St George five eighth, Arnold Traynor.
This infuriated sections of the crowd as hundreds
invaded the pitch with the intention of seeking
revenge on the Balmain players. St George supporters
ripped off fence palings to be used as weapons and
one witness reported seeing a man running around
behind the grandstand with an axe!
Police arrived but not before Russell was badly
beaten by the crowd. He suffered leg and head injuries
and was put into the same ambulance as George Carstairs
where it was reported that Russell attempted to
assault Carstairs and ambulance officers had to
intervene to restrain him.
Meanwhile police were making numerous arrests and
order was eventually restored. A week later, a NSWRL
investigation blamed crowd violence and not the
players or officials for the disturbance. |
RL
Ladder
1928
(top 4 in semis)
| St
George |
26 |
| Easts |
26 |
| Souths
p |
18 |
| Norths |
16 |
| University |
14 |
| Wests |
12 |
| Glebe |
12 |
| Balmain |
10 |
| Newtown |
6 |
(14
ROUNDS)
Saints
'28 record
Win
Loss Draw Bye
12W, 1L,
0D, 1B
Pts for/against
For 200 (2nd)
Against 98
(1st) |
St
George minor premiers for first time!
Sydney Cricket Ground, 1 September
1928: The St George 'Dragon Slayers' have have
secured top position on the ladder after defeating
Norths 23-13 in the final round of the minor premiership.
Saints were equal with Easts on 28 points but attain
top spot by virtue of a better for-and-against. Additionally,
Easts had two byes to St George's one bye. Saints
had a tremendous season in 1928, losing just one match
and posting 12 wins, including a 24-0 drubbing of
Glebe.
St George went into the semis with the knowledge that
throughout 1928, they had the better of the other
three semi-finalists, Easts, Souths and Norths. So
far, Saints have played Easts once and Souths twice
without loss and have played Norths twice, narrowly
losing early in the season but winning comfortably
in today's match at the SCG.
SAINTS
BOW OUT OF SEMIS RACE
Earl
Park, 8 September 1928: Despite finishing on top
of the premiership ladder with 28 points, St George
were defeated by Souths 13-5 at Earl Park in front
of a crowd of 14,758 in the sudden death major semi
final.
It was a disappointing end to the season
for Saints who were well clear of Souths in the premiership
standings who only came into the semis with just 18
points.
To their credit, Souths go on to the
Final and win the competition by defeating Easts 26-5. |
1929:
 'DRAGON
SLAYERS' HAVE NEW JERSEY
The 1929 season saw Saints run on
for the first time with a distinctive 'red vee'
on a white background. Now commonly referred to
as the 'Dragon Slayers', St George have done away
with the previous jersey with it's broad horizontal
red bars.
V
PROMISING START IN BIG
LEAGUE V
Sydney,
31 August 1929: After 18 rounds of football,
Saints finished the season in 2nd position
on 27 points and qualified for the semi-finals.
On September 7th, Saints lined up against
Newtown for the minor semi final at Earl Park. 7000
people were in attendance to see Saints go down
by the narrowest of margins, 8-7. Despite missing
out on a premiership, Saints can be proud about
their early years in 1st grade and are one of the
teams to watch in the season to come.
Also, 1929 was the final year for
George 'Bluey' Carstairs who decided to retire
from first grade football. A Marist Brothers junior,
George played all his 1st grade football with Saints
with 79 games including Saints first ever game in
1921 when he scored Saints first ever try.
Playing
at centre or winger, the big three quarter scored
11 tries & 79 goals (191pts). He was also a
1921 Kangaroo, playing for Australia 17 times including
two test matches. Frank Gray, another 1921
founding player also retired after 33 games for
the red and whites.
In other news, '29 saw the end of Rugby League's
first club, Glebe.
In the club's 22 season history, they
scored more points than they conceded and were runners
up four times. One reason for the demise of the
inner city club appears to be geographical while
the club's fruitless search for an adequate home
ground seemed to be the final straw. |
RL
Ladder
1929
(top 4 in semis)
| Souths
p |
31 |
| St
George |
27 |
| Wests |
26 |
| Newtown |
24 |
| Norths |
19 |
| Balmain |
17 |
| Easts |
14 |
| Glebe |
13 |
| University |
9 |
(18
ROUNDS)
Saints
'29 record
Win
Loss Draw Bye
11W, 4L,
1D, 2B
Pts for/against
For 180 (7th)
Against 147
(2nd) |
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