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The 1964 NSWRFL season was the fifty-seventh season of Sydney's professional rugby league football competition, the New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership, Australia's first. Ten clubs from across the city competed for the J. J. Giltinan Shield and the WD & HO Wills Cup during the season, which culminated in a grand final between St. George and Balmain.
| 1964 New South Wales Rugby Football League | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 10 |
| Premiers |  St. George (11th title) |
| Minor premiers | St. George (10th title) |
| Matches played | 94 |
| Points scored | 2736 |
| Attendance | 1197569 |
| Top points scorer(s) |  Fred Griffiths (160) |
| Top try-scorer(s) | Reg Gasnier (18) |
Balmain 57th season |
Canterbury-Bankstown 30th season |
Eastern Suburbs 57th season |
Manly-Warringah
18th season |
Newtown 57th season |
North Sydney 57th season |
Parramatta 18th season |
South Sydney 57th season |
St. George 44th season |
Western Suburbs
57th season |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. George |
18 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 393 | 154 | +239 | 30 |
| 2 |  Parramatta |
18 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 274 | 188 | +86 | 28 |
| 3 |  Balmain |
18 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 247 | 192 | +55 | 24 |
| 4 | North Sydney |
18 | 11 | 1 | 6 | 334 | 257 | +77 | 23 |
| 5 |  South Sydney |
18 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 304 | 250 | +54 | 22 |
| 6 |  Newtown |
18 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 236 | 268 | -32 | 18 |
| 7 |  Western Suburbs |
18 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 259 | 274 | -15 | 17 |
| 8 |  Manly |
18 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 229 | 331 | -102 | 11 |
| 9 |  Eastern Suburbs |
18 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 190 | 351 | -161 | 4 |
| 10 |  Canterbury |
18 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 168 | 369 | -201 | 3 |
| Home | Score | Away | Match information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| Semi-finals | ||||||||
| Balmain |
11–9 | North Sydney |
29 August 1964 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Jack Bradley | 35,082 | ||
| St. George |
42–0 | Parramatta |
5 September 1964 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Col Pearce | 33,659 | ||
| Preliminary Final | ||||||||
| Parramatta |
7–16 | Balmain |
12 September 1964 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Col Pearce | 35,389 | ||
| Grand Final | ||||||||
| St. George |
11–6 | Balmain |
19 September 1964 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Col Pearce | 61,369 | ||
Grand Final
| St. George | Position | Balmain |
|---|---|---|
| FB |
| |
| 2. Johnny King | WG | 2. Dick Quinn |
| 3. Reg Gasnier | CE | 3. Brian Dunlop |
| 4. Billy Smith | CE | 4. Robert Ridley |
| 5. Eddie Lumsden | WG | 5. Bob Mara |
| 6. Brian Clay | FE | 6. Jack Danzey |
| 7. George Evans | HB | 7. Billy Bischoff Jr. |
| 13. Monty Porter | PR | 13. Bob Boland |
| 12. Peter Armstrong | HK | 12. Dick Wilson |
| 11. Kevin Ryan | PR | 11. George Piper |
| 10. Elton Rasmussen | SR | 10. Ron Clothier |
| 9. Norm Provan (Ca./Co.) | SR | 9. Peter Provan |
| 8. Johnny Raper | LK | 8. Dennis Tutty |
| Coach | Harry Bath | |
St. George captain-coach Norm Provan was matching up against his younger brother (and former Dragon) Peter, who had moved to the Tigers in 1961.
The Tigers’ defence was strong throughout a dour first half and for the first time in nine grand finals the Dragons trailed at half-time (4–2) with Balmain in the lead after penalty goals from Keith "Golden Boots" Barnes.
The turning point of the match came five minutes into the second half. The Tigers were defending their own line with some desperate tackling when they received a relieving penalty from referee Pearce. Balmain's Bob Boland put in a big punt which at first looked like a good touch finder. To Balmain's horror, Graeme Langlands stretched and then caught the ball with his boots only an inch or two from the touchline. The champion fullback then raced cross-field towards the Balmain line and sent a cut-out pass to Billy Smith 25 yards out from the tryline. The centre made further inroads before channeling a pass to Johnny King who sped down the left wing for 20 yards to score a diving try.
Test winger Johnny King thus kept intact his grand final record with this being his fifth successive try in a decider.
Eighteen-year-old Dennis Tutty stood out for the Tigers, providing reliable cover defence that stopped the Dragons on numerous occasions. For St. George, Smith and Langlands had strong games with Langlands tallying 72 points in his last four games of the season. Brian Clay had by now reclaimed his five-eighth position from Bruce Pollard and excelled just as he had in his five previous Grand Final appearances.
St. George 11 (Tries: King. Goals: Langlands 4.)
Balmain 6 (Goals: Barnes 3.)
The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 18.
|
Top 5 point scorers
Top 5 try scorers
|
Top 5 goal scorers
|
- The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs' wooden spoon season was their last until 2002, when they were sentenced to finish last that season as punishment due to gross salary cap breaches uncovered by the NRL in August that year. It wouldn't be until 2008 that they would again finish last as a result of poor on-field performances during the season.[2][3]
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