1918 NSWRFL season
The 1918 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the eleventh season of Sydney’s professional rugby league club competition, Australia’s first. Eight teams from across the city contested during the season, with South Sydney finishing on top of the ladder to claim the premiership.
Season summary
The quality of the competition in 1918 suffered due to the loss of players fighting in World War I. 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 all their remaining matches, taking away their fourth premiership from eleven seasons.The season also saw the struggling Dales fail to win a game from fourteen starts. It was the first winless season in NSWRFL history and signalled the end for the club, who would play only a further two seasons in the premiership.
The Western Suburbs club claimed their first title by winning the knockout competition, the City Cup.
Teams
The lineup of teams remained unchanged from the previous 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 9th season Ground:Wentworth Park Coach: Captain: Arthur Butler | Balmain 11th season Ground: Birchgrove Oval Captain-Coach: Arthur Halloway | Eastern Suburbs 11th season Ground: Sydney Sports Ground Coach: Sandy Pearce Captain: Sandy Pearce | Glebe 11th season Ground: Wentworth Park Coach: Chris McKivat Captain: Albert Burge |
| Newtown 11th season Ground: Erskineville Oval Coach: Captain: George Bain | North Sydney 11th season Ground: North Sydney Oval Coach: George Green Captain: Cec Blinkhorn | South Sydney 11th season Ground: RAS Showground Coach: Arthur Hennessy Captain: Howard Hallett | Western Suburbs 11th season Ground: St. Luke's Oval Coach:Tedda Courtney Captain: Herb Gilbert |
Ladder
| 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 |