1927 NSWRFL Grand Final

Saturday, 17 September 1927 · Royal Agricultural Society Grounds, Sydney, New South Wales

1927 Grand Final ▾

1927 NSWRFL Grand Final result: South Sydney def. St. George, 20-11, at Royal Agricultural Society Grounds, Sydney, New South Wales on Saturday, 17 September 1927.

Sourcing caveat: Some derivative accounts date this final 18 September 1927, but that is the publication date of the Sunday press report; Rugby League Project and the St. George club's official timeline both confirm the match was played on Saturday 17 September 1927. In 1927 a try was worth 3 points and a goal 2 points; the scoring breakdown above reconciles exactly to 20-11 (South Sydney: Harry Finch, Eddie Root, Benny Wearing and Alby Why tries x 3 = 12, plus Alf Blair 2 goals and Harry Kadwell 2 goals = 8, totalling 20; St George: George Carstairs, Arthur Justice and Frank Saunders tries x 3 = 9, plus Saunders 1 goal = 2, totalling 11). The South Sydney player credited by this page's prose as 'Carr' is the same man as 'Alby Why' in primary sources - his real name was Albert Why, but he played his career, including this match, under the adopted name Albert/Alby Carr. Squad numbers reflect standard positional numbering. Exact try minutes and goal-attempt counts could not be confirmed.

Result

	Team	Score
Winner	South Sydney	20
Runner-up	St. George	11

Attendance: 12,124

NRL 1927 — full season ladder & finals series

Pos	Club	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	Diff	Pts
1	South Sydney	16	14	0	2	402	162	+240	32
2	St. George	16	12	1	3	284	141	+143	29
3	Eastern Suburbs	16	8	2	6	215	216	-1	22
3	Western Suburbs	16	9	0	7	222	182	+40	22
5	Newtown	16	8	0	8	189	259	-70	20
6	North Sydney	16	6	1	9	174	256	-82	17
7	Balmain	16	5	2	9	210	238	-28	16
8	Glebe	16	4	0	12	176	297	-121	12
9	University	16	3	0	13	199	320	-121	10

Qualified for the finals series — top 4 that season.

Finals series

Semi-Final

Date	Result	Venue	Attendance
10 Sep 1927	St. George 26–11 Eastern Suburbs Roosters	Earl Park, Arncliffe, NSW	5,040
10 Sep 1927	South Sydney Rabbitohs 38–6 Western Suburbs Magpies	Royal Agricultural Society Grounds, Sydney, NSW	10,012

Grand Final

Date	Result	Venue	Attendance
17 Sep 1927	South Sydney Rabbitohs 20–11 St. George	Royal Agricultural Society Grounds, Sydney, NSW

Permalink to this season's ladder page →

Match officials

Referee	William Neill

Scorers

South Sydney	Tries: Harry Finch — minute unconfirmed; Eddie Root — minute unconfirmed; Benny Wearing — minute unconfirmed; Alby Why (also known as Alby Carr) — minute unconfirmed Goals: Alf Blair (2/unconfirmed); Harry Kadwell (2/unconfirmed)
St. George	Tries: George Carstairs — minute unconfirmed; Arthur Justice — minute unconfirmed; Frank Saunders — minute unconfirmed Goals: Frank Saunders (1/4)

Teams

South Sydney			St. George
1	Harry Kadwell	Fullback	Jack McCormack	1
2	Vic Lawrence	Wing	Frank Saunders	2
3	Sid Harris	Centre	George Carstairs	3
4	Harry Finch	Centre	Len Guest	4
5	Benny Wearing	Wing	Stan Brain	5
6	Mick O'Connor	Five-eighth	Arnold Traynor	6
7	Alf Blair (c)	Halfback	Bill Benson	7
8	Alby Why (Alby Carr)	Lock	Aub Kelly	8
9	Harry Cavanough	Second Row	Bill Hardman	9
10	George Treweek	Second Row	Frank Burge (c)	10
11	Charlie Fennell	Prop	Clarrie Tye	11
12	Eddie Root	Hooker	Arthur Justice	12
13	Dave Watson	Prop	Tom Killiby	13
Substitutes
—	no reserve/interchange players recorded — no interchange bench existed in 1927		no reserve/interchange players recorded — no interchange bench existed in 1927	—

Alf Blair		Coach	Frank Burge

Clive Churchill Medal

The Clive Churchill Medal was first awarded in 1986; no official best-on-ground medal existed for this Grand Final.

Match context

The second season of the NSWRFL's new finals era produced one of the competition's first great rags-to-riches tales. St. George, wooden spooners in 1926, were transformed by the arrival of the legendary forward Frank Burge as captain-coach and surged all the way to the club's first premiership decider in only their seventh year in the top grade. In the semi-finals the Dragons dismantled Eastern Suburbs 26-11 at their own Earl Park, while minor premiers and two-time defending champions South Sydney crushed Western Suburbs 38-6 at the Showground. The final was played a week later, on Saturday 17 September 1927, at the Royal Agricultural Society Grounds at Moore Park. Heavy rain fell throughout, cutting the crowd to 12,124 and turning the contest into a test of control and forward power in the mud. The clubs had met during the season in a 17-14 Souths win before a massive 31,500, and for long stretches the sodden decider was just as competitive: St. George scored three tries through Justice, Carstairs and Saunders, with Saunders adding a goal for their 11 points. But South Sydney's champion machine ground out the decisive plays, crossing four times through Carr, Root, Benny Wearing and Finch, while Alf Blair and Harry Kadwell kicked two goals apiece to complete a 20-11 victory. Claude Corbett's match report was headlined simply: South Sydney premiers, third successive year. That statistic was the story: the Rabbitohs became just the third club to win three premierships in a row, following Eastern Suburbs (1911-13) and Balmain (1915-17), and unlike those predecessors they were far from finished, with the streak eventually stretching to five. For St. George the defeat closed a season of astonishing progress from last to grand finalists; the Dragons had announced themselves as a force, though their first premiership would not arrive until 1941. The 1927 final also confirmed the Royal Agricultural Society Grounds as the premiership's showpiece venue and demonstrated the new finals system's box-office appeal even in filthy weather, the midpoint of South Sydney's run through every decider of the 1920s finals era.

Sources

Data last verified: 11 August 2026.

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