1933 NSWRFL Grand Final
Saturday, 9 September 1933 · Sydney Sports Ground, Sydney, New South Wales
1933 NSWRFL Grand Final result: Newtown def. St. George, 18-5, at Sydney Sports Ground, Sydney, New South Wales on Saturday, 9 September 1933.
Sourcing caveat: Formally this was the 'Final' of the challenge era: because minor premiers Newtown won it, no right-of-challenge match was required and it stood as the premiership decider. Retrospective records (including rugbyleagueproject.org) list it as the season's grand final. In 1933 a try was worth 3 points and a goal 2 points; the scoring breakdown above reconciles exactly to 18-5 (Newtown: Arthur Griffiths x2, Joe Gartner and Garnet Braybrook tries x 3 = 12, plus Frank Gilmore 3 goals = 6, totalling 18; St George: Percy Fairall's try x 3 = 3, plus Harry 'Mick' Kadwell 1 goal = 2, totalling 5). CORRECTIONS to this page's earlier prose: the double try-scorer was previously named 'Alf Griffiths' - primary sources (rugbyleagueproject.org and his own biography page) consistently give Arthur Griffiths. The winger was previously named 'George Braybrook' - sources instead consistently give Garnet Braybrook. 'Mick Kadwell' (site's existing name) and 'Harry Kadwell' (primary-source name) are the same player - Kadwell was the playing captain and goalkicker, not the coach; St George's coach was Albert 'Ricketty' Johnston. Squad numbers reflect standard positional numbering. Exact try minutes and goal-attempt counts could not be confirmed.
Result
| Team | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Newtown | 18 |
| Runner-up | St. George | 5 |
Attendance: 18,080
NRL 1933 — full season ladder & finals series
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Newtown | 14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 183 | 125 | +58 | 18 |
| 2 | Eastern Suburbs | 14 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 224 | 169 | +55 | 17 |
| 2 | South Sydney | 14 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 182 | 177 | +5 | 17 |
| 4 | St. George | 14 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 165 | 174 | -9 | 16 |
| 5 | Balmain | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 187 | 210 | -23 | 13 |
| 6 | North Sydney | 14 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 136 | 188 | -52 | 11 |
| 6 | University | 14 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 218 | 216 | +2 | 11 |
| 8 | Western Suburbs | 14 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 210 | 246 | -36 | 9 |
Qualified for the finals series — top 4 that season.
Finals series
Semi-Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 Aug 1933 | Newtown 17–12 South Sydney Rabbitohs | Sydney Sports Ground, Sydney, NSW | 15,217 |
| 2 Sep 1933 | St. George 13–10 Eastern Suburbs Roosters | Sydney Sports Ground, Sydney, NSW | 13,918 |
Grand Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 Sep 1933 | Newtown 18–5 St. George | Sydney Sports Ground, Sydney, NSW |
Match officials
| Referee | Bill Fry |
Scorers
| Newtown | Tries: Arthur Griffiths — minute unconfirmed; Arthur Griffiths — minute unconfirmed; Joe Gartner — minute unconfirmed; Garnet Braybrook — minute unconfirmed Goals: Frank Gilmore (3/unconfirmed) |
| St. George | Tries: Percy Fairall — minute unconfirmed Goals: Harry Kadwell (1/unconfirmed) |
Teams
| Newtown | St. George | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Ellis | Fullback | Stan Robinson | 1 |
| 2 | Joe Gartner | Wing | Len Brennan | 2 |
| 3 | Arthur Griffiths | Centre | Max Hollingsworth | 3 |
| 4 | Frank Gilmore | Centre | Norm Tipping | 4 |
| 5 | Garnet Braybrook | Wing | Bernie Martin | 5 |
| 6 | Keith Ellis (c) | Five-eighth | Richard Daly | 6 |
| 7 | Hans Mork | Halfback | Harry Kadwell (c) | 7 |
| 8 | Jack Thornton | Lock | Tom Killiby | 8 |
| 9 | Les Bull | Second Row | Alan Woods | 9 |
| 10 | Alf Smith | Second Row | Jim Rutherford | 10 |
| 11 | Harry Porter | Prop | Tom Hayward | 11 |
| 12 | Clarrie Stevenson | Hooker | Percy Fairall | 12 |
| 13 | Clarrie Tupper | Prop | Archie Sprouster | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| — | no reserve/interchange players recorded — no interchange bench existed in 1933; Arthur Griffiths (centre) replaced injured Alan Righton before kickoff | no reserve/interchange players recorded — no interchange bench existed in 1933; Tom Killiby replaced Bill Killiby at lock before kickoff | — | |
| Charlie Russell | Coach | Albert Johnston | ||
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
Newtown's 1933 triumph remains one of the great turnaround stories of Australian rugby league. The Bluebags, coached by former dual-international Charles 'Boxer' Russell, lost the opening four matches of the season and sat last on the ladder as Depression-weary crowds wrote off their chances. From that nadir, Newtown won eleven of their next twelve matches to storm home and claim the minor premiership, their surge aided by the mid-season weakening of rivals Western Suburbs, who lost key men when the Kangaroos departed for the tour of England in July. In the semi-finals Newtown confirmed their credentials by beating South Sydney, premiers in each of the two previous seasons, 17-12 at the Sports Ground, while St. George edged Eastern Suburbs 13-10 to reach their second premiership decider, three years after their heavy 1930 grand final defeat. The Final on 9 September 1933 drew a large crowd of 18,080 to the Sydney Sports Ground, and because minor premiers Newtown were contesting it, the match stood as the outright premiership decider, with no right-of-challenge rematch possible. The contest was tight early and the teams turned level at 5-all at halftime, St. George's points coming from a Percy Fairall try and a Mick Kadwell goal. After the interval, however, the Bluebags finished much the stronger, pulling away to win 18-5. Centre Arthur Griffiths crossed for two tries, with Joe Gartner and Garnet Braybrook adding others, while Frank Gilmore kicked three goals to complete the scoring. The victory delivered Newtown their second first-grade premiership and their first since 1910, when the fledgling competition's title had been settled on ladder position after a drawn final. For a club drawn from one of inner Sydney's poorest districts, silverware in the depths of the Depression carried special resonance, and 1933 would stand as the high-water mark of the Bluebags' inter-war years; their only other premiership came a decade later, in 1943. St. George, runners-up for the second time without yet winning a title, would have to wait until 1941 for their breakthrough, an agonising apprenticeship for the club that would later dominate the game like no other.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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