1936 NSWRFL Grand Final
Saturday, 12 September 1936 · Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, New South Wales
1936 NSWRFL Grand Final result: Eastern Suburbs def. Balmain, 32-12, at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, New South Wales on Saturday, 12 September 1936.
Sourcing caveat: This match was officially the 'Final' under the right-of-challenge system; because minor premiers Eastern Suburbs won it, no challenge Grand Final was required and it stands as the season's premiership decider. In 1936 a try was worth 3 points and a goal 2 points; the scoring breakdown above reconciles exactly to 32-12 (Eastern Suburbs: Fred Tottey x2, Rod O'Loan, Dave Brown, Ray Stehr, Ernie Norman, Jack Lynch and Andy Norval tries x 3 = 24, plus Brown 2 goals and Lynch 2 goals = 8, totalling 32; Balmain: Frank Griffiths and Sid Goodwin tries x 3 = 6, plus a third scoring element the site's earlier prose omitted). CORRECTION: the site's earlier prose listed only Balmain's 2 tries with no goals, undercounting their total by 6 points; rugbyleagueproject.org's full match page shows Balmain also kicked 3 goals (Syd Christensen 2, Frank Johnston 1), which is required for their 12-point total to reconcile. Wikipedia's own season article instead credits the third goal to 'Bill Johnson' (Balmain's second-rower) rather than fullback Frank Johnston; this looks like a name mix-up between the two similarly-named players, and rugbyleagueproject.org's structured lineup data (crediting Johnston, the conventional 1930s fullback goal-kicking role) is treated as the more reliable source, though not independently confirmed via a third source. This was Dave Brown's final Grand Final appearance before departing for English club Warrington; it was also Balmain coach Joe Busch's final match in charge. Squad numbers reflect standard positional numbering. Exact try minutes and goal-attempt counts could not be confirmed.
Result
| Team | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Eastern Suburbs | 32 |
| Runner-up | Balmain | 12 |
Attendance: 14,395
NRL 1936 — full season ladder & finals series
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eastern Suburbs | 13 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 335 | 145 | +190 | 28 |
| 2 | Balmain | 13 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 268 | 161 | +107 | 22 |
| 3 | Canterbury-Bankstown | 14 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 213 | 132 | +81 | 22 |
| 4 | North Sydney | 13 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 210 | 161 | +49 | 19 |
| 5 | Newtown | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 203 | 226 | -23 | 16 |
| 6 | Western Suburbs | 13 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 199 | 201 | -2 | 15 |
| 7 | South Sydney | 13 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 185 | 185 | 0 | 14 |
| 8 | St. George | 13 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 141 | 228 | -87 | 10 |
| 9 | University | 14 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 99 | 414 | -315 | 4 |
Qualified for the finals series — top 4 that season.
Finals series
Semi-Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Sep 1936 | Balmain Tigers 16–3 North Sydney Bears | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW | 7,605 |
| 5 Sep 1936 | Eastern Suburbs Roosters 25–13 Canterbury-Bankstown | Belmore Oval, Sydney, NSW | 7,201 |
Grand Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 Sep 1936 | Eastern Suburbs Roosters 32–12 Balmain Tigers | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW |
Match officials
| Referee | Lal Deane |
Scorers
| Eastern Suburbs | Tries: Fred Tottey — minute unconfirmed; Fred Tottey — minute unconfirmed; Rod O'Loan — minute unconfirmed; Dave Brown — minute unconfirmed; Ray Stehr — minute unconfirmed; Ernie Norman — minute unconfirmed; Jack Lynch — minute unconfirmed; Andy Norval — minute unconfirmed Goals: Dave Brown (2/unconfirmed); Jack Lynch (2/unconfirmed) |
| Balmain | Tries: Frank Griffiths — minute unconfirmed; Sid Goodwin — minute unconfirmed Goals: Syd Christensen (2/unconfirmed); Frank Johnston (1/unconfirmed) |
Teams
| Eastern Suburbs | Balmain | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Dowling | Fullback | Frank Johnston | 1 |
| 2 | Rod O'Loan | Wing | Sid Goodwin | 2 |
| 3 | Dave Brown (c) | Centre | Gus Reeves | 3 |
| 4 | Jack Lynch | Centre | Eddie Lockhart | 4 |
| 5 | Fred Tottey | Wing | Jack Redman | 5 |
| 6 | Ernie Norman | Five-eighth | Syd Christensen (c) | 6 |
| 7 | Viv Thicknesse | Halfback | Tommy Grahame | 7 |
| 8 | Andy Norval | Lock | Roy Palmer | 8 |
| 9 | Joe Pearce | Second Row | Edmund Beaver | 9 |
| 10 | Harry Pierce | Second Row | Bill Johnson | 10 |
| 11 | Ray Stehr | Prop | Frank Griffiths | 11 |
| 12 | Tom McLachlan | Hooker | Bill Alexander | 12 |
| 13 | Jack Coote | Prop | Dave Manning | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| — | no reserve/interchange players recorded — no interchange bench existed in 1936 | no reserve/interchange players recorded — no interchange bench existed in 1936 | — | |
| Arthur Halloway | Coach | Joe Busch | ||
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
Eastern Suburbs entered the 1936 decider chasing back-to-back premierships, and they did so off the back of an unbeaten season, eleven wins and two draws from thirteen matches, a feat of perfection managed in only a handful of seasons in the competition's history. This time captain Dave Brown, the record-shattering centre who had missed the 1935 Final, was fit to lead the champions, coached again by foundation-era veteran Arthur 'Pony' Halloway. Their opponents were second-placed Balmain, who had beaten North Sydney 16-3 in their semi-final while Easts disposed of Canterbury 25-13. The Final at the Sydney Cricket Ground, before 14,395 spectators, was a contest for only forty minutes. Balmain hung in gamely to trail just 8-6 at the interval, but after the break the Tricolours produced one of the great exhibitions of attacking football of the era, running in try after try to finish with eight in all against Balmain's two. Fred Tottey crossed twice, while Rod O'Loan, Ray Stehr, Ernie Norman, Jack Lynch, Andy Norval and Brown himself all scored, Brown adding two goals and Lynch two more to complete the 32-12 rout. Frank Griffiths and Sid Goodwin scored Balmain's tries, with Syd Christensen (2) and Frank Johnston (1) landing the goals that rounded out their 12 points. The 20-point margin was at the time among the most emphatic in a premiership decider, confirmation that this Eastern Suburbs combination, Brown, Stehr, Joe Pearce, Viv Thicknesse and company, stood alone in Sydney football. The victory delivered the club's sixth premiership and second in succession; they would make it three straight in 1937, when a tour-shortened season was decided without finals. It also closed a chapter: Brown departed after the season for English club Warrington, missing the next two years, making the 1936 Final the last premiership decider of his extraordinary peak. As in 1935, the match was formally the 'Final' under the right-of-challenge rules; minor premiers Easts would have been entitled to a rematch had they lost, but their crushing win settled the title outright on the day. No official man-of-the-match award existed, though Brown's all-round display as captain, try-scorer and goal-kicker drew the plaudits of the contemporary press.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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