1955 NSWRFL Grand Final
Saturday, 17 September 1955 · Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, New South Wales
1955 NSWRFL Grand Final result: South Sydney def. Newtown, 12-11, at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, New South Wales on Saturday, 17 September 1955.
Sourcing caveat: In 1955 a try was worth 3 points, a goal 2 points, and a field goal 2 points (the 1-point field-goal rule was not introduced until 1971); the scoring breakdown above reconciles exactly to 12-11 (South Sydney: Ian Moir and Col Donohoe tries x 3 = 6, plus Bernie Purcell 3 goals = 6, totalling 12; Newtown: Kevin Considine's try = 3, plus Gordon Clifford 3 goals = 6, plus his field goal = 2, totalling 11). CORRECTION to this page's earlier prose: Newtown's captain was previously named "Frank Poole"; rugbyleagueproject.org confirms he was Dick Poole, playing centre and also coaching the side — the same Dick Poole who featured in Newtown's 1954 Grand Final lineup the previous year. Squad numbers for both lineups could not be confirmed as genuine 1955 match-day numbers (the primary source's numeric values, up to 29, are more consistent with internal database identifiers) and have been omitted rather than guessed; player names and positions are retained. Referee sourcing required two research passes after an initial network access issue; Col Pearce is confirmed via rugbyleagueproject.org. Exact goal-attempt counts and try minutes (beyond Donohoe's, already in the site's prose) could not be confirmed. No reserves are recorded for either side.
Result
| Team | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | South Sydney | 12 |
| Runner-up | Newtown | 11 |
Attendance: 42,466
NRL 1955 — full season ladder & finals series
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Newtown | 18 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 376 | 179 | +197 | 29 |
| 2 | St. George | 18 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 396 | 247 | +149 | 28 |
| 3 | Manly-Warringah | 18 | 11 | 1 | 6 | 332 | 245 | +87 | 23 |
| 4 | South Sydney | 18 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 367 | 260 | +107 | 22 |
| 5 | North Sydney | 18 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 345 | 278 | +67 | 20 |
| 6 | Balmain | 18 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 384 | 381 | +3 | 17 |
| 6 | Eastern Suburbs | 18 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 342 | 325 | +17 | 17 |
| 8 | Parramatta | 18 | 5 | 0 | 13 | 258 | 365 | -107 | 10 |
| 9 | Canterbury-Bankstown | 18 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 167 | 414 | -247 | 8 |
| 10 | Western Suburbs | 18 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 186 | 459 | -273 | 6 |
Qualified for the finals series — top 4 that season.
Finals series
Minor Semi-Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27 Aug 1955 | South Sydney Rabbitohs 14–12 Manly-Warringah | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW | 35,677 |
Major Semi-Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Sep 1955 | Newtown 11–8 St. George | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW | 34,158 |
Preliminary Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Sep 1955 | South Sydney Rabbitohs 18–14 St. George | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW | 41,583 |
Grand Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Sep 1955 | South Sydney Rabbitohs 12–11 Newtown | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW |
Match officials
| Referee | Col Pearce |
Scorers
| South Sydney | Tries: Ian Moir — minute unconfirmed; Col Donohoe — near full time, from a Jack Rayner chip-and-regather Goals: Bernie Purcell (3/unconfirmed) |
| Newtown | Tries: Kevin Considine — minute unconfirmed Goals: Gordon Clifford (3/unconfirmed) Drop goals: Gordon Clifford — 1 field goal (worth 2 points in 1955) |
Teams
| South Sydney | Newtown | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Don Murdoch | Fullback | Gordon Clifford | — |
| — | Dale Puren | Wing | Kevin Considine | — |
| — | Malcolm Spencer | Centre | Dick Poole (c) | — |
| — | Martin Gallagher | Centre | Brian Clay | — |
| — | Ian Moir | Wing | Ray Preston | — |
| — | Johnny Dougherty | Five-eighth | Ray Kelly | — |
| — | Col Donohoe | Halfback | Bobby Whitton | — |
| — | Les Cowie | Lock | Peter Ryan | — |
| — | Bernie Purcell | Second Row | Frank Narvo | — |
| — | Jack Rayner (c) | Second Row | Henry Holloway | — |
| — | Denis Donoghue | Prop | Les Hampson | — |
| — | Ernie Hammerton | Hooker | Greg Ellis | — |
| — | Norm Nilson | Prop | Don Stait | — |
| Substitutes | ||||
| — | no reserve/interchange players recorded — no interchange bench existed in 1955 | no reserve/interchange players recorded — no interchange bench existed in 1955 | — | |
| Jack Rayner | Coach | Dick Poole | ||
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 1955 decider was a rematch of the previous year's Grand Final between South Sydney and Newtown, and it capped one of the most improbable runs in premiership history. Halfway through the season Jack Rayner's Rabbitohs sat equal ninth with just three wins from ten matches, before reeling off eight consecutive victories to storm into the finals. The most famous of those wins came in the last home-and-away round against Manly-Warringah, when Clive Churchill broke his arm early in the game yet stayed on and landed a wobbling sideline conversion to keep Souths' season alive. The great fullback's broken arm ruled him out of the Grand Final itself, and Souths also lined up without star Greg Hawick, yet the depleted side refused to fold. Newtown, captained and coached by Dick Poole and steered by fullback Gordon Clifford's boot, led 8-4 at half-time and appeared home at 11-7 with ten minutes remaining after Clifford added a field goal to his three goals and Kevin Considine's try. Then came an ending etched into premiership folklore. Captain-coach Rayner won a strike in a play-the-ball and toed the loose ball through; Newtown lock Peter Ryan fumbled, Rayner kicked on again, and halfback Col Donohoe won the race to ground it beside the posts. Bernie Purcell's simple conversion put Souths ahead 12-11, completing a comeback built on tries to Ian Moir and Donohoe and Purcell's three goals. Newtown still had one last chance, but Clifford's long-range penalty attempt in the dying moments narrowly failed, confirming a one-point epic before 42,466 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The victory delivered South Sydney's fifth premiership in six seasons, following their titles of 1950, 1951, 1953 and 1954, and crowned the Rayner era at its peak. No one at the ground could have known it would also be the club's last premiership until 1967: the following season the balance of power in Sydney football shifted decisively to St. George, whose unprecedented dynasty was about to begin. For Newtown, beaten finalists in successive years by the narrowest of margins, the one-point loss proved a cruel near-miss in what remains one of the closest Grand Finals ever played.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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