1964 NSWRFL Grand Final
Saturday, 19 September 1964 · Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, New South Wales
1964 NSWRFL Grand Final result: St. George def. Balmain, 11-6, at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, New South Wales on Saturday, 19 September 1964.
Sourcing caveat: In 1964 a try was worth 3 points and a goal 2 points; the scoring breakdown above reconciles exactly to 11-6 (St George: Johnny King's try = 3, plus Graeme Langlands 4 goals = 8, totalling 11; Balmain: no tries, plus Keith Barnes 3 goals = 6). St George played this Grand Final without injured second-rower Dick Huddart, and Norm Provan captain-coached against his younger brother Peter Provan in the Balmain ranks. Exact goal-attempt (made/missed) counts could not be confirmed. Balmain's coach, Harry Bath, is single-sourced to rugbyleagueproject.org and could not be independently cross-verified this round.
Result
| Team | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | St. George | 11 |
| Runner-up | Balmain | 6 |
Attendance: 61,369
NRL 1964 — full season ladder & finals series
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. George | 18 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 393 | 154 | +239 | 30 |
| 2 | Parramatta | 18 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 274 | 188 | +86 | 28 |
| 3 | Balmain | 18 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 247 | 192 | +55 | 24 |
| 4 | North Sydney | 18 | 11 | 1 | 6 | 334 | 257 | +77 | 23 |
| 5 | South Sydney | 18 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 304 | 250 | +54 | 22 |
| 6 | Newtown | 18 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 236 | 268 | -32 | 18 |
| 7 | Western Suburbs | 18 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 259 | 274 | -15 | 17 |
| 8 | Manly-Warringah | 18 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 229 | 331 | -102 | 11 |
| 9 | Eastern Suburbs | 18 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 190 | 351 | -161 | 4 |
| 10 | Canterbury-Bankstown | 18 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 168 | 369 | -201 | 3 |
Qualified for the finals series — top 4 that season.
Finals series
Minor Semi-Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 29 Aug 1964 | Balmain Tigers 11–9 North Sydney Bears | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW | 35,082 |
Major Semi-Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Sep 1964 | St. George 42–0 Parramatta Eels | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW | 33,659 |
Preliminary Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 Sep 1964 | Balmain Tigers 16–7 Parramatta Eels | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW | 35,389 |
Grand Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19 Sep 1964 | St. George 11–6 Balmain Tigers | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW |
Match officials
| Referee | Col Pearce |
Scorers
| St. George | Tries: Johnny King — 10th minute of the second half Goals: Graeme Langlands (4/unconfirmed) |
| Balmain | Goals: Keith Barnes (3/unconfirmed) |
Teams
| St. George | Balmain | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Graeme Langlands | Fullback | Keith Barnes (c) | 1 |
| 2 | Johnny King | Wing | Dick Quinn | 2 |
| 3 | Reg Gasnier | Centre | Brian Dunlop | 3 |
| 4 | Billy Smith | Centre | Bob Ridley | 4 |
| 5 | Eddie Lumsden | Wing | Bob Mara | 5 |
| 6 | Brian Clay | Five-eighth | Jack Danzey Jnr | 6 |
| 7 | George Evans | Halfback | William Bischoff Jnr | 7 |
| 8 | John Raper | Lock | Dennis Tutty | 8 |
| 9 | Norm Provan (c) | Second Row | Peter Provan | 9 |
| 10 | Elton Rasmussen | Second Row | Ron Clothier | 10 |
| 11 | Kevin Ryan | Prop | George Piper | 11 |
| 12 | Peter Armstrong | Hooker | Dick Wilson | 12 |
| 13 | Monty Porter | Prop | Bob Boland | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| — | no reserve/interchange players recorded — pre-rolling-interchange era | Peter Jones — named as reserve, whether he took the field is unconfirmed | 14 | |
| Norm Provan | Coach | Harry Bath | ||
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
A new challenger finally broke Western Suburbs' three-year hold on the runner-up spot in 1964, but the outcome was unchanged: St. George beat Balmain 11-6 before 61,369 at the Sydney Cricket Ground to make it nine premierships in succession. The decider carried a family subplot, with Dragons captain-coach Norm Provan lining up against his younger brother Peter, who had joined the Tigers in 1961, and St. George were without their star English import, second-rower Dick Huddart, ruled out through injury. Balmain, marshalled by their revered goal-kicking captain Keith 'Golden Boots' Barnes, made the champions fight for everything. With the breeze at their backs the Tigers edged ahead 4-2 through Barnes' boot, and as the sea of supporters watched anxiously from the pavilions the possibility of the greatest upset of the era felt briefly real. The match turned early in the second half on a moment of brilliance from fullback Graeme Langlands. Chasing a Balmain kick that seemed destined for touch, Langlands stretched and caught the ball with his boots only an inch or two inside the touchline, then raced cross-field towards the Balmain line before throwing a cut-out pass to halfback Billy Smith. From the ensuing attack, in the tenth minute of the second half, winger Johnny King crossed for the game-breaking try, extending one of the great finals records: a try in a fifth successive Grand Final. Langlands converted, the only conversion of the match, and finished with four goals as late penalties were traded, while Barnes' three goals were all Balmain could muster against the Dragons' smothering defence. Veteran five-eighth Brian Clay, outstanding in his sixth Grand Final appearance, and the Langlands-Smith combination were the pick of the winners, while for Balmain 18-year-old Dennis Tutty impressed with tireless defensive work in a losing cause. The victory showed the dynasty's capacity to win tight, tense football under pressure: trailing at the break, shorn of a key forward, the Dragons found the decisive play through their champions. Nine straight titles now stood to St. George's name, with Provan's men closing in on the round figure of ten that would cement the streak as sport's most remarkable.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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