1967 NSWRFL Grand Final
Saturday, 16 September 1967 · Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, New South Wales
1967 NSWRFL Grand Final result: South Sydney def. Canterbury-Bankstown, 12-10, at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, New South Wales on Saturday, 16 September 1967.
Sourcing caveat: In 1967 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 12-10 under these rules (Souths: Bob McCarthy and John O'Neill tries x 3 = 6, plus Eric Simms 3/5 goals = 6, totalling 12; Canterbury: George Taylforth 4/6 goals = 8, plus Ron Raper's field goal = 2, totalling 10). CORRECTION to this page's earlier prose: the Canterbury hooker penalised late in the match for an incorrect scrum feed was Col Brown, not Ross Kidd as previously stated — multiple sources, including Kidd's own career playing-position record (68 career games, all listed at halfback, none at hooker), confirm Kidd played halfback throughout his career and in this match, while Col Brown, whose biography notes he converted from lock forward to hooker, wore the number 12 hooker's jersey. This was also the first live television broadcast of a football grand final of any code in Australia. Exact try minutes could not be confirmed.
Result
| Team | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | South Sydney | 12 |
| Runner-up | Canterbury-Bankstown | 10 |
Attendance: 56,358
NRL 1967 — full season ladder & finals series
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. George | 22 | 16 | 1 | 5 | 437 | 267 | +170 | 33 |
| 2 | South Sydney | 22 | 16 | 0 | 6 | 422 | 271 | +151 | 32 |
| 3 | Canterbury-Bankstown | 22 | 14 | 1 | 7 | 349 | 269 | +80 | 29 |
| 4 | Eastern Suburbs | 22 | 13 | 2 | 7 | 269 | 219 | +50 | 28 |
| 5 | Balmain | 22 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 344 | 258 | +86 | 26 |
| 5 | Manly-Warringah | 22 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 365 | 271 | +94 | 26 |
| 7 | Western Suburbs | 22 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 269 | 255 | +14 | 22 |
| 8 | North Sydney | 22 | 8 | 1 | 13 | 297 | 370 | -73 | 17 |
| 9 | Newtown | 22 | 7 | 2 | 13 | 274 | 406 | -132 | 16 |
| 9 | Parramatta | 22 | 8 | 0 | 14 | 309 | 322 | -13 | 16 |
| 11 | Penrith | 22 | 5 | 2 | 15 | 203 | 352 | -149 | 12 |
| 12 | Cronulla-Sutherland | 22 | 3 | 1 | 18 | 208 | 486 | -278 | 7 |
Qualified for the finals series — top 4 that season.
Finals series
Minor Semi-Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 Aug 1967 | Canterbury-Bankstown 13–2 Eastern Suburbs Roosters | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW | 47,186 |
Major Semi-Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Sep 1967 | South Sydney Rabbitohs 13–8 St. George | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW | 51,915 |
Preliminary Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 Sep 1967 | Canterbury-Bankstown 12–11 St. George | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW | 49,941 |
Grand Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 Sep 1967 | South Sydney Rabbitohs 12–10 Canterbury-Bankstown | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW |
Match officials
| Referee | Col Pearce |
Scorers
| South Sydney | Tries: Bob McCarthy — minute unconfirmed; John O'Neill — minute unconfirmed Goals: Eric Simms (3/5) |
| Canterbury-Bankstown | Goals: George Taylforth (4/6) Drop goals: Ron Raper — 1 field goal (worth 2 points in 1967) |
Teams
| South Sydney | Canterbury-Bankstown | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kevin Longbottom | Fullback | Les Johns | 1 |
| 2 | Michael Cleary | Wing | Barry Reynolds | 2 |
| 3 | Bob Moses | Centre | Bob Hagan | 3 |
| 4 | Eric Simms | Centre | Johnny Greaves | 4 |
| 5 | Brian James | Wing | Clive Gartner | 5 |
| 6 | Jimmy Lisle | Five-eighth | Bob Doyle | 6 |
| 7 | Ivan Jones | Halfback | Ross Kidd | 7 |
| 8 | Ron Coote | Lock | Ron Raper | 8 |
| 9 | Alan Scott | Second Row | George Taylforth | 9 |
| 10 | Bob McCarthy | Second Row | Kevin Goldspink | 10 |
| 11 | John O'Neill | Prop | Kevin Ryan (c) | 11 |
| 12 | Elwyn Walters | Hooker | Col Brown | 12 |
| 13 | John Sattler (c) | Prop | Merv Hicks | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Greg Norgard | Col Hughes — unused reserve | 14 | |
| Clive Churchill | Coach | Kevin Ryan | ||
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 1967 Grand Final marked a changing of the guard in Sydney rugby league. In the first season of the expanded twelve-team competition, Penrith and Cronulla-Sutherland having joined that year, St. George's eleven-year stranglehold on the premiership was finally broken, and it was South Sydney, coached by the legendary Clive Churchill and led by new skipper John Sattler, who seized the crown, edging Canterbury-Bankstown 12-10 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The match carried a thread of continuity with the fallen dynasty: Canterbury were captain-coached by Kevin Ryan, the former Dragons enforcer who had starred in the 1965 and 1966 deciders. The occasion was also a broadcasting landmark, being the first live television broadcast of a football grand final of any code in Australia, a novelty reflected in the crowd of 56,358, the lowest at a Grand Final since the rain-hit 1962 decider. The contest itself was tense and tight. Canterbury's points flowed from the boot of George Taylforth, who landed four goals, supplemented by a Ron Raper field goal, and the Berries traded the lead with Souths through a bruising first half. The decisive moment came just before the break, when second-rower Bob McCarthy swooped on a lofted pass and raced the length of the field to score, sending South Sydney to half-time ahead 10-8. Prop John O'Neill scored the Rabbitohs' other try, and Eric Simms finished with three goals. With the scores locked at 10-all late in the match, Canterbury hooker Col Brown was penalised for an incorrect scrum feed, and the ice-cool Simms slotted the goal that gave Souths a two-point lead they defended to the final bell. The victory was South Sydney's first premiership since 1955 and the ignition point of a new era: the young core of Sattler, McCarthy, O'Neill and Simms would carry the Rabbitohs to four premierships in the next five seasons, restoring the famous cardinal and myrtle to the summit of the game. For Canterbury-Bankstown, the narrow defeat was a gallant end to an overachieving campaign, but the afternoon belonged to Churchill's young Rabbitohs and the dawn of their golden age.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
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