1945 NSWRFL Season — Final Regular-Season Ladder
8 teams competed (Manly-Warringah and Parramatta had not yet joined; the competition remained an 8-club, 14-round home-and-away season through the 1940s until the 1947 expansion). No explicit WWII-driven reduction in rounds is documented beyond the standard 14-round format used pre-1947 — this was the first postwar season (VE/VJ Day both fell mid-1945). Grand Final: Eastern Suburbs def. Balmain 22-18 (Eastern Suburbs were also minor premiers). Arithmetically verified: total wins=52=total losses, total PF=1824=total PA.
Ladder
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eastern Suburbs | 14 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 276 | 190 | +86 | 22 |
| 2 | Newtown | 14 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 326 | 177 | +149 | 21 |
| 3 | Western Suburbs | 14 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 238 | 192 | +46 | 17 |
| 4 | Balmain | 14 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 252 | 202 | +50 | 16 |
| 4 | North Sydney | 14 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 188 | 175 | +13 | 16 |
| 6 | Canterbury-Bankstown | 14 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 217 | 285 | -68 | 9 |
| 6 | St. George | 14 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 183 | 253 | -70 | 9 |
| 8 | South Sydney | 14 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 144 | 350 | -206 | 2 |
Qualified for the finals series — top 4 that season.
Finals series
Playoff
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 Aug 1945 | Balmain Tigers 9–5 North Sydney Bears | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW | 17,207 |
Semi-Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 Aug 1945 | Eastern Suburbs Roosters 28–13 Western Suburbs Magpies | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW | 34,916 |
| 25 Aug 1945 | Balmain Tigers 13–9 Newtown | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW | 35,151 |
Grand Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Sep 1945 | Eastern Suburbs Roosters 22–18 Balmain Tigers | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW |
Full Grand Final page (Clive Churchill Medal, match context, sources) →
Sources
Sources
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