Balmain Tigers 20–13 Western Suburbs Magpies — Semi-Final, 1949 NRL Finals Series
27 Aug 1949 · Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW · Attendance: 38,209
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Semi-Final, 1949 NRL finals series: Balmain Tigers 20–13 Western Suburbs Magpies, at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW on 27 Aug 1949.
Sourcing caveat: Jack Spencer's (Balmain) goal count was unmarked in the source's scoresheet; taken as 1, consistent with the bare-name-equals-one-try/goal convention used throughout this dataset, since 4 total goals (Lulham 3 + Spencer 1) is the only combination that reconciles with the 20-point score.
Scorers
| Balmain Tigers | Tries: De Belin; Gwyer; Lulham; Nosworthy Goals: Lulham (3); Spencer |
| Western Suburbs Magpies | Tries: Milton; Stanmore; Wood Goals: Keato (2) |
Team sheets
| Balmain Tigers | Western Suburbs Magpies | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McCullough | Fullback | Keato | 1 |
| 2 | Lulham | Wing | Wall | 2 |
| 3 | Harmey | Centre | Maxwell (c) | 3 |
| 4 | Nosworthy | Centre | Wood | 4 |
| 5 | Gwyer | Wing | McKelvey | 5 |
| 6 | Lawler | Five-Eighth | Stanmore | 6 |
| 7 | Sneddon | Halfback | Holman | 7 |
| 8 | Thomson | Lock | McLean | 8 |
| 9 | Fogarty | Second Row | Hansen | 9 |
| 10 | Spencer | Second Row | Milton | 10 |
| 11 | Ryan | Prop | Horder | 11 |
| 12 | De Belin (c) | Hooker | Hilliard | 12 |
| 13 | Campbell | Prop | V. Williams | 13 |
| Athol Smith | Coach | Col Maxwell | ||
Match officials
| Referee | George Bishop |
Match report
27 Aug 1949, SCG. Halftime: Western Suburbs 8, Balmain 5. Scores were locked 13-13 at full time; the match went to extra time (10 minutes each way), in which Balmain pulled away to win 20-13.