Glebe

Real club history, premierships, Grand Final appearances, and ladder finishes, aggregated from our sourced rugby league archive.

Data last verified: 11 August 2026.

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Glebe — 0 premierships on record.

Club Background

Glebe has a strong claim to being Australia's first rugby league club, formed on 9 January 1908 ahead of the other foundation sides, playing out of Wentworth Park in maroon jerseys that earned them the nickname "the Dirty Reds." Fortunes declined through the 1920s and, in a contested decision, the NSWRL's General Committee voted 13-12 to expel Glebe from the competition at the end of 1929 — the club never returned, becoming rugby league's most prominent "lost" foundation club until a grassroots revival side emerged in the 2010s.

Honours

Premiership
Runners-up (4)1911, 1912, 1915, 1922
Minor Premiership
Winners (2)1911, 1922

League history

1st 8th 1908: 3 of 91909: 5 of 81910: 5 of 81911: 1 of 81912: 2 of 81913: 4 of 81914: 5 of 81915: 2 of 81916: 3 of 81917: 6 of 81918: 3 of 81919: 3 of 81920: 2 of 91921: 3 of 91922: 1 of 91923: 6 of 91924: 3 of 91925: 6 of 91926: 2 of 91927: 8 of 91928: 6 of 91929: 8 of 9 1908190919101911191219131914191519161917191819191920192119221923192419251926192719281929

Final ladder position each season on record (1908–1929) — 1st at the top. Hover a point for the exact position and field size that season.

Full table
SeasonFinal position
19298 of 9
19286 of 9
19278 of 9
19262 of 9
19256 of 9
19243 of 9
19236 of 9
19221 of 9
19213 of 9
19202 of 9
19193 of 8
19183 of 8
19176 of 8
19163 of 8
19152 of 8
19145 of 8
19134 of 8
19122 of 8
19111 of 8
19105 of 8
19095 of 8
19083 of 9

Club history

Glebe holds a strong claim to being the very first rugby league club formed in Australia, founded at a meeting on 9 January 1908, just ahead of the other foundation clubs that joined the fledgling NSWRL that same month. The club took maroon jerseys from a local sporting tradition, earning them the enduring nickname "the Dirty Reds." Glebe's home was Wentworth Park, where they built a reputation as one of the code's most competitive early sides, reaching four grand finals — 1911, 1912, 1915 and 1922 — without ever securing the top-flight title.

Glebe's fortunes declined through the 1920s as the district's demographics shifted, and at the end of the 1929 season the NSWRL's General Committee voted 13-12 to expel the club from the competition. The exact motivation remains contested: some accounts describe a deal in which South Sydney and Balmain pushed for Glebe's removal to protect their own catchment areas, while others attribute the expulsion primarily to the club's declining local support base. Glebe never returned to the premiership, becoming rugby league's most prominent "lost" foundation club until a grassroots revival side was formed in the 2010s.

Grand Final appearances (1911-1922)

YearResultOpponentScore
1922LostNorth Sydney3-35
1911LostEastern Suburbs8-11

Sources

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