The 1965 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the 58th season of the rugby league competition based in Sydney. Ten clubs from across the city competed for the J.J. Giltinan Shield and the WD & HO Wills Cup during the season, which culminated in a grand final between St. George and South Sydney.
The 1965 season also saw the retirement from the League of future Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame inductee, Norm Provan.
Teams Balmain 58th seasonGround: Leichhardt Oval Coach: Harry Bath Captain: Keith Barnes Canterbury-Bankstown 31st seasonGround: Belmore Oval Coach: Eddie BurnsCaptain: Leo Toohey Eastern Suburbs 58th seasonGround: Sydney Sports Ground Coach: Bert Holcroft Captain: Frank Drake Manly-Warringah 19th seasonGround: Brookvale Oval Coach: Russell PepperellCaptain: Frank StantonNewtown 58th seasonGround: Henson Park Coach: Allan EllisCaptain: Brian Graham North Sydney 58th seasonGround: North Sydney Oval Captain-Coach: Fred Griffiths Parramatta 19th seasonGround: Cumberland Oval Captain-coach: Ken ThornettSouth Sydney 58th seasonGround: Redfern Oval Coach: Bernie PurcellCaptain: Jim LisleSt. George 45th seasonGround: Jubilee Oval Captain-coach: Norm ProvanWestern Suburbs 58th seasonGround: Pratten Park Coach: Ken Kearney Captain: Bob McGuinness
Regular season
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 F1 F2 F3 GF BalmainNOR0EAS+15NEW−11WES+3CBY+5MAN+2STG−2PAR−5SOU+13NOR+9EAS+7XNEW−8WES−2CBY+17MAN+13STG−41PAR−9SOU+6 Canterbury-BankstownSOU+10WES+3EAS+16MAN+1BAL−5PAR−8NEW−15NOR−10STG−6XWES+1SOU−10EAS−2MAN−20BAL−17PAR−6NEW−8NOR−17STG−44 Eastern SuburbsMAN−21BAL−15CBY−16NEW−6NOR−22STG−37SOU−17WES+7PAR−24XBAL−7MAN+10CBY+2NEW0NOR−2STG−20SOU−14WES−8PAR−14 Manly-WarringahEAS+21SOU+13NOR−21CBY−1STG−2BAL−2PAR−8NEW−6WES−1XSOU+3EAS−10NOR−8CBY+20STG−9BAL−13PAR−4NEW+9WES+12 NewtownPAR0STG−11BAL+11EAS+6SOU−2WES−8CBY+15MAN+6NOR+4PAR−1STG−31XBAL+8EAS0SOU−4WES+10CBY+8MAN−9NOR0 North SydneyBAL0PAR+23MAN+21STG+3EAS+22SOU−2WES+1CBY+10NEW−4BAL−9PAR−1XMAN+8STG−12EAS+2SOU+9WES+12CBY+17NEW0XSTG−40SOU−5 ParramattaNEW0NOR−23STG−19SOU−9WES−10CBY+8MAN+8BAL+5EAS+24NEW+1NOR+1XSTG−8SOU−2WES+14CBY+6MAN+4BAL+9EAS+14SOU−15 South SydneyCBY−10MAN−13WES+4PAR+9NEW+2NOR+2EAS+17STG+10BAL−13XMAN−3CBY+10WES−7PAR+2NEW+4NOR−9EAS+14STG+9BAL−6PAR+15XNOR+5STG−4 St. GeorgeWES+4NEW+11PAR+19NOR−3MAN+2EAS+37BAL+2SOU−10CBY+6XNEW+31WES+28PAR+8NOR+12MAN+9EAS+20BAL+41SOU−9CBY+44XNOR+40XSOU+4 Western SuburbsSTG−4CBY−3SOU−4BAL−3PAR+10NEW+8NOR−1EAS−7MAN+1XCBY−1STG−28SOU+7BAL+2PAR−14NEW−10NOR−12EAS+8MAN−12 Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 F1 F2 F3 GF
Bold – Home game X – Bye Opponent for round listed above margin
Ladder TeamPldWDLPFPAPDPts1 St. George181503394142+252302 North Sydney181125318218+100243 Parramatta181116243220+23234 South Sydney181107227205+22225 Balmain181017223211+12216 Newtown18837212210+2197 Manly186012228235-7128 Western Suburbs186012181244-63129 Canterbury185013194331-1371010 Eastern Suburbs183114149353-2047
Ladder progression
Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top 4. Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished first on the ladder in that round. Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished last place on the ladder in that round.
Team123456789101112131415161718191 St. George 2 4 6 6 8 10 12 12 14 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 28 302 North Sydney 1 3 5 7 9 9 11 13 13 13 13 13 15 15 17 19 21 23 243 Parramatta 1 1 1 1 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 13 13 13 15 17 19 21 234 South Sydney 0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 12 12 12 14 14 16 18 18 20 22 225 Balmain 1 3 3 5 7 9 9 9 11 13 15 15 15 15 17 19 19 19 216 Newtown 1 1 3 5 5 5 7 9 11 11 11 11 13 14 14 16 18 18 197 Manly-Warringah 2 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 6 6 6 8 8 8 8 10 128 Western Suburbs 0 0 0 0 2 4 4 4 6 6 6 6 8 10 10 10 10 12 129 Canterbury-Bankstown 2 4 6 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 1010 Eastern Suburbs 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 2 4 6 7 7 7 7 7 7
Finals HomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeCrowd Semi-finals Parramatta2–17 South Sydney Rabbitohs28 August 1965Sydney Cricket GroundCol Pearce54,626 St. George Dragons47–7 North Sydney Bears4 September 1965Sydney Cricket GroundCol Pearce38,944 Preliminary Final North Sydney Bears9–14 South Sydney Rabbitohs11 September 1965Sydney Cricket GroundCol Pearce36,695 Grand Final St. George Dragons12–8 South Sydney Rabbitohs18 September 1965Sydney Cricket GroundCol Pearce78,056
Grand Final St. George DragonsPositionSouth Sydney Rabbitohs Graeme Langlands FB Kevin Longbottom 2. Eddie Lumsden WG 2. Eric Simms 3. Reg Gasnier CE 3. Arthur Branighan 4. Billy Smith CE 4. Bob Moses 5. Johnny King WG 5. Michael Cleary 6. Brian Clay FE 6. Jim Lisle (c) 7. George Evans HB 7. Ivan Jones 13 Robin Gourley PR 13. Jim Morgan 12. Ian Walsh HK 12. Fred Anderson 11. Kevin Ryan PR 11. John O'Neill 10. Elton Rasmussen SR 10. Bob McCarthy 9. Norm Provan (Ca./Co.) SR 9. John Sattler 8. Johnny Raper LK 8. Ron Coote Coach Bernie Purcell In 1965, the Sydney Cricket Ground could accommodate 70,000. With capacity already reached two hours before kick-off the SCG staff closed the gates and posted an attendance figure of just over 78,000, a ground record that still stands as of 2016 and with changes to the venue in the years since resulting in a decreased capacity of 48,000 is unlikely to be broken. Meanwhile, the surrounding streets and parklands were packed with an estimated 40,000 people who were still trying to get into a ground. Hundreds chose to break in by storming the Members gates and proceeded to climb the grandstands, perching themselves on the roofs. Scores more bought tickets to the Motor Show which was being held next door in the Royal Showground. From here they took up vantage points on the Showground Pavilions with good views of the SCG pitch. After consultation the police allowed thousands to sit on the ground itself, covering the outer ring of the oval.
At 3pm, St George captain-coach Norm Provan, the last player from the Dragons' 1956 premiership-winning side, led his team onto the field in what would be his final match before retiring. Souths had already beaten Saints twice in 1965 and the huge crowd that attended were either looking to see the milestone 10th successive win or to see the dominant run halted. The St George team, with an average age of 27, faced a real threat from their younger South Sydney rivals whose average age was 22.
Rabbitohs fullback, Kevin Longbottom opened the scoring with a 55-yard penalty goal in the 20th minute – the kick receiving applause from St. George fullback Graeme Langlands. St George replied with a Billy Smith try. Langlands and Longbottom exchanged penalty goals with both players booting the ball more than 50 yards. It was a tough encounter with fiery forward charges from Provan, Johnny Raper and Kevin Ryan. The scrums in particular were no place for the faint-hearted, and Ryan was being unsettled by the Souths' front row of Jim Morgan and John O'Neill. In one scrum, after seeing Rabbitohs hooker Fred Anderson reaching into the tunnel, Ryan stood on Anderson, raked him back and proceeded to walk over him. The Dragons pack surged forward, forcing Anderson along the ground through the St George second row and out the back of the scrum. The 'keelhauled' Anderson sat dazed and bleeding on the ground with the ball still in hand.
The second half began with more penalty goals to Langlands and Longbottom. Souths' lock Ron Coote kept his side in the match with two brilliant try-saving tackles. With 13 minutes to go, Johnny King scored, continuing his amazing record of scoring tries in six successive Grand Finals. Souths' Eric Simms kicked a penalty goal, giving them some hope but Saints held their line and at full-time the score was 12–8. St George had won their tenth consecutive Grand Final and Provan bowed out victorious. At the sounding of the full-time siren, the SCG was invaded by thousands of fans and the ground became a sea of people – any chance of a victory lap was soon forgotten. Kevin Ryan was named Man of the Match.
Some records were set in the 1965 Grand Final. The attendance of 78,056 is the record for a rugby league match at the SCG and for thirty four years, until the Sydney Olympic Stadium was opened in 1999, this stood as the highest attendance at a rugby league match in Australia. Norm Provan's ten premiership wins achieved that day stands as the most number of grand final successes by a player. He also holds equal first place with his St George team-mate Brian Clay for the highest number of grand final appearances. Clay's ten appearances include two losses in 1954 and 1955 with Newtown.
St. George 12 (Tries: Smith, King. Goals: Langlands 3.)
South Sydney 8 ( Goals: Longbottom 3, Simms.). Crowd 78,056
Player statistics The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 18.
Top 5 point scorers PointsPlayerTriesGoalsField Goals177 Fred Griffiths1870141 Graeme Langlands3660129 Arch Brown5570110 Bob Batty252090 Keith Barnes0450 Top 5 try scorers TriesPlayer13 Ken Irvine12 Brian Moore12 Nick Yakich11 Johnny King11 Eddie Lumsden11 Michael Cleary
Top 5 goal scorers GoalsPlayer87 Fred Griffiths66 Graeme Langlands57 Arch Brown52 Bob Batty45 Keith Barnes
References
External links Rugby League Tables – Season 1965 The World of Rugby League Writer, Larry (1995) Never Before, Never Again, Pan MacMillan, Sydney Results:1961-70 at rabbitohs.com.au 1965 J J Giltinan Shield and WD & HO Wills Cup at rleague.com NSWRFL season 1965 at rugbyleagueproject.com 1965 Final at Dragons History site