Teams

SOUTH SYDNEY D Murdoch I Moir M Gallagher M Spencer D Puren J Dougherty C Donohoe L Cowie J Rayner (c) B Purcell D Donoghue E Hammerton N Nilson

No's 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

NEWTOWN C Clifford K Considine B Clay R Poole (c) R Preston R Kelly R Whitton P Ryan F Narvo H Holloway L Hampson G Ellis D Stait

Sout Sydney's amazing 1955 season deserves to be preserved in history. After winning the premiership in 1954, they had lost 6 matches out of the nine played in the first round. Then they faced their previous seasons runners up, Newtown, at Redfern Oval. When the Bluebags scraped home 17-16, Souths were left last on the ladder, with only 8 games left before the finals. Chasing their third straight premiership, and their sixth straight grand final, many wrote them off.

An impromptu meeting under the grandstand after that loss saw a general airing of grievances by the players. Reaffirming their commitment to the club, and each other, they took the field for their next round match against Norths in a better frame of mind, and jagged their 4th win of the season, 27-12. Next week they downed Balmain 18-10, and followed that up with a 43-9 flogging of Canterbury. Souths were back in form, but with only 6 wins from 12 matches, and with only 5 remaining, they still appeared to be out of the running for the top 4.
However, they were gaining momentum, and people gradually sat up and started to take notice after further big wins against Parramatta (37-15), Easts (22-11) and Wests (28-17). With 2 rounds remaining, and still 4 points short of fifth place, they prepared for a showdown with Manly at home.
The Sea Eagles were going against the script, however, and grafted their way to a 7-4 lead, with the Rabbitohs in desperate trouble. Central to their plight was an injury to legendary fullback Clive Churchill. He had sustained a broken arm in the 6th minute of play, but rather than leave the side down, he stayed on, wrapping an exercise book around the break to act as a splint, and taking advantage of pain killing injections.
Souths never gave in. Chocka Cowie levelled the scores late in the match with a try wide out. However, still 4 points adrift of the top 4, a draw would have ended the season. Churchill pleaded with captain Jack Rayner to be allowed to take the sideline conversion. With his broken arm hanging limply by his side, Churchill's attempt was never going to be a great one. The kick was terrible, but still, miraculously, managed to sneak over to give Souths a 9-7 win, and keep their final hopes alive.
Churchill never played again that season, but the tide was with Souths now, and their last round 27-17 defeat of St George saw them scrape into 4th position. They had won 8 straight sudden death games to do it. Again they faced Manly in the first semi final, and again, in another tight match, they scraped home 14-12. They were now only one more win away from the grand final.
Another close match occurred in the preliminary final against St George. With 8 mintues to play, the score was locked up at 14-all. However, Souths were given a string of late penalties, allowing Bernie Purcell to boot Souths into the grand final, with a 18-14 victory. After 10 straight wins, only Newtown, the one team they had not beaten all year, stood in their way.
Newtown's superior backline gave them all important field position in the game. Although no tries were scored in the first half, the Bluebags were definitely the better side, with their centres Brian Clay and Dick Poole dominating. Close to halftime, Newtown fullback Gordon Clifford, who has already booted 3 penalties, kicked a 45 yard field goal, to send his side in with a half time lead of 8-4.
Bouyed by the first half, the Bluebags returned for the second half determined to continue to run Souths down out wide. With the scores unchanged for 20 minutes, Newtown launched continuous attacking raids in search of the knockout blow. It seemed as though the blow was coming when test center Poole sliced through out wide, and sped for the corner. With only fullback Don Murdoch to beat, Poole stepped back inside, and was caught by South pivot Jack Doherty only 3 years short. Doherty had come from nowhere to make the tackle, and the effort lifted the tiring Souths pack immeasurably.
Before Doherty's tackle, their only bright spot had been the wonderful efforts of hooker Ernie Hammerton in the scrums. With a better than 2-1 majority of possession (he ended up winning the scrums 30-12), Souths started to use the ball, and return Newtown's fire out wide. The try that turned the match was a classic. Half Col Donohue made a blind side dash near halfway, and put winger Dale Puren in the clear. When the defence of Clifford emerged, Puren put a centre kick up, which was taken by big Jack Rayner mid field. The big prop found test winger Ian Mior in support on the other flank, and Moir raced over to score out wide. Although Purcell missed the sideline conversion, the score was now 8-7 to Newtown.
The Bluebags responded in classic fasion, with a sweeping backline movement involving Poole, Clay, hooker Ellis and half Whitton, before Ken Considine scored in the corner. Clifford missed the conversion from the sideline, but were leading 11-7 with only 5 minutes remaining. Souths needed a converted try to win.
With urgency, the Rabbotohs ground play deep in Newtown's half. However, the Bluebags were content to merely grind their way upfield, and hold on for victory. However, Jack Rayner, in possibly the most important play of his career, lashed out with his feet in a ruck. He connected, and the ball bounced dangerously close to the line. Newtown lock Peter Ryan seemed to have the ball covered, but an awkward bounce between his legs enabled Rayner to toe the ball in goal. Despite the frantic attempts by Clifford to force the ball, Col Donohue got his fingers to the leather first, and the try was awarded next to the posts. Purcell, with the weight of the dramatic season on his shoulders, converted, to give Souths a 12-11 lead in the dying minutes of the game
Now Newtown were in desperation. They had managed to get the ball over halfway, despite some rejuvenated Souths defence. Desperate for a chance, a glimmer of hope presented itself with 3 minutes remaining. When Souths prop Norm Nilson belted Ellis in a ruck, referee Col Pearce, in his first ever grand final, awarded Newtown a penalty. Gordon Clifford took the shot from 45 yards out, near touch in front of the Sheridan Stand. He moved in, and struck the ball sweetly. The ball sailed straight toward the uprights, and just as the Newtown fans and players began to celebrate, the ball dropped. It want under the crossbar by a few agonising inches. Souths had held on to win their 15th premiership, 12-11!
No team has ever won a premiership by coming back from the dead so often in a few weeks as Souths did in 1955. For a team that has proudly worn the title of premiers for a record 20 seasons, the 1955 grand final stands alone as their greatest day. It was also a special day for more reasons that that. It was the last grand final before St George started their magnificent run on 11 straight, thus ending a magnificent South Sydney era that had seen them contest 7 straight grand finals, and 6 premierships. And even though the great Clive Churchill did not take part in the action that day, it is fitting that it was he, as Souths coach, brought another 5 premierships back to Redfern immediately after St George's run. With a direct hand in half of South Sydney's 20 premierships, it is fitting that the medal awarded to the man of the match in today's grand finals bears his name.

South Sydney 12 (I Moir, C Donohoe tries, B Purcell 3 goals) defeated Newtown 11 (K Considine try, G Clifford 3 goals, field goal) Crowd 42,466

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