Monday Milestone: 1960s Rugby League – On the Take?
This Week in History:
1963, September 2
In the aftermath of the 1963 Grand Final, questions begin to be asked surrounding the impartiality of referee Darcy Lawler, in arguably one of the most famous matches ever played.
“We can’t win. F**king Lawler has backed them”
– Wests prop Jack Gibson allegedly receives a tip immediately prior to kick off
They came, tough and stood in the mire.
The rain had been relentless, and the Sydney Cricket Ground after mere minutes, resembled a quagmire. It simply added to the theatre of the match. Nobody could tell friend from foe, everyone was covered in mud.
Almost seventy thousand spectators streamed through the gates that day, a record. St George were playing Western Suburbs in the 1963 Grand Final, although when the players were covered in the SCG surface, colours were all but indistinguishable. There was something almost Anzac about the match, and the brutality of the contest reflected the conditions.
Money had flooded in for that Grand Final, most of it on St George. With no licenced betting available in those days, a combination of underhanded deals, and back room handshakes had instead transpired, with now only one man able to influence the outcome: referee Darcy Lawler. But how much did he sway the result?
In the shadows of half time Western Suburbs winger Peter Dimond appeared to have scored a try after it had been toed through in the mud. Lawler ruled against it. A tough call perhaps, but they happen in rugby league.
But then with about fifteen minutes remaining, a young Graeme Langlands handed off to winger Johnny King who flew down the St George flank after fending off his opposite number. Wests fullback Don Parish came across in cover defence and appeared to tackle King. Yet through the swamp that was the SCG, Lawler maintained to his grave he did not call that King was held. Many of the Western Suburbs faithful present will swear that he did.
Nonetheless King got up from the “tackle” and was bowled over again. With the Wests defence believing he had been tackled they stood idly by, whilst Lawler again allowed Johnny King to get back up, and saunter past for what would ultimately be the match (and premiership) winning try.
Was King tackled? Was he called held? Was he told to play on? Or was Lawler on the take? It still remains hotly debated, and Lawler’s impartiality is still questioned half a century later.
Especially, when in the dying minutes, Wests centre Gil McDougall appeared to have scored for Wests and tied the match, until Lawler once again intervened, ruling McDougall never grounded the ball. So many decisions went against Western Suburbs that day.
It was well-documented, that Lawler enjoyed a bet, but whether referee Darcy Lawler had a vested interest in the outcome remains a mystery. The penalty count stood in favour of St George 18-7, and decades on, the rumours suggesting Lawler stood to win some £600 from a St George victory can never be verified.
The record books simply show that St George defeated Western Suburbs 8-3 in atrocious conditions, and as the players left the field, with the elation and the devastation that accompanies any grand final, John O’Gready snapped that picture of Norm Provan and Arthur Summons which now forms the centrepiece of rugby league trophies.
We know Darcy Lawler was in the centre of the game that day. But just how much he was at the centre of the result will never be known.
Milestone Five: Notable 1960s rugby league moments
5. 1969 – Balmain causes one of the greatest upsets ever in rugby league defeating South Sydney 11-2 in the “lay down” grand final
4. 1967 – The league grows to twelve teams with the introduction of Cronulla-Sutherland and Penrith into the NSWRFL. Both teams survive today.
3. 1969 – Eric Simms kicks nineteen field goals in a season, including five in eleven minutes in a match against Penrith.
2. 1961 – The first ever rugby league match is broadcast live when Channel Nine beam the second half of a match between North Sydney and Balmain. Six years later they would reportedly pay $5,000 to broadcast the grand final marking the entry of TV rights into rugby league.
1. 1967 – St George are finally eliminated in the finals by Canterbury 12-11 for the first time since 1955. Their eleven consecutive premierships is unlikely to be matched again.
