A history of Brisbane Rugby League: 1913 to 1921

In 1913 it was the turn of West End to take out the title, with Natives runners up for a second consecutive year.

In their short history, Natives would never win a competition and they disappeared at season’s end. The 1913 competition was contested by just four teams, including Railways and South Brisbane. The Queensland Rugby Union had secured the Gabba as their ground, so the Brisbane Exhibition Ground became the main home of rugby league.

League was teetering on the edge of oblivion but some important decisions were made that year, which steered the game towards sustainability. Firstly Harry Sunderland became secretary of the QRL and the former journalist proved to be a master administrator and promoter. Secondly the 1914 competition restructured along a district basis, with players playing for the clubs where they lived. This helped create a local identity and tribalism for the clubs. Importantly too, there were no interstate fixtures held in 1914, allowing the local competition to stand alone and gain a greater following.

Natives and Railways disappeared at the end of 1913, but four new clubs joined in 1914 to form a six-team competition. South Brisbane and West End were joined by the returning Fortitude Valley (Where did they go? Why did they go? I have no idea!) and North Brisbane plus two new clubs: Toowong out of West Brisbane (their nickname was the Cemetery-Siders) and Wynnum from the Bayside East, who initially played just this single year.

In 1914 Fortitude Valley became the first team in BRL history to win multiple premierships, before a record club crowd at the Exhibition Ground. They would go on to dominate the competition, winning five titles over the next six years. Only in 1916 were Western Suburbs able to defeat Valleys to break the sequence. Wests were a new club in 1915, formed from a merger of Toowong and North Brisbane.

The great Valleys players of the era are mostly forgotten now, such men as Frank McCoomb, Ken McKay (who played in a Kangaroos versus New Zealand match plus two games for Queensland), Barry Love, Luke Woods (Queensland – one game) and goal kicking fullback Charlie Fredericks.

The bewildering merry-go-round of clubs continued. In 1915 only Valleys and West End backed up and they were joined by Woolloongabba (from the inner south), junior champions Bulimba (inner south east) and Western Suburbs. Wests defeated Valleys in their semi-final and Bulimba in the final, but as Valleys had claimed the minor premiership they had the right of challenge and duly defeated Wests in a tight grand final, 10-9.

Wests scored three tries to two, but winger Clarrie Horder (the brother of the famous South Sydney winger Harold Horder) failed to land a conversion, with Valleys scoring the winner just before full time. The semi-finals that year had their share of controversy. In the second semi a first-half brawl erupted and a section of the crowd joined in nearly forcing the game to be abandoned. The first semi almost didn’t start at all, as both teams refused to take the field in protest over the referee appointed for the fixture.

After coming so close in 1915 Western Suburbs went one better the following year, defeating Valleys 4-2 in the 1916 grand final, the first where no tries were scored. Played in driving rain in front of 1500 spectators (according to the Daily Mail “a quarter of whom were enthusiastic ladies”), the Valleys’ brilliant kicker Barry Love was almost the hero, kicking a penalty goal from his own side of half way that went over after striking the crossbar.

There was, as usual, much controversy. Wests’ star player Mick Scott “The Lilliputian Wonder” attempted a penalty goal that was hesitantly judged successful by the touch judges but was overruled by the referee. The goal was denied and in the ensuing ruckus between touch judges, referee, players and spectators a Valleys player was sent off for “alleged insulting language and sundry threats”. Wests finally prevailed through two penalty goals. Apparently there was a further brawl among spectators after the game and a player was charged (but let off!) for allegedly striking a match official in the dressing rooms.

The major event of 1916 that affected the fledgling game was the Queensland Rugby Union’s decision to abandon their competition due to the war, leaving rugby league as the only game in town. After a brief attempt to restart in 1919 there would be no top tier rugby union competition in Brisbane until the late 1920s. As a result rugby league in Queensland thrived and made up significant ground on the NSW competition for quality.

Yet again, three clubs came and went before 1917 (just as some had in 1916, but I was getting tired of listing them all!). One of these was Merthyrs, who went all the way to the final and won it, only to be defeated 13-5 by Valleys exercising their right of challenge in the grand final.

The 1917 season was significantly boosted by union players crossing codes after their own competition was disbanded. Rugby players who were not soldiers had few alternatives if they wished to continue playing football. As a result, players from Brothers Rugby Union joined the league competition from 1917 to 1918, using the name Merthyrs. After a slow start they took to the 13-a-side game rather well, being runners up to Valleys in both 1917 and 1918. Their halfback Jimmy Flynn was a former Wallabies captain (I believe maybe the youngest ever at 20 years and seven months).

The 1917 grand final finished a little early when a Merthyrs player was sent off but refused to leave the field. The referee responded by ending the game before Valleys could take their final conversion and declaring the Diehards the winners. A subsequent letter to the Editor of the Daily Mail alleged that all of Valleys’ three tries should not have been allowed, due to a knock on, offside and failure to ground the ball respectively. So some things never change, but despite being in the midst of World War 1, I didn’t find any references to the Bunker!

Merthyrs had earlier emerged victorious in their final against Westerns courtesy of a missed late goal by Westerns. However Westerns had been short of players on the day so the gentlemen taking the shot was actually a Merthyr man filling in for them. I’m at a loss as to why they would have entrusted that goal kick to one of the enemy!

The 1918 season saw Valleys win the second of their three premierships in a row, but as usual it was not without controversy. Indeed Western Suburbs, the Diehards’ great rivals of the period, quit the competition in acrimonious circumstances due to what became known as the Rickety Johnston affair. Wests asked permission to field two Sydney players late in the season, one being Albert ‘Rickety’ Johnston, who would finish his career with three premierships for Balmain and the captaincy of Australia. They were denied permission but went ahead anyway. Points were stripped and Wests quit the competition in disgust.

In their absence Merthyrs provided Valleys with worthy competition, only losing the grand final after a late try was denied due to a knock on. Merthyrs were an entertaining team, described as using “chain lightning tactics” and “spreading out after the manner of South Sydney”. One passage of play was delightfully described as “most of the rear-guard had fingered the ball during smart, short passing gallops”. Reflecting wartime influences the player on the end of a passing movement “fled like a conscientious objector after a mobilisation order”.

On the club change scene, the merry-go-round continued: Wattles had dropped out after only three rounds in 1917 due to lack of numbers and were replaced by Railways.

While Valleys were the champions, for some reason when South Sydney made a northern tour they played Merthyrs for the unofficial club championship and won handily, 28-10, before later playing a 19-all draw against Queensland. Season-end tours by Sydney clubs were a feature of Queensland league right up until the 1960s.

Valleys were a powerhouse of the Brisbane Rugby League during the 1910s. (Wikimedia Commons)

The 1919 season saw Valleys complete their hat trick of titles with a 28-2 flogging of Coorparoo, who were appearing in their first grand final. The Coorparoo side (who later became the Easts Tigers) were the fairytale side of the season and were described at the time as a side who “played the passing game, and have a speedy rear division”.

The QRL struggled for a home ground that year. The Queensland Rugby Union returned and took over the Gabba, while the Exhibition Ground was converted to a field hospital during the Spanish Flu crisis. As a result Davies Park became the ground for rugby league. Also, with rugby union’s return, Merthyrs’ brief initial flirtation with the professional code was over and they were replaced by Carlton, effectively a South Brisbane team.

The 1920 season saw massive changes in rugby league and the end of Valleys’ domination. Rugby union folded once more after only one season and there was a mass exodus of teams and players to the 13-man code. As a result the 1920 season was contested by ten teams. Union clubs University, Past Christian Brothers and Past Grammars, together with junior club Bulimba, all joined the competition.

In a massive shake-up of the game’s national power base, the Toowoomba Rugby Union also defected, paving the way for the Galloping Toowoomba Clydesdales, maybe the greatest rugby league team in Queensland history, and a period of Queensland dominance over NSW. The Queensland Rugby Union would not restart their competition for a decade. They even accepted a bail out from the rugby league, staging a league versus union benefit match with the proceeds going toward paying off the union’s debts.

On the field Wests won their first competition since 1916 with a dominant undefeated season on the back of their star Test forward, the great Norm Potter (seven Tests and 21 games for Queensland). It was a weird competition. The first half was staged by ten teams with the winner earning one spot in the grand final. The bottom four teams were then merged into two and a second season was played to determine the other grand final participant.

The grand final was attended by 3500 fans, resulting in 150 pounds being provided to the incapacitated footballers’ fund. The runners up were Past Christian Brothers, in their first year back from rugby union, but it was Wests who emerged victorious and subsequently had four players selected for national duties. It was considered a hard fought but dull grand final. Wests’ win was all the more impressive given their Queensland rep half Tom Flanagan was stretchered from the field in the first half and taken away in an ambulance after being kicked in the spine.

However the Sydney club Balmain, in the midst of five NSWRL premiership wins in six years, were the undisputed national champions. They came up to Brisbane in August 1920 and destroyed Wests by 30 to nil.

After a surge in the number of clubs in 1920, 1921 saw the return to a more modest and stable six-team competition: Valleys, Wests, Brothers, University, Coorparoo and Carlton. In a shift of the power structure in Brisbane it was the Carlton Lions (a combination of old Merthyrs and Christian Brothers rugby union juniors, but also sort of a South Brisbane team) who came away with their first ever title, with Coorparoo being runners up. After a late try from Carlton put them in front, Coorparoo unfortunately missed a penalty goal from almost in front in the dying minutes to tie up the game.

The star-studded Wests team had a disappointing season due to a combination of Norm Potter and Bill Richards being on the Kangaroo tour and two other players being suspended for the season for “unseemly conduct” towards a referee (I haven’t been able to find out just what the conduct was. Given players below only received a week or two for striking a referee, the mind boggles).

Grand final celebrations were marred by the losing Coorparoo team hooker punching the referee in the dressing rooms after the match. He was banned for the 1922 season by the QRL. Reflecting the rough nature of the league scene in those days, this was considered ridiculously harsh to the point that Coorparoo considered leaving the competition to join Australian rules. On appeal the player’s ban was reduced to only two weeks, even though it was not disputed that he had in fact punched the referee!

As this controversy was unfolding, another with more lasting impact on the game was happening as the Brisbane clubs wrested control of the competition from the QRL, a minor quarrel that lasted for 30 years…

A Team of the Era (1909 to 1921) (finals appearances, grand finals, premierships)

Fullback
Sam Hull (Valleys, Wests) (Queensland – one game) – 13, four, three – 19 goals in finals.

Three quarters
Barry Love (Valleys, Bulimba) – 12, five, four – four tries and five goals in finals, captain 1914 and 1916.

Thomas “Ducky” Bath (Merthyrs, Carlton) (Queensland – two games) – 12, three, one – three tries and four goals in finals, captain 1923.

Charlie Fredericks (Valleys) – ten, five, four – three tries and 12 goals in finals.

Sid Ashby (Valleys) – eight, three, three – six tries in finals including a hat trick in the 1919 grand final. Ashby was an all-round sportsman. He was a champion cyclist, being a 13-time winner of Queensland championships and taking out the Australian five-mile championship in 1920. Ashby also represented Valleys at water polo, winning a premiership with them. He also was also a member of a Queensland champion sailing crew and could run the 100 yards in 11.1 seconds.

Halves
Charlie Thorogood (Coorparoo) – (two Tests, Queensland – three games) – seven, four, one – four tries, 15 goals and two field goals in finals. Captain 1918-1919, 1922-1923. Captain and man of the match in the 1923 grand final.

Mick Scott (Wests), nicknamed ‘The Lilliputian Wonder’ – eight, three, three – two tries in finals.

Forwards
Teddy “Deadwood” McGrath (Valleys) – (one Test, Queensland – five games, NSW – one game) – 17, seven, four – seven tries and one goal in finals. Captain 1917 to 1919 and 1924. Played for South Sydney between 1920 and 1922.

Norm Potter (Wests) – (seven Tests, Queensland – 21 games) – eight, three, three – five tries in finals, including a double in the 1922 semi-final and another pair in the grand final. Captain 1920, 1922. Scored 13 tries for Queensland and captained them to their first ever series win over NSW. Later led Ipswich to wins over New Zealand and NSW.

Ted Stanley (Valleys) (Queensland – five games) – 13, four, three – two tries and three goals in finals. Captain 1923.

Harry Stevens (Bulimba, Valleys) (Queensland – two games) – 12, four, three – three tries in finals including two tries in the 1919 grand final.

Billy Dunne (Toowong, Wests) (Queensland – one game versus the rest of Queensland) – 11, four, three – two tries in finals.

Jim Bennett (Westerns, Wests) (three Tests, Queensland – 18 games) – five, two, two.

Reserves
J Tait (Bulimba, Valleys) (Queensland seconds – one game) – 11, three, three – two tries in finals. May have played for South Sydney in 1924.

Joe Vinson (Coorparoo) – fullback – 12, four, one.

Ken McKay (Toombul, Valleys) (Queensland – two games) – ten, five, three.

John Holborow (Souths, Woolloongabba, Coorparoo) (Queensland – two games) – ten, two, zero – one try and eight goals in finals. Captain 1919.

Other notables
Clarrie Horder (NSW – two games).

Jimmy Flynn (former Wallaby captain, Queensland – two games).

Albert ‘Rickety’ Johnston (eight Tests).