The 1909 season was the second in which the Eastern Suburbs DRLFC competed in the New South Wales Rugby Football League competition. They finished the regular season in 4th (of 8) position, before being knocked out in the semi-final by Balmain.
Contents
Season
Eastern Suburbs 18 defeated Newcastle Rebels 16 at the Newcastle Sports Ground.
Described this way "As an exhibition the game was all that could have been desired It was fast, open, exciting and even."
Balmain 24 (Apploney 2, Moore 2, Halloway, Regent Tries; Fitzpatrick 3 Goals) defeated Eastern Suburbs 15 (M. Frawley, Kelley, Webb Tries; Surridge 2, King Goals) at the Agricultural Society's Ground.
This was reported to be a particularly rough affair, Easts lost a player early in the match through injury, and two more players were severely concussed, Four were sent off for fighting, and a fifth, Easts captain Larry O'Malley was sent off for kicking.
Semi-Final
Balmain 15 (Walker 2, Edwards, Graves, Regent tries) defeated Eastern Suburbs 8 (Lenton, Surridge tries; King goal) at the Wentworth Park Ground in front of around 3,000 spectators.
Balmain were never in any danger of defeat, both Easts tries came late in the match with Balmain already leading by 15 points.
The lineups were-
Eastern Suburbs: Bill King • William Lenton • Sid Kaufman • Percy McNamara • Les Abott • Harry Flegg • Tom Bruce • Mick Frawley • F. Denholm • Arthur Surridge • Arthur Hennessy(c) • Harold Kelley • Sid Pearce.
Balmain: F. Wooley • W. Smith • A. Walker • A. Latta • A Fitzpatrick • Arthur Halloway • L. Edwards • F. Woodward • B. Graves • J. Regent(c) • F. Ward • T. McFadyen • J. Appoloney.
Offence
The lowdown: Eastern Suburbs completed the following score options in the 1908 season:
The result:
Eastern Suburbs scored a total of 167 points in 1909.
The verdict:
Defence
The lowdown:
Eastern Suburbs conceded the following score options in the 1909 season:
The result:
Eastern Suburbs conceded a total of 141 points in 1909.
The verdict: