Redcap's BRL

Sugar hits and ‘Firpo’ Neumann

The complete 1937 Brisbane Rugby League season is now live on Redcap’s BRL. See how Valleys and the ultimate Diehard, Fred ‘Firpo’ Neumann won the premiership, overcoming Wests in a gripping and controversial Grand Final. A summary of every game, the teams and point-scorers are available by clicking on each round in the 1937 season page.

Valleys were never far away. Ever. Even after Wally Lewis left, then everybody else left and the wolves were at the door, they kept on winning, almost all the way to the bitter end.

Somebody always came along to bear the ‘Diehard’ standard – Frank M’Comb, Ken Mackay, Ted Stanley, Ted McGrath, ‘Skinny’ Donovan – usually for a long time.

Fred ‘Firpo’ Neumann is perhaps the ultimate ‘Diehard’. Around 1933-34 he looked like he was finished after an injury, a stint in England, then another injury. Reports during the 1937 season made it sound like he was being held together by the proverbial rubber bands and sticky tape, in imminent danger of falling apart entirely. So, of course he kept going, and going, and going again. No wonder Valleys named their ground after him.

The 1937 BRL was a lot like the previous year’s edition – a short season played with many players only sporadically available due to representative commitments.

Valleys were relatively unencumbered – only losing hooker Jack Little to rep duty for a few weeks – but did lose Donovan and half Eddie Costello to retirement, and long-serving forward Eugene Robson to Norths. Early in the season it was announced prolific winger Jack Bates was switching to rugby union amid much grumbling about ‘shamateurism’.

As always, others stepped into the breach. Five-eighth Ivan Blow became the spark, the winger Grimley started scoring, half Williamson and centre Walker barely missed a beat, Dick Ebbern came over from rugby union. And Firpo went on, and on, all the way to victory over the defending premiers, Wests in the Grand Final.

The rest of the league had their own issues. Easts were starting a new cycle, with the team comprised of Norm Wright, Jack Ryrie and a lot of aspiring lower-graders. Brothers somehow managed to finish second, largely due to veteran half Leo Dwyer, before a 35-0 hammering by Valleys in the semi-final presaged their exit.

Souths were awful. Hope seemingly arrived in the appointment of ‘Fatty’ Edwards as coach midway through the season and some less-bad results shortly afterward, before a record 80-4 thrashing at the hands of Norths in round nine.

Norths were the team worst affected by representative call-ups and managed some remarkable results – their victory over Valleys in round 8 without eight of their best players, as well as that 80-4 romp – but were wildly inconsistent. There was even some suggestion they didn’t bother much with preparation, preferring to see if the muse struck them come Saturday.

Then there was Wests, the defending premiers, who after a flying start stimulated by their new winger ‘Snowy’ Gollan, scorer of 15 tries in his first five games, went strangely flat. They stopped scoring much and slumped to third place, before overcoming Norths and defeating a poor Brothers team, despite having two players sent off for ‘systematic obstruction’.

And ‘Snowy’, ‘Firpo’ and the obstruction rule all figured in the season’s decisive moment. With the Grand Final tied at 7-apiece, under 10 minutes to go and the speedy Gollan in the clear, it looked like Wests were going to snatch it. Gollan crossed the line, but wait, a Valleys chaser had been taken out. It was Neumann, of course, and while the veteran centre would surely never have caught Gollan, a penalty was awarded for obstruction. A couple of minutes later, Firpo iced the game and Valleys’ eleventh premiership with a field goal.

More complete BRL season records are coming soon on Redcap’s BRL.