Redcap's BRL

Barry Cup 1918, Round Eleven

And here it is – the game between Wests and Merthyr at the Ekka was the crux of perhaps the most infamous eligibility dispute in rugby league history.

The ‘Ricketty’ Johnston affair is popular with historians of Brisbane rugby league but has never quite been satisfactorily explained.

According to the Daily Mail, Wests knew Johnston and Cec Barker, two Sydney players who’d decamped to Brisbane just a few day earlier, were ineligible to play and had been warned by the league to not field them (the general rule was a minimum period of one month’s residency before a player became eligible).

The Mail also suggested Wests didn’t much care if they were sanctioned – they were guaranteed to play finals, and Merthyr already held the right of challenge, so they weren’t risking any advantage.

Wests’ main defence after the fact was that Merthyr hadn’t lodged a formal objection, which was apparently the way these disputes were usually initiated. But this rather ignores the fact that Merthyr didn’t need to object, because the league already had. There’s certainly an argument to be had that the league was disorganised (refer below), perhaps even somewhat capricious as a result. But what was the end-game here?

Surely the best form of ‘up yours’ would’ve been to go on and win the league. Instead, Wests withdrew from the competition in futile protest. If it was a bluff, expecting others to rally to their cause and force a relaxation of eligibility rules, it wasn’t a good one.

Wests vs Merthyr

Valleys vs Coorparoo

Westerns vs Railways

Skip to round twelve

Part of 1918 season