Brisbane Rugby League 1925 Season

Carlton’s premiership winners. Ernie Silverthau (or Silverton as he was often known by this point) is at head of the line. The big forward Fulcher is the one in odd shorts.

League Table

TeamPlayedWonLostDrewForAgainstDiffPoints
Coorparoo1293026616410218
Wests128311871345317
Brothers127411561213515
Carlton126601471321512
Valleys12570116162-4610
Grammars12480170210-408
University1219292211-1194
Standard four-team finals series with the challenger rule

Rounds

Round 1Round 2Round 3Round 4Round 5
Round 6Round 7Round 8Round 9Round 10
Round 11Round 12Round 13Round 14Round 10A
Brothers win over Coorparoo in round 10 was disputed by Coorparoo and a replay was ordered. The replay took place on the eve of the finals and is round 10A here.

Finals

StageDateTeamsLink
Semi-Final19 September 1925Carlton vs WestsDetails
Semi-Final19 September 1925Brothers vs CoorparooDetails
Premiership Final26 September 1925Carlton vs BrothersDetails
Challenge Final3 October 1925Carlton vs CoorparooDetails

Pike Cup

StageDateTeamsLink
Final13 June 1925Brothers vs WestsDetails

Skip to 1926 season

Carlton spoil King Harold’s coronation

‘Twas a curious season. Wests were back – they would make a habit of rising, crashing and burning, and then rising again, like a phoenix or a cartoonish super-villain. With Cec Aysnley a regular again, the return of journeyman half William Brereton, and an emerging forward pack, ‘Suburbs’ finished second after two years in the wilderness.

Valleys, the defending champs, lost a number of key players and couldn’t seem to settle on a combination. Without star fullback Wally Cheyne, the backline was in flux most of the season. While veteran Ted McGrath was still anchoring the pack, it wasn’t the same fearsome outfit it had been the previous year.

The team of the year was Coorparoo, who’d lost their talisman Charlie Thorogood to retirement but gained the great Harold Horder from Sydney. In many ways it was Horder’s season, as the former Shoreman and Rabbitoh ran amok through most of the local defences. His try-scoring duel with Wests flyer Aynsley in round 13 was a particular highlight.

But on the big day, fourth-placed Carlton took home the prize. The ‘Maroon and Whites’ certainly didn’t look premiers early in the season, or even late in the season. They seemed determined to make veteran fullback Ernie Silverthau a half as a way of shoehorning Tom Bath into the team at fullback.

Once Bath was injured, things clicked, with Silverthau’s long kicking from the backfield paving the way for a consistent forward pack, boom centre Morahan and speedy winger Bourke to do their thing. While Coorparoo were missing some key players away on tour with Queensland, Carlton had found their mojo at the right time and comprehensively beat Horder and Co. 26-5 in the challenger final.

Skip to 1926 season

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