Brisbane Rugby League 1948 season
League Table
| Team | Played | Won | Lost | Drew | For | Against | Diff | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wests | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 194 | 128 | 66 | 16 |
| Souths | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 223 | 144 | 79 | 14 |
| Brothers | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 141 | 120 | 21 | 10 |
| Easts | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 153 | 138 | 15 | 10 |
| Norths | 10 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 111 | 210 | -99 | 6 |
| Valleys | 10 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 109 | 191 | -82 | 4 |
Rounds
Finals
| Stage | Date | Teams | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minor Semi-Final | 21 August 1948 | Easts vs Brothers | Details |
| Major Semi-Final | 28 August 1948 | Wests vs Souths | Details |
| Preliminary Final | 4 September 1948 | Easts vs Souths | Details |
| Grand Final | 11 September 1948 | Wests vs Easts | Details |
Pike Cup
| Stage | Date | Teams | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Final | 26 June 1948 | Wests vs Brothers | Details |
And now for something completely different – Wests
A few things upended the BRL in 1948.
First, the domestic representative season was crammed into the first half of the season before the Kangaroo tour departed for England. A few of the league’s best players were rarely sighted.
Valleys signed future Hall of Famer Duncan Hall but only had him for two premiership games. Eddie Brosnan of Brothers only played three, and it was a similar story at Souths with Bill Tyquin and Len Pegg.
Souths coach Gordon Macrae attempted to enliven his team by insisting his players observe a strict curfew of 10pm and ordering them to stick to a diet of brown bread, cereals, veggies and steaks. It worked pretty well, but only took them so far.
Second, Easts returned weakened by the retirements of captain Jack Ryrie and gun centre Jack Atkin, as well as the departures of Nev Ryrie and Terry Callinan. They won just one of their first five games, prompting Jack Ryrie and Atkin to come out of retirement.
Third, Wests were great. They’d been building something, despite the dramas with residency and eligibility in 1947 which seemed quite a setback. Jack White had become a reliable custodian and fine goal kicker, champion centre Hugh Melrose had come over from Norths and half Roy Miller had come from Sydney.
Former Easts back-rower Bill Sims realised his potential, former Norths rake Reg Tynan filled a gap in the scrum, Col McAllister, Mick Irwin and Roy Lyons emerged from the lower grades, veteran Alby ‘Spragg’ Hunt, who debuted for the club in 1930 before a winding journey through war, other BRL clubs and bush footy, returned to the club for one last triumphant hurrah before he became the club’s committee delegate.
Wests lost twice to Souths during the regular season – their only two defeats – but by the time the two clubs met in the Major Semi-Final, Wests were coming down Mount Coot-Tha. They stifled the black shirts with “vice-like defence” in the semi-final and all that was left was to see off an Easts team who were coming to the end of their cycle, which Wests did with a 14-7 victory in the Grand Final.
Since their two dominant premiership seasons in the early 1920s, Wests had been hit and miss. They would suddenly emerge as contenders then disappear just as quickly. I’ve remarked before that they rose with the frequency of a super villain – just when you least suspected it. They faded away again in 1949 but would be back quicker than expected.
Unless you count 1913 when many of their team played under the banner of Railways, Valleys had never finished last before. They finally hit bottom in ’48, just two years removed from their last premiership.
Most of the ’46 Diehards had moved on, there were scant replacements and the club was concerned that this was more than just a blip. Valleys’ population base was declining as many inner-city residents were moving to the suburbs. There had been some district redistribution recognising this, but the Diehards feared that the fruits would be long on the proverbial vine.
While Valleys would spend a few seasons drifting in the bottom half of the ladder, reports of existential crisis were entirely misplaced.
Editor’s Note
Unfortunately, coverage of the 1948 season was limited, in large part due to the packed representative schedule mentioned above. There are very few complete team lists available. Things would pick up again, though, mainly due to some more fulsome coverage by the Courier Mail in 1949.