QRL Northern Union Rules (Brisbane) 1908
Toombul medal after a ‘splendid exposition’
Before the official formation of a Brisbane club rugby league competition in 1909, there was an ad-hoc series of games played in the city under the ‘Northern Union’ rules between July and September 1908.
Toombul demonstrated themselves the strongest team and with the football season drawing to a close they were drawn to play a ‘combined thirteen’ of players from the other nascent clubs at the Exhibition Ground on 12 September.
Toombul won 37-0 with their captain Geordie Paul and man of the match A. Dutton, who would both go onto to play in the QARL the following season, receiving gold medals, while their teammates received medals of silver.
The Brisbane Courier described Toombul’s performance as a “splendid exposition” and the show was veering toward the road.
The results I’ve found, along with a table of sorts (I don’t really think they were keeping a table at this stage) are below.
Table
| Team | Played | Won | Lost | Drew | For | Against | Diff | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toombul | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 164 | 22 | 142 | 10 |
| Milton | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 2 | 45 | 6 |
| Valleys | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 58 | 48 | 10 | 6 |
| North Brisbane A | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 91 | -86 | 1 |
| North Brisbane B | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 70 | -68 | 1 |
| Memmot’s | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 1 |
| McCann’s Team | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 1 |
| St Bridgets | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 11 | -6 | 0 |
| Combined XIII | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 37 | -37 | 0 |
Results
| Date | Team one | Score | Team two | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Jul 1908 | Valleys | 10-8 | Toombul | Exhibition Ground |
| 18 Jul1908 | Toombul | 30-5 | North Brisbane A | Enoggera |
| 25 Jul 1908 | Toombul | 25-7 | Valleys | Enoggera |
| 25 Jul 1908 | North Brisbane A | 0-0 | North Brisbane B | Enoggera |
| 27 Jul 1908 | Memmot’s | 8-8 | McCann’s Team | Spring Hill |
| 15 Aug 1908 | Valleys | 30-0 | North Brisbane A | Enoggera |
| 22 Aug 1908 | Milton | 19-2 | North Brisbane B | Gregory Park, Milton |
| 22 Aug 1908 | Toombul | 13-0 | North Brisbane A | Nundah |
| 22 Aug 1908 | Valleys | 11-5 | St Bridgets | Enoggera |
| 29 Aug 1908 | Milton | 10-0 | Valleys | Gregory Park, Milton |
| 29 Aug 1908 | Toombul | 51-0 | North Brisbane B | Nundah |
| 5 Sep 1908 | Milton | 18-0 | North Brisbane A | Gregory Park, Milton |
| 12 Sep 1908 | Toombul | 37-0 | Combined XIII | Exhibition Ground |
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