Brisbane Rugby League (Barry Cup) 1916 season
League table
| Team | Played | Won | Lost | Drew | For | Against | Diff | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wests | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 203 | 61 | 142 | 18 |
| Valleys | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 148 | 45 | 103 | 16 |
| Starlights | 10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 63 | 125 | -62 | 9 |
| Ipswich West End | 10 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 65 | 99 | -34 | 7 |
| Woolloongabba | 10 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 47 | 96 | -49 | 6 |
| Wattles | 10 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 55 | 155 | -100 | 4 |
Rounds
Finals
| Stage | Date | Teams | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Semi-final | 12 August 1916 | Wests vs Starlights | Details |
| Semi-final | 12 August 1916 | Valleys vs Ipswich West End | Details |
| Final | 19 August 1916 | Valleys vs Wests | Details |
| Challenge Final | 2 September 1916 | Wests vs Valleys | Details |
The corkscrew man and the mighty Lilliputian
Western Suburbs, the men from the foot of Mount Coot-Tha, conquered the summit for the first time in 1916 after a dominant season. Winger Dobbin Hickey’s ‘corkscrew’ runs and occasional (some would say selective) goal-kicking saw him amass at least 71 points, more than four of the competition’s six teams managed in total.
Like the previous season, it all came down to a challenger final, but this time it was Wests looking to bounce back from defeat in the final. They did so in a tense, low-scoring affair that was finally settled by a late penalty goal from the diminutive Mick ‘Lilliputian’ Scott “amid tremendous excitement”.
There’d been brawling during the game and it reportedly spiralled out of control after full-time, with at least one player rushing back onto the field from the sheds in a state of partial undress and some of the crowd getting involved, before some soldiers at the ground managed to calm the situation with a not very subtle threat.
Elsewhere, with only two clubs in Ipswich capable of fielding a team and the local league unfeasible due to the war, West End and Starlights joined the Brisbane league less than a week before the season kicked off. In the circumstances, both did well to reach the finals, but perhaps predictably, West End couldn’t get a team together and forfeited their semi-final to Valleys.
As far as I can gather, and there isn’t much to go on, Wattles were the latest from the Brisbane River’s south side to try their hand at senior level, replacing the hapless West End team of 1915.
