Seasons 1910 to 1914

For a better quality page ( colour, photos etc ) click 1910 to 1914

1910

The Newcastle Competition for the "Potter Shield" commenced in 1910 with 4 teams participating - Central, North, South and West. The first round was scheduled to be played on Saturday 7 May, but was delayed a week because of the death of King Edward VII. The West team of 12 selected for the Round 1 game were players Bradley, Kay, Thornton, Long, Anderton, Bartley, Edney, Milgate, Young, Lewsam and Thompson. In Round 1 South beat West 18 - 0, in Round 2 North beat West 5 - 0, in Round 3 Central beat West 21 - 10 and in Round 4 South beat West 21 -6. West struggled for players and they withdrew from the competition on 25 June 1910. South won the Minor Premiership, but Central won the Major Premiership on 10 September 1910 by defeating South 13 - 4. The referee was Mr T R McMahon from Sydney. The Reserve Grade competition was won by North who defeated Waratah / Mayfield 7 - 2. All games were played at the Hamilton League Ground. Five Representative games were played during the season. On 18 June, England defeated Newcastle 24 - 8. On 22 June England again defeated Newcastle 40 - 20. On 9 July Newcastle defeated Balmain. On 27 July New South Wales defeated Newcastle 37 -5. The final representative game of the season occurred on 15 October, when Newcastle defeated Maitland 32 - 18. Would West fare better in 1911? How did the Newcastle Representative team fare in its 15 games in 1911?

1911

The 1911 "Potter Shield" competition commenced with the same 4 teams as in 1910 - Central, North, South and West. North and Central were the front runners of the competition, and West ran a distant 3rd. West won 3 games. In Round 4 on 17 June West beat Central 8 - 0, in Round 9 on 5 August West beat South 21 - 7, and in Round 10 on 12 August West beat Central 14 - 0. Additionally, South forfeited to West in the last Round on 2 September. North defeated Central in First Grade on 9 September at Hamilton League Ground 10 - 3 in the final. However West had one success, and one near success in 1911. West were defeated 15 - 3 by North in the Reserve Grade final on 26 August 1911 and a West team, with 3 South visitors, won the "Eight Hour Knockout" final. The winning team was "Barley" Hutchinson (South) winger, "Jum" Scully (South) centre, Alex Gibb (South)  fullback, and West players Jacky Whitehead (winger), George Bell (centre), Jack Doyle (5/8), Mark Whiley (centre), Freddie Bell (halfback), Ned Windross (centre), and forwards Ted Dawson, Bob Anderton, Dick Leyland, "Nugget" Nash, "Snog" Lightfoot (Captain), Wally Simmonds and Josh Young. Newcastle played 15 Representative games in 1911. Newcastle 2nds played Mosman, and won 12 - 5 on 3 June, before Newcastle Firsts played South Sydney on the same day and won 8 - 7. Billy Lightfoot and Bob Anderton were selected in this Newcastle team, and thus they were the first Newcastle Representatives from West. Newcastle also played Hunter, Metropolitan (three times), Glebe, New Zealand, Annandale, Maitland, Queensland (3 times) and Tamworth in a crowded Representative Season. West improved in 1911. They did a lot better in 1912...how better? Were there more than 15 Representative games in 1912?   

 1912

There was a change when the 1912 "Potter Shield" commenced on 11 May - there was a new team called Eastern Suburbs. Eastern Suburbs were a team previously loyal to Rugby Union, but swung across to Rugby League in 1912. During the year West won 8 games, lost 2, drew 1 and had 3 byes for a total of 23 points to claim the Minor Premiership. East had a very similar record, except they had 3 losses and no draws for a total of 22 points. Significantly, in the 3 competition rounds West defeated East on each occasion. (West 9, East 4 on 18 May, West 10, East 5 on 6 July and West 8, East 0 on 17 August). The First Grade Final was a very close affair. West held a 10 - 7 advantage near full time. Right on fulltime player Moore from East shot across the line wide out, but in grounding the ball he knocked over the corner flag - game over, the Potter Shield to West 10 - 7. The winning West team was Tom Balk ( 1 Field Goal), George Bell (1 try), Jacky Whitehead, Jack Mason, George Blair (1 try), Fred "Tickla" McDonald, George Mason, Freddie Bell, R "Nuggett" Nash, Ted Dawson, Ernie "Soda" Williams, Bob Dobell (1 goal) and the Captain was Bill "Snog" Lightfoot. West also played in the Reserve Grade Final, but lost 12 - 7 to North. At the end of the 1912 season the Western Suburbs RLFC had their first "End of Season" trip - to Tamworth. At Tamworth they played "The Rebels" - i.e. those Tamworth players who rebelled from Rugby Union. Most of the Tamworth players lived at Goat Hill, and the game was played at a ground on Darling Street, Tamworth. The Rosellas were regarded as intruders by the Rugby Union aligned landed gentry of Tamworth and the game received little publicity. For the record West won 24 - 9, but the reception given to the visiting team by the local community was "very cool". The 1912 Representative Season was again crowded. During the year Newcastle defeated North Sydney, Tamworth, Orange and the Hunter Valley, lost to the Half Kangaroos, Annandale, Glebe and New Zealand, and drew with Queensland. 1912 was West's year. After 2 rather poor years, West won the Potter Shield at their third attempt. Could they win again in 1913? What would happen when they went back to Tamworth in 1913? Which West players represented Newcastle against New Zealand in 1913, and did they win?

 For full details of the 1912 winning West team click ---- 1912

1913

After winning the Potter Shield in 1912 West were favourites to retain the Shield in 1913. Eastern Suburbs were again the team to beat and the competition results showed this to be the case. The other 3 teams in the 1913 competition were Central, South and North. Eastern Suburbs won the Minor Premiership with 18 points and West were second on 17 points. Significantly, in each of their 3 encounters during the year, East beat West - 11 to 5 on 17 May, 16 to 5 on 28 June and 18 to 16 on 9 August. The final went East's way by the score of 18 to nil. The West team for the final was - O Mullally, G Bell, F McDonald, M Whiley, J Whitehead, G Mason, F Bell, J Gray, R Nash (Captain), S Wells, H Partridge, R Dobell and E "Soda" Williams. West were successful in Reserve Grade defeating Central 14 - 3. The West Reserve Grade team was T Balks, L Broadhead, E Ryan, T Whitehead (2 tries), J Reid, G Fellows, J Phillips (Captain, 2 tries), L Long, E Nash, J Gray, C Shakespeare (1 goal), A Kentish and T Davies.  At the end of the 1913 season West again returned to Tamworth for their end of season trip - and what a difference a year made. This time they were received with great enthusiasm, and were given a Mayoral Reception and banquet. The Mayor, Dr Jones, presided, and the Local Member, Mr F Chaffey, attended. (Chaffey is a great Tamworth name even now - not only people but the Chaffey Dam.)The Rosellas were no longer social outcasts - they showed the landed gentry of the Peel River country that they could mix it with the best, both on and off the field. The Western Suburbs RLFC played an important part in fostering Rugby League in the Tamworth region. As usual the Representative Calendar was fulsome. Newcastle played 9 Representative games throughout the year, including games against New Zealand on 11 June (Newcastle won 40 - 17), and against Bathurst Division on 6 September (Newcastle won 16 to 7). West also enjoyed their first successes in the Junior Competitions, being successful in both the Atkinson and Hughes Cups. (The photo above shows the Newcastle Representative team in 1913).1913 was a good year for West. Could they regain the Potter Shield in 1914? or would they falter in 1914?

1914

The 1914 season again attracted 5 teams. The competition was won by North (18 points), followed by Central (17), East (10), West (9) and South (6). The final was played on 29 August 1914 at Newcastle Sports Ground and was won by North by 5 points to 2 over Central. This meant North had now won two Potter Shield Finals and Central, West and East one each. West were again successful in Reserve Grade beating North 23 - 7. The successful West Reserve Grade team was W Burrows, J Reid, J Roberts, E Cox, E Ryan (2 tries), W Oldham (1 try), R Hampton, C "Nigger" Shakespeare (4 goals), F Butler (1 try), E "Pung" Nash, C "Massa" Kentish, F Vipen (1 try) and M Davis. On 9 September 1914 West played Premiers North in the final of the "League Patriotic" competition. This game attracted a big crowd and was won by West 8 - 7. Some interesting facts about some West players - "Nigger" Shakespeare came from "Dog and Rat" (see an item in "Past Featured Articles") and Paddy Vipen was an uncle of future West players Kevin and Ron Vipen and a brother to great old time West strapper, "Ticka" Vipen. West again were successful in the Junior Competitions when they again won the Atkinson and Hughes Cups. West, like all clubs, towns and workplaces were hard hit when World War 1 began in 1914. In the following years 87 registered footballers for West donned the khaki colours. (The photo above shows the West team in 1914.)  1914 was a low year for West, but 1915 would be much better. How much better?