Seasons 1920 to 1924

For a better quality page ( Colour, Photos etc ) click 1920 to 1924

1920

Finally, in the early months of 1920 the long standing split between "The Bolsheviks" and "The Lilywhites" was healed. West, together with North, Central, East, South and Kurri entered the "Cornish Shield", a competition conducted by the Newcastle Rugby League. West ran 3rd in the competition, and the Final was won by North with an 11 - 0 win over South. However, in the Kerr Cup, a knockout competition conducted after the final, West defeated Central 4 - 3 in the final, which was held at Newcastle Showground on 18 September 1920. West's winning Kerr Cup team (pictured) was P Jordan, D Davies, T Davies, T Sharpe, R Mitchell (2 goals), F Grahame, JH (Ike) Williams, F Bell, C Kentish, J Smith, R Nash, P Gray, A Morris. West won the C Grade competition in 1920, when they beat Central 18 - 7. On the representative scene, Newcastle won the Country Championship by beating Southern Districts 26 - 16 in the Final, and Newcastle lost to England twice (17 - 10 and 24 -0) - with the last game attracting a crowd of 7 106 and a gate of 445 pounds.   What would 1921 bring? - Could West win their first Cornish Shield?

1921

Five teams entered the First Grade Cornish Shield competition in 1921 - Central, East, North, South and West. After the home and away rounds West were Minor Premiers on 16 points, followed by Central and South, both 14 points, and East and North, both 8 points. A play off was needed to see who would play West in the Final. In the play off, Central 9 defeated South 7. The final was held on 3rd September 1921 at Newcastle Showground, with Mr J Mitten as the referee. The result of the game did not favour West, with Central winning 5 - 3. The West team was H Hodgins, R Mitchell, JH Williams (try), J Whitehead, J Hubbuck, F Grahame, D Davies, W Scholes, A Morris, E Priest, C Kentish, L Partridge and P Gray. "Boki" Bell was the star player for Central, scoring a sensational try. A star player from the 1920 team, "Pung" Nash, was thrown from his horse prior to the start of the 1921 season and unfortunately died. A newcomer to the West 1921 side was Bill Scholes, a pint sized half back from Maitland. In the post season Kerr Cup knockout competition, West were defeated 19 to 9, by the eventual winners East. On the representative front, Newcastle defeated Western Suburbs (Sydney) (11 - 3) and Glen Innes (33 - 10), but they were defeated by North Sydney (60 - 16) and New Zealand (27 - 14). West embarked on their "end of season" trip, this time to Murrurundi. They played at Wilson Memorial Park at Murrurundi on 24 Sep 1921 with West winning 43 - 15.    What would 1922 bring? - After coming so close in 1921, could West win their first Cornish Shield in 1922?

1922

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The same 5 teams, West, North, Central, East and South entered the 1922 Cornish Shield. West were undefeated in the first 8 games, but lost to South 9 - 8 on 24 June. During the season they played 2 draws, 8 all with Central on 10 June and 8 all with North on 1 July. West were Minor Premiers on 18 points, followed by Central on 13 points. The Final was played on 29 July 1922 at Newcastle Showground with Mr L Colgan the Referee. West won the Final 5 - 0. West's team was H Hodgins, C Mortimer, R Millington, JH (Ike) Williams (goal), A Green, R Mitchell, D Davies, L Partridge, P Gray (try), J Hubbuck, A Morris, T Leamy and G Randall. In the end of season Kerr Cup knockout competition, West triumphed 11 - 3 over Easts - the first time that the a club had won the Cornish Shield and the Kerr Cup in the same year. The only change in the winning Cornish Shield team was G McLelland replaced R Mitchell. In the Kerr Cup final A Green, J Hubbuck and A Morris scored tries and "Ike" Williams kicked a goal. Tom Leamey came from Newtown (from the start of round 6) and was regarded as one of the best rakes ever to play in Newcastle. "Navvy" Hubbuck, over 15 stone,  was moved from the 1921 pack, to the 1922 wing and proved a real handful for opposing players. "Jazzer" Mortimer was unwanted by Easts and found form with his special permit to play for West. Reg Millington, Bill Ott and Arthur Green were West Juniors who made their mark in grade. There was a bitter - sweet ending to the season. Arthur Green was a young, fast, elusive footballer, who was awarded the Club "Gold Medal" at the end of the year for the most improved player. Arthur was one of nature's gentlemen, and a great sport. Tragically, Arthur died early in 1923 from injuries he received during the 1922 season. The Newcastle Rugby League erected a monument over his grave at Sandgate Cemetery. Arthur's death cast a gloom over the footballing fraternity in Newcastle, and the Rosellas lost a fine footballer.   What would 1923 bring? - Well, West would be Minor Premiers, and win the Kerr Cup, but the Major Premiership?

 For full details of the 1922 winning West team click ---- 1922

1923

West, East, North, Central and South entered the 1923 Cornish Cup competition. West were Minor Premiers on 18 points, followed by East, North and South on 14 points, with Central finishing with just 2 wins. Because 3 teams finished "second", semi finals were played, with the 2 winners of the semi finals to play in the final on 22 September 1923. In the first semi final West lost to East 5 points to 2. The West team was H Hodgins, R Mitchell, T Davies, D Davies, R Millington, D Orchard, W Ott, G Randall, E Priest, P Gray, N Symes, JH "Ike" Williams (1 goal) and A Morris. East then went on to defeat North 17 - 8 in the final. In the end of season Kerr Cup knockout, West defeated North 9 - 4 in the final. The West team was H Hodgins, S Rogers, D Davies, E Priest, JH "Ike" Williams, G Morley (try), D Orchard, W Ott, P Gray, G Randall (try), A Morris, N Symes (try) and S Marriott. Among the newcomers to West this year was "Dare" Orchard, a clever and capable five-eight. His travelling companion from Kurri was none other than a young Rees Duncan, who played for West, then went back to Kurri, and then went on to play for Australia. "Scotchy" Marriott and Norm Symes came from Waratah. Norm played for West, then Wyong and then Young, and later was to become the Presbyterian Minister in Nowra. Another success of 1923 was the West "A" Grade Junior team (see photo) who defeated Carrington 5 - 4 in the final. At the end of 1923 the great "Laddo" Davies went out in a blaze of glory. The former disqualified and barred player had risen above the petty shafts of injustice to carve his name in the hallway of Rugby League fame. In his last year of Newcastle football he was made Captain of the Newcastle team - a fitting reward to Lambton's favourite footballing son. "Laddo" went to New Zealand, together with "Tyso" Davies, another Welshman, who was an outstanding West footballer in those early "Rosella" days.  What would 1924 bring? - West couldn't go from Minor Premiers to last, could they?  

1924

The 1924 Cornish Shield season was not kind to West. They won just 2 games, defeating Central 8 - 6 in Round 1 on 26 April, and defeating South 8 - 3 on 21 June. The points table ended up - East 14, North 9, Central 8, South 5 and West 4. The Final, played on 12 July, was won by East with a 9 - 2  win over North, to cap an unbeaten season. Carrington were successful in the Reserve Grade "Galperin Cup" with a 5 - 3 win over South. The end of season competition was renamed the Presidents Cup (The Presidents Cup was introduced again in 2010 as a "classy" name for Third Grade) and 2 draws against North saw West on the bottom of the Presidents Cup table. East won the Presidents Cup to complete the double in 1924. During the season Newcastle went down to the visiting English side 43 - 18 in a match played at Newcastle Sports Ground on 31 May. West's representatives in the Newcastle team were "Ike" Williams, Roy Mitchell and Norm Symes.  What would 1924 bring? - Well there were 2 additional teams in the competition, and West expected to finish ahead of the newcomers Maitland and Morpeth. But how far ahead?