Seasons 1935 to 1939

For a better quality page ( colour, photos etc ) click 1935 to 1939

1935

West again struggled during the 1935 season. In First Grade West won 9 games and had 1 draw to again miss out on the semi finals. Reserve Grade had 6 wins and a draw to finish in the lower half of the competition. In First Grade Minor Premiers Central were defeated 14 - 4 by North in the Grand Final. But 1935 was an interesting year for West. The New Lambton Oval grandstand was opened in May 1935, grand old player "Nugget" Nash passed away, No 1 supporter "Ubber" Johnson was at his vocal best, West defeated the previously undefeated Muswellbrook 13 - 12 in an end of year game and legend, Tommy Grahame, played his first game for West on 1 June 1935. West enjoyed success in the Suburban League competition to win the Les Higgs Cup, and West Under 20's and Under 16's won their competitions. What would 1936 bring? Semi Finals - well, no, but a Challis Cup win. However, that's next week’s story

 1936

Sorry that the point scores for the 1936 season are not available, but the 1936 season saw West miss out on the semi finals in both First Grade and Reserve Grade. However, West were successful in the 1937 Challis Cup Knockout competition when the defeated South Newcastle 10 - 7 in the final. The West team was C Hincks, C Kentish, A Middlemas, J Whiley, R Welshman, E Clarke (2 tries), B Mood (2 goals), M Bailey, G Hughes, A price, L Owens, G Dean and R Johnson. West again had success in the Juniors. In the Under 18's Minor Premiers West were defeated by Central 8 - 0 in the Final, but in the Grand Final they had a convincing win against the same team. The Under 20's won the Presidents Cup. West Juniors at this time nurtured some great future West names like Ossie Screen, Jack Bell, Arthur Kentish and Keith Froome. What would the 1937 season bring? - well a grade finalist for sure.....but which grade?

1937

In 1937 West made the semi finals in Reserve Grade, but were defeated in the Preliminary Final 10 - 7 by North Newcastle. In First Grade West finished 5th on 16 points, but 8 points adrift of the 4th semi finalist Kurri. Cessnock were Minor Premiers, but were beaten in the Grand Final by 3rd placed Central 22 - 7. Major Premiers Central won and kept the Mullalley Shield, because they were the first club to win the shield on 3 occasions (1928, 1930 and 1937). The West Reserve Grade team that was beaten in the final was E Clarke, G Young, W Hawke, J Bell, C Kentish, A Hall, G Watt, W Harding, G McIntosh, E Ashcroft, B Austin, A Kentish and R Johnson with the reserves being A Payne, M Peattie and B Blunden. Special mention must be made of West First Grade half back, Tom Grahame. Although he missed out on the touring Kangaroos squad, Tom was sought by the Huddersfield Club in England, and he left for England on the "Moldavia" on 13 November 1937. At Huddersfield he teamed up with Stan Pepperall and provided the best halves combination in England before war service ended their partnership. Graham was simply a brilliant footballer - many argue that he one of the best players not to represent Australia, but certainly he was the best half back in England during his time at Huddersfield. (Pictured above is the 1938 Huddersfield 7 a side team, with Tom Grahame 2nd from the left in the bottom row - click on the photo to enlarge) What would the 1938 season bring? - well West finished equal 4th in First Grade, but did they win the play off? Well that's next week’s story.

1938

West finished equal 4th in the First Grade competition in 1938, but were beaten 11 - 8 by Cessnock in the play off for 4th. The West team on the day was O Screen (1 try, 1 goal), C Hincks, R Prigg, J Bell, R Welshman, E Clarke, J Whiley (1 try), G Hughes, J Rodgers, G McNamara, A Ravelli, A Kentish and B Austin. Some interesting facts from the 1938 season - On 13 August Cessnock defeated Maitland by a record score of 103 - 11, North were Club Champions and North won the Grand Final with a 20 - 4 win over Waratah. West made the final of the 7 a side competition only to be defeated 23 - 12 by Central. In Reserve Grade West finished 3rd but were eliminated 3 - 2 in the semi final by East. The West team was A Price, J Ernst, R Prigg, W Harding, A Hall ( 1 goal), T Adams, A Payne, T Richardson, G McIntosh, L England, E Ashcroft, F England and N Spruce. West Under 18's won the competition, and the Under 20's took the Patrons Cup for the third time. 1938 was the year in which Lambton Council and New Lambton Council ceased, and Newcastle Council came into being. The thought was that the Newcastle Council would not look after the grounds - however this was not the case, and New Lambton Oval (now Harker Oval) flourished. What would the 1939 season bring? - Well West got into the First Grade decider - how good was that. How did it happen? Well that's next week’s story.

1939

A drawn game against North in Round 17 enabled West to finish 3rd in the 1939 competition. West then defeated North 13 - 5 in the semi final and thus progressed to the Grand Final. Alas, West's first Grand Final win since 1922 was not to be, with Central running out winners 34 - 5. The West team on Grand Final Day was O Screen (goal), C Hincks, V Crombie, R Prigg, W Ilies, C Maxwell, K Froome, R Welsman, G McNamara (try), W Harding, E Pratt, A Kentish and C Morgan. In Reserve Grade West had just the 5 wins to finish 3rd from the bottom in the competition. However the First Grade Grand Final was not all "roses" for the West team. Central were a powerful team containing stars like Wally Prigg, Ernie Dunlop, Toby Kerr, Robbie Firth, Merv Denton, Hugh Marjoribanks and Harry Gibb. To put it simply they were too physical for West - others would say they were over physical. West finished the game with 10 men with Bill Iles, Vic Crombie and Ron Prigg all taken from the field. Left with 10 men against 13, West "hung on" but they were outscored heavily on the day. There were some good performances for West during the year - none better than Ossie Screen and George McNamara who were selected to play for Country Firsts against City Firsts.West schoolboys Don Hardy and Bertie Mood were selected to play for NSW against Queensland. Others to shine in Grade were Keith Froome and Dick Welshman. West lost a great servant in 1939 when timekeeper Mr E Clarke Snr passed away after serving many years as the official timekeeper.What would the 1940 season bring? - could West go one better? Well that's next week’s story.