| New South Wales Competitions 1908 | 1909 |
| Representative | 1909 |
| Australian tour |
At the end of the year, the Australian team left on a tour of Great Britain.
| Sydney | 1909 |
1908 was the first season of the Sydney Premiership, the first round of league games anywhere in Australia. Only 10 rounds were played, followed by semifinals and a final.
The first season was a financial disaster. While still finding its feet, and while under enormous media pressure to produce the goods, the league had to deal with a lack of star players, refereeing problems, a lack of exposure in the conservative press, and the cost of ground rental. The five captains who had switched codes were publicly ostracised, and many players were faced with the sack at work and barred from entering the SCG, then the home of rugby union.
The initial eight teams were Glebe, South Sydney, Newtown, Balmain, Eastern Suburbs, Western Suburbs, North Sydney, and Newcastle. Cumberland joined the competition in time for the second round. At the end of the season they merged with Western Suburbs.
The playoff system used in the first few years was odd. At the end of the normal rounds of play, the top 4 teams played another round, then the top two teams on the ladder played a final to determine the premiership. In 1910 it was decided that semifinals would only be played if they could affect the final result, and in 1912 the system was done away with in favour of a first past the post system, although it was still used in lower grades.
| First Grade Premiership | Match Results - 1909 |
1 South Sydney 9 8 0 1 1 194 53 141 18
2 Eastern Suburbs 9 8 0 1 1 183 90 93 18
3 Glebe 9 7 0 2 1 106 63 43 16
4 North Sydney 9 6 0 3 1 155 66 89 14
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5 Newcastle 9 4 0 5 1 151 116 35 10
6 Balmain 9 3 1 5 1 86 113 -27 9
7 Newtown 9 1 1 7 1 70 148 -78 5
8 Western Suburbs 9 1 0 8 1 47 190 -143 4
9 Cumberland 8 1 0 7 1 38 191 -153 4
Semifinals:
Eastern Suburbs 23 beat North Sydney 10.
South Sydney 16 beat Glebe 3.
1 South Sydney 10 9 0 1 1 210 56 154 20
2 Eastern Suburbs 10 9 0 1 1 206 100 106 20
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3 Glebe 10 7 0 3 1 109 79 30 16
4 North Sydney 10 6 0 4 1 165 89 76 14
Final:
South Sydney 14 beat Eastern Suburbs 12.
Notes:
| Second Grade Premiership | 1909 |
Teams (8): Balmain, Eastern Suburbs, Enfield, Glebe, Newtown, North Sydney, South Sydney, Western Suburbs. [Final table unavailable.] No finals played. Eastern Suburbs won.
| Third Grade Premiership | 1909 |
Teams (8): Balmain, Drummoyne, Eastern Suburbs, Glebe, Newtown, Morth Sydney, South Sydney, Sydney. [Final table unavailable.] No finals played. Sydney won.