Representative
Sydney
Newcastle

The Newcastle team withdrew from the Sydney competition and a new league was formed in Newcastle.

    Newcastle 32 beat Hunter District 18
    on Saturday 15th October at League Ground Hamilton.

Annandale entered the competition, replacing Newcastle who had left to form their own competition.

The competition was extended from 10 rounds to 14, a full double round robin. No semifinals were played because it was decided they could not affect the makeup of the final.

The League acquired leases on North Sydney Oval, The Metters Sports Ground at Erskineville, and St Lukes Park in Burwood (now Concord Oval), which were used as home bases by Norths, Newtown and Wests respectively.

Junior leagues were set up in the Eastern Suburbs, Western Suburbs, North Sydney and St George areas, joining the already formed South Sydney, Newtown and Balmain juniors. James Joynton Smith donated the President's Cup to be played for by their representative teams.

 1 Newtown              14 11  1  2  -  262   92  170  23
 2 South Sydney         14 11  0  3  -  326  109  217  22
   ------------------------------------------------------
 3 Eastern Suburbs      14  9  2  3  -  248  116  132  20
 4 Balmain              14  8  0  6  -  153  190  -37  16
 5 Glebe                14  6  0  8  -  175  194  -19  12
 6 Annandale            14  5  1  8  -  145  200  -55  11
 7 North Sydney         14  3  0 11  -  146  283 -137   6
 8 Western Suburbs      14  1  0 13  -  115  386 -271   2

Final:

    Newtown 4 drew with South Sydney 4.

A final was required because Newtown and South Sydney had won the same number of games. After the draw, Newtown were declared premiers because of their superior record.

Notes:

1. 21 May: Newtown 35 beat Norths 7. RL95 reports it as 33-7, but the SMH contradicts this.
2. 28 May: Glebe 22 beat Wests 10. RL95 reports it as 22-12, but the SMH contradicts this.
3. 16 July: Wests 18 beat Norths 8. RL95 reports it as 18-5, but the SMH contradicts this.
4. 30 July: Balmain 13 beat Wests 10. RL95 reports it as 13-8, but the SMH contradicts this.
5. 20 August: Glebe 26 beat Norths 13. RL95 reports it as 23-10, but the SMH contradicts this.
6. RL96 reports Souths for and against as being 330-113, but RL95 and the SMH contradict this.

Teams (12): Annandale, Balmain, Belmore, Eastern Suburbs, Glebe,
  Mosman, Newtown, North Sydney, South Sydney,
  South Sydney Federal, Sydney, Western Suburbs.

[Final table unavailable.]

Final:

    Eastern Suburbs 5 beat Newtown 2.

Teams (16): Balmain, Drummoyne, Eastern Suburbs, Gipps, Glebe,
  Leichhardt, Mosman, Newtown, North Sydney, Paddington,
  Rozelle, South Sydney, South Sydney Kinkora, St George,
  Sydney, Waverley.
  * Drummoyne withdrew during the season.

[Final table unavailable.]

Final:

    Sydney 15 beat Rozelle 2.

[No information available.]

Eastern Suburbs won.

After the 1909 season the Newcastle team withdrew from the Sydney premiership to set up their own competition, the NSWRL (Northern Branch). The various players formed the basis of three of the four new Novocastrian sides. The new code was helped along by a massive strike in the coal industry at the end of 1909; union was seen as the sport of the "blue blood" mine owners. Three grades were set up and played in.

The League had trouble finding an enclosed ground to play on; they couldn't afford the sportsground. So they took out a lease on a piece of swamp near Gregson Park in Hamilton and built their own ground. The area is now covered in houses.

The opening games of the new competition were delayed for one week due to the death of King Edward VII.

The first major trophy played for was the Potter Shield, donated by the local firm of Potters The Jewellers. It was won outright by Western Suburbs in 1916 and now sits in the foyer of their club.

 1 Central Newcastle    11  6  0  3  2   77   48   29  12
 2 South Newcastle      11  5  2  2  2   94   76   18  12
   ------------------------------------------------------
 3 Northern Suburbs     11  3  2  4  2   63   67   -4   8
 4 Western Suburbs *     5  0  0  5  0   12   55  -43   0
  * Western Suburbs withdrew 25th June 1910.

Final:

    Central Newcastle 13 beat South Newcastle 4.

Teams (3): Northern Suburbs, South Newcastle, Waratah.

[Table unavailable.]

Final:

    Northern Suburbs 7 beat Waratah 2.

The two Western Suburbs teams were also know as Lambton no.1 and Lambton no.2 or as Bottom Road and Top Road.

I'm not sure what was going on with the semifinals. I think the system used for determining the finalists required teams to play semifinals, but the the games were still added to the competition table. Teams that had an equal number of wins would have the right to play off.

Teams (7): Central Newcastle, Hamilton West, New Lambton,
Northern Suburbs, South Newcastle, Western Suburbs no.1,
Western Suburbs no.2.

[Table unavailable.]

Semifinals:

    Western Suburbs no.1 17 beat Western Suburbs no.2 0.
    Western Suburbs no.1 7 beat New Lambton 5.
    Hamilton West 3 drew with Western Suburbs no.2 3.
    Western Suburbs no.1 9 beat Hamilton West 2.
    Western Suburbs no.2 8 beat New Lambton 0.
    New Lambton 14 beat Hamilton West 2.
    Western Suburbs no.2 10 beat Hamilton West 5 after extra time.

Final:

    Western Suburbs no.1 7 drew with Western Suburbs no.2 7.
      (Western Suburbs no.1 won the replay 2-0.)