Not all representative fixtures are listed.
Metropolis 16 beat Newcastle 14
on Monday 7th June at Newcastle Sports Ground.
South Sydney 19 beat Newcastle 12
on Saturday 22nd May at Newcastle Sports Ground. Crowd: 4500.
Newcastle 17 beat South Sydney 13
on 4th August at Sydney Showground.
(Played for the State Premiership.)
St George 11 beat Kurri Kurri 6
on 4th August at Kurri Kurri.
Rugby league had been going through a period of declining popularity, with falling crowd numbers leading to the NSWRL making a substantial loss in 1925. So they decided to change things.
The rules concerning the play-the-ball were changed so that only two players could play at the ball, with one player from each side being allowed to stand immediately behind, and all other players having to stay behind that second man until the ball was heeled. Previously any number of players could play at the ball, and by 1925 play-the-balls had become a real mess.
The rules were changed so that when a ball was forced in goal by the defending side play restarted with a line drop-out rather than a scrum.
The premiership format was changed, with the introduction of a finals series for the leading four teams. The first-past-the-post method had led to too many years where the premiership was decided before the end of scheduled matches, killing interest in the final rounds.
These changes combined with the use of multiple reserve balls made league a faster and much more attractive game to watch, and the fans returned.
1 South Sydney 16 14 0 2 2 318 146 172 32
2 Glebe 16 9 1 6 2 188 168 20 23
3 Eastern Suburbs 16 9 1 6 2 207 192 15 23
4 University 16 9 0 7 2 198 217 -19 22
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5 Western Suburbs 16 8 0 8 2 252 227 25 20
6 Newtown 16 7 0 9 2 189 223 -34 18
7 North Sydney 16 7 0 9 2 227 271 -44 18
8 Balmain 16 6 0 10 2 187 184 3 16
9 St George 16 2 0 14 2 169 307 -138 8
Semifinals:
University 29 beat Glebe 3.
South Sydney 21 beat Eastern Suburbs 5.
Final:
South Sydney 11 beat University 5.
The NSWRL handed control of the Hunter District competition to the NRL during 1926. If was decided to merge the first grade competitions but allow the HDRL to continue to run the Maitland and Coalfields juniors. Two first grade teams from the Hunter District competition played in the President's Cup, Kurri Kurri and a combined team from Maitland and Morpeth.
Played over three round robins and a final. The third round robin formed part of the President's Cup.
1 North Newcastle 12 10 1 1 3 173 99 27
2 South Newcastle 12 8 1 3 3 148 98 23
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3 Central Newcastle 11 6 1 4 3 147 92 19
4 Western Suburbs 12 2 2 8 3 108 167 12
5 Eastern Suburbs 11 0 1 10 3 80 200 7
* Central Newcastle versus Eastern Suburbs not played.
(calculated)
Final:
Northern Suburbs 13 beat South Newcastle 8.
Northern Suburbs won the Cornish Shield outright, being the first team to win it three times.
Played over three round robins and a final. The third round robin formed part of the Crawford Cup.
Teams: (7) Carrington, Central Newcastle, Eastern Suburbs, Mayfield,
Northern Suburbs, South Newcastle, Western Suburbs.
Semifinal:
South Newcastle 7 drew with Eastern Suburbs 7.
(Eastern Suburbs won the replay 6-0.)
Final:
Northern Suburbs 8 beat Eastern Suburbs 2.
Played over two round robins, then a third involving only the top 4 teams, then a final.
Teams: (7) Carrington, New Lambton, South Newcastle, Stockton,
Swansea, Tighe's Hill, Waratah.
Mayfield joined the competition from 6th May.
Final:
Stockton 11 beat South Newcastle 5.
The first time Stockton had won anything in their 15 years of existence.
Played over one round robin, then a second involving only the top 8 teams, then a final.
Teams: (11) Carrington, Cooks Hill, Islington, Mayfield,
Mayfield St Andrews, New Lambton, South Newcastle, Stockton,
Tighe's Hill, Waratah, Western Suburbs.
Eastern Suburbs joined the competition from 6th May.
Final:
Cooks Hill 3 beat Mayfield St Andrews 0.
Played over two round robins, then a final.
Teams: (10) Carrington, Central Newcastle, Islington, Mayfield,
Smedmore, South Newcastle, Stockton, Waratah, Western Suburbs,
Wickham.
Final:
Wickham 0 drew with Carrington 0.
(Wickham won the replay 6-0)
Played over two round robins, then a final.
Teams: (10) Carrington, Central Newcastle, Eastern Suburbs no.1,
Eastern Suburbs no.2, Mayfield, South Newcastle, Smedmore,
Stockton, Waratah, Western Suburbs.
During the year the second Eastern Suburbs team disappeared.
Final:
Smedmore 10 beat Central Newcastle 5.
Post season championship played over one and a half round robins and a final. The appropriate first round robin matches also counted as the third round robin of the Cornish Shield.
1 Kurri Kurri 9 7 0 2 2 103 68 14
2 Northern Suburbs 8 6 1 1 2 104 73 13
3 South Newcastle 9 6 0 3 1 112 72 12
4 Central Newcastle 9 3 3 3 1 123 95 9
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5 Western Suburbs 9 3 2 4 1 77 80 8
6 Hunter District 9x 2 0 7 2 76 107 4
7 Eastern Suburbs 7x 0 0 7 2 66 166 0
x excludes one abandoned match.
(calculated)
Semifinals:
South Newcastle 6 beat Kurri Kurri 5.
Northern Suburbs 14 beat Central Newcastle 12.
Final:
Northern Suburbs 15 beat South Newcastle 8.
Teams: (8) Central Newcastle, Eastern Suburbs, Hunter District,
Kurri Kurri, New Lambton, Northern Suburbs, South Newcastle,
Western Suburbs.
Semifinals:
Northern Suburbs 7 beat East Newcastle 0.
Western Suburbs 8 beat Kurri Kurri 2.
South Newcastle 18 beat Western Suburbs 10.
Final:
Northern Suburbs 10 beat South Newcastle 3.