New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1938
| 1938 New South Wales Rugby Football League | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 8 |
| Premiers |
 Canterbury (1st title) |
| Minor premiers |
Canterbury (1st title) |
| Matches played | 59 |
| Points scored | 1756 |
| Top points scorer(s) |
Tom Kirk (94) |
| Top try-scorer(s) |
 Don Manson (13) |
The 1938 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the thirty-first season of Sydney’s top-grade rugby league club competition, Australia’s first. The withdrawal of the University club at the end of the previous season saw eight teams from across the city contest the premiership, which lasted from April until September and culminated in Canterbury-Bankstown's victory over Eastern Suburbs in the final.
With the exit of University after the previous season, 1938 saw the NSWRFL involve eight clubs for the first time since 1934.
In the two semi finals, the top ranked team Canterbury beat their lower-ranked opponent Balmain with the fourth ranked team Eastern Suburbs defeating their higher-ranked opponent South Sydney. The two winners then played in the Final.
The qualifier between South Sydney and Eastern Suburbs was reported in the Sydney Morning Herald on 29 August 1938:
The two Sydney teams would not meet in another finals match until season 2014.
In only the fourth year after admission to the Sydney first grade competition Canterbury fielded a side which dominated the regular season and set themselves up for their first title assault against Eastern Suburbs, themselves looking to win a fourth successive premiership. A crowd of 20,287 was on hand at the Sydney Cricket Ground with the game officiated by Tom McMahon (the younger of the two pre-war referees of that name).
The first half was a dour struggle for supremacy. Canterbury-Bankstown appeared to have the upper hand but Easts’ Cairns scored first and it took two penalty goals by Canterbury’s fullback Tommy Kirk to give the Berries a four points to three lead at half-time.
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