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New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1974

1974 New South Wales Rugby Football League
Teams 12
Premiers Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Eastern Suburbs (10th title)
Minor premiers Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Eastern Suburbs (13th title)
Matches played 138
Points scored 4382
Attendance 1278823
Top points scorer(s) Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Graham Eadie (216)
Player of the year Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Graham Eadie (Rothmans Medal)
Top try-scorer(s) Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Kevin Junee (23)
Eastern Suburbs colours.svg Bill Mullins (23)

The 1974 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the 67th season of Sydney's professional rugby league football competition, Australia's first. Twelve teams, including six of 1908's foundation clubs and another six from across Sydney, competed for the J. J. Giltinan Shield during the season, which culminated in a grand final match for the WD & HO Wills Cup between the Eastern Suburbs and Canterbury-Bankstown clubs. This season NSWRFL teams also competed for the inaugural Amco Cup.

This season the NSWRFL made the financial commitment to bring suburban football grounds up to a higher standard in order to take more games to the fans on a home-and-away basis.

Twenty-two regular season rounds were played from March until August, resulting in a top five of Eastern Suburbs, Manly-Warringah, Canterbury-Bankstown, Western Suburbs and Souths who battled it out in the finals.

The 1974 Rothmans Medal was awarded to Manly-Warringah's fullback Graham Eadie. Rugby League Week awarded their player of the year award to Eastern Suburbs' forward Arthur Beetson.

Master coach Jack Gibson's first title - and the Roosters' first for twenty-nine years - was won by one of the most talented club teams in the Australian game's history. In rugby union convert Russell Fairfax and giant wingers Mark Harris and Bill Mullins, Easts had three attacking players who dominated Canterbury with their brilliance.

Eastern Suburbs 19 (Tries: Beetson. Mullins, Harris. Goals: Peard 3, Brass 2.)

defeated

Canterbury-Bankstown 4 (Goals: Cutler 2.)


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