Fifty Years Ago - Round 16 1971

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George's weekly look at the 1971 season reaches Round 16!

All six matches from Round 16 were played on Sunday 11th July.  Players from the tour to NZ were back with their clubs.  The match of the round was, without doubt, the clash between premiership leaders South Sydney and 4th placed Parramatta.  Head office added the St George vs Balmain match to the event setting up a double header at the SCG.  Alan Clarkson, at the Herald, had been monitoring attendance numbers since round one and declared the 39,007 paying customers on Sunday 11th, a fail.  A minimum of 45,000 had been expected as Souths and St George, had been the two most popular clubs for a decade and more. (Remember, over 78,000 had packed the ground for the 1965 Grand Final, between Saints and Souths.) 

St George (14) defeated Balmain (5) in the first match at the SCG.  Fans of the Tigers were sure to be disappointed as the Balmain boys were both penetrating and entertaining in their attack, but the last pass would go astray letting the ‘Saints' off the hook. Three excellent try scoring opportunities were frittered away in a match where two tries to one was the margin.  Indeed, the try scored by Tigers lock-forward John Spencer was the highlight of the match, with the ball racing (through many sets of hands) from one side of the field to the other and back again before Spencer dived over to score.  St George fans will rightly point to the professionalism and craft of half Billy Smith and the work of his brilliant captain and fullback Graeme Langlands. Clarkson wrote that the Dragons were at times ordinary in attack, until Langlands chimed in. He scored one try and kicked four goals, totalling 11 of his team' points.  

South Sydney (19) defeated Parramatta (8), and very likely, snuffed out any chance that the Eels might climb higher than 4th on the ladder. The result also kept open the smallest opportunity for Balmain and Canterbury to catch them up.   The eleven-point margin suggests that Souths were the dominant team, but a closer look reveals that the ‘Eels' were competitive for 70 minutes at least.  Souths were leading just 10 - 8, when John O'Neil (just back from a three-match suspension), was sent off. This time referee Keith Page charged O'Neil with "using a knee to the face after a tackle."  The Rabbitohs played the last 24 minutes without O'Neil and six minutes later Parramatta Front Row forward Dennis Fitzgerald, went close to scoring but dropped the ball over the try line.  Clarkson reported that this failure seemed to deflate the Eels handing Souths more opportunities to score.  This they did adding a converted try and penalty goal in the last 10 minutes.  With six round to play Souths sat atop the ladder on 28 points.  

Manly (48) defeated North Sydney (5) in a match described by the Herald's Rod Humphries as a "training run, after 15 minutes". Of course, training runs don't always go to plan and this match at Brookvale Oval included (at least 5) missed, try scoring chances. The Sea Eagles had a flood of possession with Fred Jones winning the scrums 19 - 7 and when Norths' hooker Ross Warner was sent off for punching, Manly were unstoppable.  Bob Fulton continued his stella season, scoring three of his team's ten tries.  Manly cemented their 2nd position on the ladder with 26 points.  

Canterbury (21) defeated Penrith (9), keeping alive their slim hopes of grabbing a semi-final position.  The Penrith Park loss pricked the Panthers bubble. Prior to the Canterbury defeat only (Premiers) Souths had defeated them at home.  The Berries were handicapped by the injury to fullback Les Johns who limped off after just three minutes with an injured knee, while half Les Hutchings was carried off on a stretcher, in the 2nd half.  Regardless the visitors ran in three tries to Penrith's one. Balmain's loss and Canterbury's win sees BOTH teams on 16 points, four points behind Parramatta in 4th place.  

Over 6,500 loyal fans travelled to Endeavour Field, hoping that their team (minus Captain / Coach Tommy Bishop whose playing season had been ended by injury) would defeat the Roosters who had a poor record away from their home base. It was not to be. Eastern Suburbs (11) defeated Cronulla (7).  The Monday paper headline said it all "SHARKS LACK BITE".  The Don Furner coached Roosters ran in three tries and then defended their lead and their try-line, for the last 20 minutes, as the Sharks tried but failed to find ways to score.  Easts leapfrogged Cronulla into 7th position on 15 points but they will need keep winning, while hoping that teams ahead of them drop matches.  

The last match in round 16 was also the match with the smallest number of paying customers. Just 2,340 fans turned up to Lidcombe Oval for the match against Newtown.  Wests (26) defeated Newtown (18) in a result described as a thrashing.  Of-course scoring six tries to three is a good result but poor goal kicking kept the visitors in the match.  Don Rogers and Rod Smith both grabbed two tries for the Magpies while representative winger Lionel Williamson scored two for the Bluebags. Many Wests supporters will be kicking themselves for missing one of their teams few wins for season 1971. Western Suburbs and Newtown have attracted, just north of 111,000 fans each to their 16 matches. South Sydney and St George had 298,000 and 264,000 paying customers. The difference between winning teams and losing teams is dramatically demonstrated.