NSWRFL 1908

Round 3

Newcastle 37 def. Cumberland (AUS) 0

NSWRFL 1908
Round 3

Newcastle
37
0
Cumberland (AUS)
Match Info
Match URL www.rugbyleagueproject.org/matches/8183
Status Completed
Date Saturday, 16th May, 1908
Kick Off 2:00 PM (local time)
Referee Charlie Hutchison
Venue Wentworth (Sydney)
Crowd 3,000
Match Stats
Halftime Score 16 0
Newcastle Scoresheet Cumberland (AUS)
Artie COLEMAN 3 T    
William BAILEY 2      
Stan CARPENTER 2      
Ted McGUINNESS      
George PRICE      
 
Stan CARPENTER 2 G    
Ted McGUINNESS 2      
Les CARPENTER      
Newcastle Teams Cumberland (AUS)
George PRICE 1 FB 1 F WRIGHT
Artie COLEMAN 2 W 2 Albert HALLING
W ROBINSON 3 C 3 S WALLIS
Ted McGUINNESS 4 C 4 Harry BLOOMFIELD (c)
William BAILEY 5 W 5 F O'GRADY
 
R LAWSON 6 FE 6 George CRIBB
George COX 7 HB 7 J ANDREWS
 
Jack BARTLEY 8 L 8 Thomas LALOR
George HARDY 9 2R 9 S COLE
Arthur RICHARDS 10 2R 10 A HARRIS
William DOYLE 11 FR 11 V JARVIS
Les CARPENTER 12 HK 12 Robert CASEY
Stan CARPENTER (c) 13 FR 13 V CASSON
   
 

Team Info

Newcastle

Previous Game:
Round 1 vs. Glebe
Next Game:
Round 4 vs. Western Suburbs
Out:
Alfred Smith (fullback), Ernie Patfield (wing), Charlie Croft (front row), A Nicholson (second row), Percy Kay (second row), Edgar Smith (bench)
In:
George Price (fullback), W Robinson (centre), George Cox (halfback), Les Carpenter (hooker), William Doyle (front row)
Changes:
Artie Coleman (centre to wing), George Hardy (five-eighth to second row), R Lawson (halfback to five-eighth), Jack Bartley (front row to lock), Stan Carpenter (hooker to front row), Arthur Richards (lock to second row)

Cumberland (AUS)

Previous Game:
Round 2 vs. Souths
Next Game:
Round 4 vs. Newtown
Changes:
Harry Bloomfield (fullback to centre), F Wright (wing to fullback), Albert Halling (centre to wing), J Andrews (five-eighth to halfback), George Cribb (halfback to five-eighth), Robert Casey (front row to hooker), V Jarvis (hooker to front row), Thomas Lalor (front row to lock), V Casson (second row to front row), S Cole (lock to second row)

Match Notes

The differences between newspaper reports of this game are many and varied. When comparing them all, the only common denominators are that Artie Coleman, Stan Carpenter and Bill Bailey scored at least 2 tries each, while Ted McGuinness is sure to have also scored a try of his own and kicked at least one goal. That accounts for 23 points. But what about the rest?

Papers such as the Sunday Times, Newcastle Herald as well as regional papers in Grafton, Casino, Kyogle and Orange agree that the score of this game was 32 points to nil in favour of Newcastle. Of those, detailed match reports from the Sunday Times and Newcastle Herald also agree on the tryscorers - exactly as above, but with Artie Coleman scoring 3 tries, not just 2. They also agree on there being 4 goals kicked by Newcastle. The Times credits all 4 to Ted McGuinness; the Herald, however, says McGuinness had two, while Stan Carpenter kicked a conversion and a goal from a mark.

In Sydney, however, is where things start to lose synchronicity. Such a blowout scoreline seems to have made their cadets lose interest after halftime. Reports in both the Daily Telegraph and Sydney Morning Herald describe the first half in some detail, but fall away in the second stanza. The SMH really goes off the rails, the scorers not even closely matching the 37-nil scoreline. The DT, meanwhile, comes closer to the reported scorers in the Newcastle Herald. It swaps one of Bill Bailey's 3 tries with one by George Cox, who also scores a second and converts it himself. One of Ted McGuinness's 2 goals is credited to W. Robinson. It must be reiterated, however, that this determination is derivative and its description of the second half is little more than a general summation.

Another Sydney newspaper, the Referee, contradicts itself on the very same page. In one column, it describes a 37-nil scoreline with no additional details. Then later, when listing the scores for Round 3, declares the result was 32-nil.

On top of that, all tables presented from Round 3 onwards have a for and against which supports a 32-nil scoreline for this game, across all newspapers, to the end of the season. Some books also describe the result of this game as 32-nil and their reproductions of the 1908 table reflect this value.

Other present day sources such as official yearbooks, the NRL website, and Paul Jeffs' excellent RL Tables all indicate a score of 37-nil.

Note: Forward packs are listed in reverse order.

This match is a part of the following:

Contributions: Andrew Ferguson, Rugby League Tables, Shawn Dollin
Jerseys by:      Roulettesplay