1883 Southern Rugby Union season

By the beginning of the season, the Southern Rugby Football Union had 37 clubs signed up as part of the Union.^[1]

Sydney

Out of the 37 affiliated clubs, 24 resided within the Sydney area with 6 representing a school or college. This left 18 clubs based within Sydney, independent of any school. Some of these clubs were considered to be "Senior" Clubs with the others called "Junior" Clubs.^[1]

It is not clear whether all clubs were eligible for the Premiership or a select group were. According to the Sydney Club Rugby discussion board on the Green and Gold Rugby website, 12 clubs competed for the Premiership.^[2] However, in the Australian Town and Country Journal, they state that these were only the principal clubs. This indicates that more clubs were considered when deciding upon the Premier Club.^[3] The Paddington Club was included in the list in the Australian Town and Country Journal, but was not included as a member club of the Union. They may have signed on at a later date.

More information Club, Colors ...

Club	Colors	Formed	Ground	Captain	Seniority	AGM	Fixtures	AR
Arfoma		prior to 1883	None	unknown		[4]
Balmain		c.1873	None	Henry Creer	Senior Club	[5]	[6]	[7]
Burwood		c.1876	Burwood Park	W. Robberds	Senior Club	[8]	[9]
Carlton		unknown	None	unknown
Glebe		prior to 1883	None	James Colley		[10][11]
Newtown		prior to 1883	Macdonaldtown Reserve	unknown		[12]
Oaklands		unknown	None	unknown
Oriental		prior to 1883	None	unknown		[13][14]	[15]
Parramatta		c.1879	None	unknown		[16]	[17]	[7]
Paramatta Union		c.1878	None	unknown		[18]
Pyrmont		unknown	None	unknown		[19][20]
Redfern		24 May 1878	Redfern Ground	George Walker	Senior Club	[21]	[22]	[7]
Rugby		unknown	None	unknown		[23]
Randwick		c.1882	None	unknown
St. Leonards		June 1872	The Reserve	unknown		[24]
Sydney University		c.1863	University Ground	Ted Raper	Senior Club	[25]
Wallaroo		19 May 1871	Wallaroo Ground	Jim Brodie	Senior Club	[26]	[27]
Wellesley		unknown	None	unknown		[28]

Close

The rules were changed at the beginning of the season determining who was the victor in a match. Previously, games were decided by the number of goals scored irrespective of tries scored. The new system involved awarding points to tries and goals with the winner of the match being the team with the greatest number of points.^[34] As a result of this change, it was noticed that game tactics had changed with players working towards tries rather than goals. Some lamented this and suggested that the system be improved to encourage more kicking.^[3]

The 1883 SRFU Sydney Rugby Premiership was the first season to award the Premiers with the Gardiner Cup. This was a trophy sponsored by Mr W Gardiner for a football competition known as a 'challenge cup'. Unfortunately, the Union found it difficult to organise such a competition due to the lack of suitable playing fields and the disorganisation of club engagements.^[1] One of the biggest problems with matches was the encroachment of spectators onto the playing field. This would result in games being suspended. Police intervention was sought after to ensure games could continue uninterrupted.^[35] At the beginning of the season, the Union was able to arrange for a section of the grounds at Moore Park in the control of the Agricultural Society of NSW to be used for football matches.^[35]

The organisation for the Gardiner Cup was still unsettled by 14 June. At a meeting of the Southern Rugby Football Union, a suggestion was made to award the Cup to the Premiers of the season, as decided by the committee of the Union.^[36]

Premiers for 1883 were the Redfern Football Club. The first fifteen were undefeated for the season with only 11 points scored against them. Matches included games played against Junior teams. Their second game against Sydney University resulted in their opponents unable to form a team to play against them. President of the club was the Hon. Edmund Barton.^[37]

At the time, the Premiership was decided by a committee of the Union. It was not clear how the Union decided upon the Premier club.^[38] When the season had concluded, it was suggested that the relative positions of the clubs should not be left up to the allotment of the Union. It was suggested that a set of rules be arranged at the beginning of the season to determine the champion and what was needed to obtain the premiership.^[39]

Match reports and other relevant articles in 1883 newspapers generally did not make an immediately obvious distinction between football codes. Several clubs played Australian Rules Football under the auspices, and in affiliation with, the New South Wales Football Association. In many instances, the code being reported on in newspapers could be determined by tries and touch-downs in Rugby Union and behinds in Australian Rules.