A short history of the lowest-scoring matches in rugby league history

Of all the grand finals played in the long history of Australian rugby league, this year’s NSW Women’s Premiership decider was unique.

In driving rain at Leichhardt Oval on Saturday night, Mounties downed the Bulldogs 1-0 courtesy of a 67th minute field goal to halfback Tilly Power to claim the title in truly incredible circumstances.

Any match finishing 1-0, let alone a grand final, is a code red situation for rugby league trainspotters so to celebrate Mounties’ victory let’s take a trip down memory lane and examine some of the lowest-scoring matches in Australian rugby league history.

Newtown 1 def St George 0 – 1973, Round 8

Jack Gibson’s 1973 Newtown Jets were renowned for their defensive resolve – it helped them go all the way to the preliminary final after finishing seven years without playoff football – but this was their masterpiece.

Against the high-flying Dragons at the SCG, Newtown tackled themselves to a standstill and won a famous 1-0 victory on the back of a Ken Wilson field goal midway through the second half. To this day, it’s the only 1-0 victory in the history of Australian top flight rugby league.

Newtown 0 drew Canterbury 0 – 1982, Round 5

Wilson is the leading pointscorer in Newtown history but the two games he’s most remembered for are the aforementioned 1-0 victory and this stalemate in 1982 when he captained the Jets to a scoreless draw against Canterbury at Henson Park.

Newtown exited the competition at the conclusion of the following season but their unusual legacy in low-scoring matches might never be equalled – they also played in one of just three premiership games to finish 2-0 courtesy of their narrow victory over Eastern Suburbs at the SCG in 1914.

St George Illawarra 8 def Parramatta 1 – 2006, Round 13

The punters who showed up to this 2006 clash at Kogarah Oval were very nearly treated to a very rare slice of rugby league history. It took 69 minutes for the scorers to be troubled when Parramatta’s John Morris broke the 0-0 deadlock with a field goal before Dragons halfback Ben Hornby replied with two field goals of his own.

A 2-1 scoreline was in the offing until a last, desperate Parramatta attack from their own line ended with a spilled ball and an easy try to Red V flyer Matt Cooper. It marks the third and most recent time a team was held to a single point in a match, behind the Jets in 1973 and the 1989 North Sydney Bears who went down 14-1 to Parramatta.

Roosters 4 def Sea Eagles 0 – 2013, first qualifying final

This absolute classic proved that not all low scoring matches have to be boring. The minor premiership-winning Roosters faced Manly in the first week of the finals in 2013 and the two sides put on an absolute epic which was dead even apart from a Roger Tuivasa-Sheck try in the first half.

With Trent Robinson’s side showing plenty of the defensive resolve that would help them win the premiership four weeks later, this marks the lowest scoring match of the NRL era.

Queensland 2 def New South Wales 0 – 1995, State of Origin I

Paul Vautin’s 1995 Queensland side defied the odds time and again en route to their famous Origin series win but the miracle began at the Sydney Football Stadium when Wayne Bartrim’s penalty goal was the only score in their first of their three upset wins over New South Wales.