 Following the retirement of Dally Messenger at the end of the 1913 season, Eastern Suburbs’ stranglehold on the premiership came to an end.In their place, previous premiers South Sydney and Newtown took control of the competition.Newtown were in a good position to take out their second premiership midway through the season but a loss to middle-placed Balmain hurt their cause, although Newtown defeated South Sydney the following week.