Before The Charity Shield

Before the Charity Shield kicked off its first official match in 1982, the South Sydney Rabbitohs took part in a Charity game against Port Kembla and South Brisbane.

The South Sydney Rabbitohs held a Charity R.L. Challenge Match on Friday 13 February 1981 at Redfern Oval. The night saw two games played, the first between the Rabbitohs and Port Kembla followed by a second game against South Brisbane.

The match was a fund raising appeal organised and sponsored by the Rotary Club of Botany and South Sydney with all proceeds going towards the Royal South Sydney Hospital.

The teams included names that would be remembered today including Mal Meninga, Ziggy Nizsczot, David Boyle and Gary Wright to name a few.

It's not a far cry from the Charity Shield today - Playing a pre-season curtain-raiser to raise funds for charitable causes. 36 years later and we're still raising funds to support the community, however these days we're supporting Souths Cares great work in the community.

Souths Cares is the main beneficiary of Charity Shield proceeds for the Rabbitohs. Souths Cares is an independent, not-for-profit, public benevolent institution, established in 2006 to support the local community and address social need across the South Sydney region.

In 2016, the St George Illawarra proceeds from the Charity Shield supported three charities within the Dragons Community program – the St George and Wollongong Public Hospitals and the St.George Foundation.

We could not track down the final result for these games, if you were there or know the results, please let us know by sending an email to [email protected]. 

View the 1981 teamlists below:

Game 1 - South Sydney Rabbitohs vs Port Kembla - 6:30pm, Redfern Oval

Game 2 - South Sydney Rabbitohs vs South Brisbane - 8:00pm, Redfern Oval