season they were premiers for the second time, beating South Sydney 19–12 in a spirited win. They were captained by the Test five-eighth Johnny Hawke with Frank Facer as Vice Captain and contained a champion backline including Noel Pidding, Doug McRitchie, Matt McCoy and Ron Roberts.The Dragons had lost form in the back-end of the season but came home strongly beating minor premiers South Sydney in the semi, and Balmain in a final before meeting Souths again in the Grand final. Some first grade players killed in World War 2 include Jack Lennox, Len Brennan, Jack Simpson and Spencer Walklate. 1950s The St George Football Club came of age in the 1950s. A move from Hurstville Oval to Kogarah Oval saw St George take on Souths before a crowd of 12,500 fans in their inaugural match at the ground. Due to its close proximity to Kogarah Oval, the Carlton Hotel became the local watering hole for the players after training. In 1953 the first St George Leagues Club was built on the corner of Princes Highway & Rocky Point Road. The building later became a High School, although the building was demolished in July 2015. This club was to become the site of many victory celebrations over the next 10 years. In 1956 St George began their reign as Premiers beating Balmain 18–12 in the decider. In the following year, they won in First grade, 3rd Grade and the Presidents Cup while being runners-up in Reserve grade. Their dominance had commenced and would last until 1966, covering an unprecedented 11 victories. In the early years players such as Kearney, Wilson, Clay, Provan, Lumsden and Bath forged the club's success. In 1959 they went through the season undefeated amassing 550 points (205 scored by Harry Bath) compared to their rivals total tally against them of just 90 points. That year the brilliant young lock Johnny Raper made his grand final debut at centre replacing the injured Reg Gasnier. The writers Collis & Whitaker, Larry Writer and Heads & Middleton have all attributed the reign of success to three key factors:, Club administration – the run began the same year that Frank Facer came to power as the football club Secretary. Facer had an eye for talent, was a shrewd negotiator and along with President Len Kelly and Directors Alex Mackie, Glynn Price and Laurie Doust, the leadership group planned their recruitment