There was a record number of entries for the 1921-22 season, with the number of teams almost doubling. Forty-two teams entered from 28 clubs and player registrations rose to 954. The increase was attributed chiefly to the interest aroused by the success of Warwick Armstrong’s Australian team tour of England in 1921.
A number of changes took place in A grade with Brunkerville and Hinton dropping out, and East Greta, Kurri Kurri and Raymond Terrace coming in to make up a seven team competition.
With 13 teams in B grade and 22 in C grade, both of these grades were run in two divisions. A remarkable feature was the number of clubs formed from work groups such as David Cohen & Co, EP Capper & Sons, Walka Pumping Station, Waterworks, Government Railways, South Maitland Railways and West Maitland Railway. The effect of the war was still evident with teams entered from Weston Soldiers’ Settlement and from Greta Pioneers. New entries were also received from Seaham and Greta Sunshine Sports Club.
At the start of the season a shield was donated by Con Irwin (a former leading player) to be contested at the end of the season in a final between the premiers and the runners-up in A grade. The team that won the shield the most times in five years was to retain it.
The A grade final for the shield ended up being played between Robins (the undefeated premiers) and Northern Division (the runners-up). Robins scored a convincing win, mainly due to a fine spell of bowling in the first innings by R McLean who took 7 for 59.
In the B grade match to decide the premiership G Hoy of Brunkerville took all 10 wickets for 28 runs against Northern Division in their first innings. Despite this remarkable feat, his side was still defeated.
Though almost fifty, Bob Lindsay of the Northern Division Club still headed the district’s A grade batting aggregate with 423 runs at an average of 60.4. The two leading bowlers were G and N Tiedeman of the East Greta Club with 54 and 47 wickets respectively.
Three players that were to become leading district players in the near future began to appear in the senior grade competition – Roy Oakes of Northern Division, Gordon Bell of Morpeth and Frank Cummins of Robins, described as “one of the most promising boys in the district”. One player lost to the district at the end of the season was Roy Loder, a consistent batsman from the Robins Club and a regular representative player during the previous two seasons. He joined Northern Districts Club in Sydney where he headed the batting aggregate in the Sydney competition for two seasons and later played for NSW against Queensland in 1926-27.
On Easter Monday 1922 a Northern District team played a NSWCA XI led by RCM Boyce who had captained NSW in several matches. The game featured “some of the biggest hitting seen at the Showground” with the visitors scoring 279 in 95 minutes in reply to Northern District’s 6 for 270. The NSWCA total included 12 sixes and 28 fours with Boyce scoring 91 and Grey retiring at 102.
At Lorn Park, the home ground of Northern Division Club, facilities for cricketers were improved with a pavilion being erected by club members using timber supplied by the Bolwarra Shire Council. Permission was also granted to the club to put down a turf wicket.