New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1971
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| New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1971 | |
 |
|
| Teams | 12 |
| Premiers |  South Sydney (20th title) |
| Minor premiers |  Manly-Warringah (1st title) |
| Matches played | 136 |
| Points scored | 4477 (average 32.919 per match) |
| Attendance | 1,562,338 (average 11,488 per match) |
| Top points scorer(s) |  Graeme Langlands (196 points) |
| Top try scorer(s) |  Paul Cross (18 tries) |
The 1971 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the sixty-fourth season of the Sydney-based professional rugby league football competition.
Contents |
[edit] Teams
 Balmain Tigers |
 Canterbury Bulldogs |
 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks |
 Eastern Suburbs Roosters |
 Manly Sea Eagles |
 Newtown Jets |
 North Sydney Bears |
 Parramatta Eels |
 Penrith Panthers |
 South Sydney Rabbitohs |
 St. George Dragons |
 Western Suburbs Magpies |
[edit] Season summary
Twelve Sydney-based teams contested during the season for the premiership, including six foundation teams and another six sides admitted post-1908. Each side met all others twice in twenty-two regular season rounds before the top four finishers fought out four finals for the right to play in the Grand Final.
This season saw the number of tackles allowed in a set increased from four to six.
Under the guidance of revolutionary head-coach Jack Gibson who was in 1971 beginning to embrace the attitude and training methods used in NFL football, St George in 1971 reached the Grand Final in all three grades.
[edit] Ladder
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manly-Warringah |
22 | 19 | 0 | 3 | 528 | 260 | +268 | 38 |
| 2 | South Sydney |
22 | 17 | 0 | 5 | 499 | 308 | +191 | 34 |
| 3 | St. George |
22 | 15 | 1 | 6 | 392 | 283 | +109 | 31 |
| 4 |  Parramatta |
22 | 12 | 0 | 10 | 383 | 355 | +28 | 24 |
| 5 | Balmain |
22 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 366 | 398 | -32 | 22 |
| 6 |  Canterbury-Bankstown |
22 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 355 | 422 | -87 | 22 |
| 7 |  Cronulla-Sutherland |
22 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 352 | 310 | +42 | 22 |
| 8 |  Penrith |
22 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 283 | 372 | -89 | 20 |
| 9 |  Eastern Suburbs |
22 | 9 | 1 | 12 | 344 | 339 | +5 | 19 |
| 10 |  Newtown |
22 | 7 | 1 | 14 | 282 | 401 | -119 | 15 |
| 11 |  North Sydney |
22 | 5 | 1 | 16 | 265 | 446 | -181 | 11 |
| 12 |  Western Suburbs |
22 | 4 | 0 | 18 | 336 | 471 | -135 | 8 |
[edit] Finals
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| Semi Finals | ||||||||
 St. George |
19 - 8 |  Parramatta |
28 August 1971 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Keith Page | 38,157 | ||
 Manly-Warringah |
13 - 19 |  South Sydney |
4 September 1971 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Keith Holman | 50,261 | ||
| Preliminary Final | ||||||||
| Manly-Warringah |
12 - 15 | St. George |
11 September 1971 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Keith Page | 45,883 | ||
| Grand Final | ||||||||
| South Sydney |
16 - 10 | St. George |
18 September 1971 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Keith Holman | 62,838 | ||
[edit] Grand Final
| St George Dragons | Position | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
|---|---|---|
| Graeme Langlands (c) | FB | Eric Simms |
| Ken Batty | WG | Keith Edwards |
| Ron Chapman | CE | Paul Sait |
| Ken Maddison | CE | Bob Honan |
| Geoff Carr | WG | Ray Branighan |
| Tony Branson | FE | Denis Pittard |
| Billy Smith | HB | Bob Grant |
| Harry Eden | PR | John Sattler |
| Colin Rasmussen | HK | George Piggins |
| Grahame Bowen | PR | John O'Neill |
| Peter Fitzgerald | SR | Bob McCarthy |
| Barry Beath | SR | Gary Stevens |
| Ted Walton | LK | Ron Coote |
| Mick Dryden | Reserve | |
| Russell Cox | Reserve | |
| Jack Gibson | Coach | Clive Churchill |
Against a battle-hardened Souths side with a larger pack the young Dragons went into the Grand Final as clear underdogs.
The first half was a gruelling affair with the only points coming from an Eric Simms field goal. At half-time Souths were in front by the unlikely scoreline of 1-0.
Souths raced ahead in the second half and at one stage held an 11-0 lead. The Dragons fought back with tries to Barry Beath and Ted Walton. Graeme Langlands added the extras, including a magnificent sideline conversion.
With the score at 11-10 and with only 12 minutes remaining, Saints looked to be getting on top of their more fancied rivals. However a match-winning try from Bob McCarthy showed the experience of the Rabbitohs, who won their fourth title in a five-year period. Souths hooker George Piggins was hailed as a hero, playing himself to a standstill in what was ultimately a closely fought encounter.
South Sydney 16 (Tries: Branighan, Coote, McCarthy. Goals: Simms 3. Fld Goal: Simms)
defeated
St George 10 (Tries: Beath, Walton. Goals: Langlands 2.)
[edit] References
- Rugby League Tables - Season 1971 The World of Rugby League
