New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1981
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| New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1981 | |
 |
|
| Teams | 12 |
| Premiers |  Parramatta (1st title) |
| Minor premiers |  Eastern Suburbs (16th title) |
| Matches played | 138 |
| Points scored | 4160 (average 30.145 per match) |
| Attendance | 1,312,977 (average 9,514 per match) |
| Top points scorer(s) |  Steve Rogers (194 points) |
| Top try scorer(s) | Terry Fahey (16 tries) |
The 1981 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the seventy-fourth season of professional rugby league football in Australia. Twelve clubs contested during the season for the premiership, including six Sydney-based foundation teams and another six from Sydney. NSWRFL teams also competed for the 1981 Tooth Cup.
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
This was the first season in in which the Sin Bin rule was introduced to rugby league in Australia. Newtown Jets hooker Barry Jensen became the first player to be sent from the field in this manner.
The Parramatta Eels won their first premiership, thirty five years after being admitted to the top grade competition.
[edit] Ladder
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eastern Suburbs |
22 | 16 | 0 | 6 | 385 | 225 | +160 | 32 |
| 2 |  Newtown |
22 | 14 | 2 | 6 | 326 | 268 | +58 | 30 |
| 3 | Parramatta |
22 | 14 | 1 | 7 | 398 | 246 | +152 | 29 |
| 4 | Cronulla-Sutherland |
22 | 13 | 1 | 8 | 339 | 337 | +2 | 27 |
| 5 |  Manly-Warringah |
22 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 350 | 317 | +33 | 26 |
| 6 |  Western Suburbs |
22 | 11 | 1 | 10 | 311 | 352 | -41 | 23 |
| 7 |  North Sydney |
22 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 322 | 355 | -33 | 18 |
| 8 |  St. George |
22 | 8 | 1 | 13 | 320 | 399 | -79 | 17 |
| 9 |  South Sydney |
22 | 8 | 1 | 13 | 322 | 423 | -101 | 17 |
| 10 |  Canterbury-Bankstown |
22 | 8 | 0 | 14 | 340 | 344 | -4 | 16 |
| 11 |  Penrith |
22 | 8 | 0 | 14 | 305 | 350 | -45 | 16 |
| 12 |  Balmain |
22 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 293 | 395 | -102 | 13 |
[edit] Finals
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | Crowd | |||||
| Qualifying Finals | ||||||||
 Newtown |
8-10 |  Parramatta |
5 September 1981 | Sydney Cricket Ground | John Gocher | 17,265 | ||
 Cronulla-Sutherland |
11-14 |  Manly-Warringah |
6 September 1981 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Greg Hartley | 21,635 | ||
| Semi Finals | ||||||||
 Eastern Suburbs |
8-12 | Parramatta |
12 September 1981 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Greg Hartley | 27,600 | ||
| Newtown |
20-15 | Manly-Warringah |
13 September 1981 | Sydney Cricket Ground | John Gocher | 22,440 | ||
| Preliminary Final | ||||||||
| Eastern Suburbs |
5-15 | Newtown |
19 September 1981 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Greg Hartley | 25,243 | ||
| Grand Final | ||||||||
| Parramatta |
20-11 | Newtown |
27 September 1981 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Greg Hartley | 57,333 | ||
[edit] Grand Final
| Newtown | Position | Parramatta |
|---|---|---|
| Phil Sigsworth | FB | Steve McKenzie |
| John Ferguson | WG | Graeme Atkins |
| Mick Ryan | CE | Mick Cronin |
| Brian Hetherington | CE | Steve Ella |
| Ray Blacklock | WG | Eric Grothe |
| Paul Morris | FE | Brett Kenny |
| Tommy Raudonikis (c) | HB | Peter Sterling |
| Steve Blythe | PR | Ron Hilditch |
| Barry Jensen | HK | Steve Edge (c) |
| Craig Ellis | PR | Bob O'Reilly |
| Michael Pitman | SR | John Muggleton |
| Phil Gould | SR | Kevin Stevens |
| Graeme O'Grady | LK | Ray Price |
| Ken Wilson | Reserve | Steve Sharp |
| Jim Walters | Reserve | Paul Taylor |
| Shane McKellar | Reserve | |
| Geoff Bugden | Reserve | |
| Warren Ryan | Coach | Jack Gibson |
Master coach Jack Gibson had just six words for a packed Parramatta Leagues Club auditorium, who had just witnessed the Eels' first ever premiership since their 1947 entry to the competition. "Ding, dong, the witch is dead," he said before the thunderous chants of the success-starved blue and gold army of fans.
Parramatta lead Newtown 7-6 at half-time, but the Jets looked set to spring a major upset when tough half back Tommy Raudonikis crashed over to score early in the second-half. Then the Eels' brilliant backline then exploded into action. The combination of Brett Kenny, Mick Cronin, Peter Sterling, Eric Grothe and Steve Ella dominated and would go on to feature in five grand finals and four premierships by the end of 1986.
Steve Edge became the first player to ever captain two different sides to premiership victory having captained the St George Dragons to a win over Parramatta in season 1977.
Parramatta 20 (Tries: Kenny 2, Atkins, Ella. Goals: Cronin 4.)
Newtown 11 (Tries: Hetherington, Raudonikis, O'Grady. Goal: Morris.)
[edit] References
- Rugby League Tables - Season 1981 The World of Rugby League
