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1981 NSWRFL season

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1981 New South Wales Rugby Football League
Teams12
Premiers Parramatta (1st title)
Minor premiers Eastern Suburbs (15th title)
Matches played138
Points scored4,160
Attendance1,312,977
Top points scorer(s) Steve Rogers (194)
Rothmans Medal Kevin Hastings
Top try-scorer(s) Terry Fahey (16)

The 1981 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the 74th season of Sydney's professional rugby league football competition, Australia's first. Twelve clubs, including six of 1908's foundation teams and another six from around Sydney competed for the J J Giltinan Shield and Wills Cup during the season, which culminated in a grand final between the Parramatta and Newtown clubs. NSWRFL clubs also competed in the 1981 Tooth Cup and players from NSWRFL clubs were selected to represent the New South Wales team.

Season summary

[edit]

In 1981 the "sin-bin" was introduced to rugby league in Australia, enabling referees to send players from the field for five or ten minute periods for minor or deliberate technical offences.[1] Newtown hooker Barry Jensen became the first player to be sent from the field in this manner.

Midway through the season, players contracted to NSWRFL clubs were selected to represent the New South Wales team in two games against the Queensland team in 1981. After that the experimental 1981 State of Origin game was played, and for the second time in history NSWRFL clubs' players were able to represent Queensland.

Twenty-two regular season rounds were played from March until August, resulting in a top five of Easts, Newtown, Parramatta, Cronulla and Manly who battled it out in the finals.

Eastern Suburbs' halfback Kevin Hastings won the 1981 season's Rothmans Medal as well as Rugby League Week's Player of the Year award. The Dally M Award went to Cronulla-Sutherland centre, Steve Rogers.

Teams

[edit]

This was to be the final year that the NSWRFL premiership was an all-Sydney competition, with the introduction of teams from Canberra and Illawarra in 1982 starting a new era of expansion which would see the League transform into a national, then international competition.

Balmain

74th season
Ground: Leichhardt Oval
Coach: Frank Stanton
Captain: Allan McMahonNeil Whittaker

Canterbury-Bankstown

47th season
Ground: Belmore Oval
Coach: Ted Glossop
Captain: Mark Hughes & Garry Hughes

Cronulla-Sutherland

15th season
Ground: Endeavour Field
Coach: Greg Pierce
Captain: Steve Rogers

Eastern Suburbs

74th season
Ground: Sydney Sports Ground
Coach: Bob Fulton
Captain: Royce Ayliffe

Manly-Warringah

35th season
Ground: Brookvale Oval
Coach: Ray Ritchie
Captain: Max Krilich

Newtown

74th season
Ground: Henson Park
Coach: Warren Ryan
Captain: Tommy Raudonikis

North Sydney

74th season
Ground:North Sydney Oval
Coach: Ron Willey
Captain: Mark Graham

Parramatta

35th season
Ground: Cumberland Oval
Coach: Jack Gibson
Captain: Steve Edge

Penrith

15th season
Ground: Penrith Park
Coach: Len Stacker
Captain: Tim Sheens

South Sydney

74th season
Ground: Redfern Oval
Coach: Bill Anderson
Captain: Nathan GibbsMitch Brennan

St. George

61st season
Ground: Kogarah Oval
Coach: Harry Bath
Captain: Craig Young

Western Suburbs

74th season
Ground: Lidcombe Oval
Coach: Roy Masters
Captain: Warren Boland

Regular season

[edit]
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 F1 F2 F3 GF
Balmain Tigers EAS
+1
MAN
−7
NEW
−8
CBY
−39
SOU
−15
CRO
−6
NOR
+5
STG
−3
PAR
−19
WES
−7
PEN
+7
X EAS
−1
MAN
−7
NEW
−1
CBY
−11
SOU
+3
CRO
−3
NOR
−10
STG
0
PAR
−9
WES
+9
PEN
+19
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs STG
−26
PAR
−4
WES
+19
BAL
+39
EAS
−10
MAN
+11
NEW
−10
PEN
−10
X CRO
−7
NOR
+11
SOU
−3
STG
−6
PAR
−14
WES
−17
BAL
+11
EAS
−33
MAN
−7
NEW
+15
PEN
−4
SOU
+26
CRO
+18
NOR
−3
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks PEN
−11
NOR
+18
STG
+6
PAR
+11
WES
+3
BAL
+6
EAS
−9
MAN
−5
X CBY
+7
SOU
0
NEW
−6
PEN
+9
NOR
+1
STG
+20
PAR
−15
WES
+1
BAL
+3
EAS
+2
MAN
−9
NEW
−14
CBY
−18
SOU
+2
MAN
−3
Eastern Suburbs Roosters BAL
−1
PEN
+3
MAN
+6
NEW
+22
CBY
+10
SOU
−5
CRO
+9
NOR
+1
X PAR
+8
WES
+4
STG
+18
BAL
+1
PEN
+14
MAN
+10
NEW
−10
CBY
+33
SOU
−5
CRO
−2
NOR
+20
STG
+12
PAR
+14
WES
−2
X PAR
−4
NEW
−10
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles WES
+12
BAL
+7
EAS
−6
PEN
−18
NEW
−12
CBY
−11
SOU
+8
CRO
+5
NOR
−19
STG
−18
PAR
+14
X WES
+28
BAL
+7
EAS
−10
PEN
−6
NEW
0
CBY
+7
SOU
+11
CRO
+9
NOR
+20
STG
+5
PAR
0
CRO
+3
NEW
−5
Newtown Jets PAR
−24
WES
0
BAL
+8
EAS
−22
MAN
+12
PEN
+18
CBY
+10
SOU
+16
X NOR
−2
STG
+17
CRO
+6
PAR
+5
WES
−16
BAL
+1
EAS
+10
MAN
0
PEN
+10
CBY
−15
SOU
−3
CRO
+14
NOR
+4
STG
+9
PAR
−2
MAN
+5
EAS
+10
PAR
−9
North Sydney Bears SOU
+15
CRO
−18
PEN
−10
STG
+29
PAR
+2
WES
−15
BAL
−5
EAS
−1
MAN
+19
NEW
+2
CBY
−11
X SOU
+5
CRO
−1
PEN
+21
STG
−7
PAR
−14
WES
−13
BAL
+10
EAS
−20
MAN
−20
NEW
−4
CBY
+3
Parramatta Eels NEW
+24
CBY
+4
SOU
+34
CRO
−11
NOR
−2
STG
+9
PEN
+3
WES
−6
BAL
+19
EAS
−8
MAN
−14
X NEW
−5
CBY
+14
SOU
+11
CRO
+15
NOR
+14
STG
+12
PEN
+17
WES
+27
BAL
+9
EAS
−14
MAN
0
NEW
+2
EAS
+4
X NEW
+9
Penrith Panthers CRO
+11
EAS
−3
NOR
+10
MAN
+18
STG
−8
NEW
−18
PAR
−3
CBY
+10
WES
−1
SOU
+19
BAL
−7
X CRO
−9
EAS
−14
NOR
−21
MAN
+6
STG
+15
NEW
−10
PAR
−17
CBY
+4
WES
−2
SOU
−6
BAL
−19
South Sydney Rabbitohs NOR
−15
STG
−9
PAR
−34
WES
−2
BAL
+15
EAS
+5
MAN
−8
NEW
−16
X PEN
−19
CRO
0
CBY
+3
NOR
−5
STG
+17
PAR
−11
WES
+6
BAL
−3
EAS
+5
MAN
−11
NEW
+3
CBY
−26
PEN
+6
CRO
−2
St. George Dragons CBY
+26
SOU
+9
CRO
−6
NOR
−29
PEN
+8
PAR
−9
WES
−4
BAL
+3
X MAN
+18
NEW
−17
EAS
−18
CBY
+6
SOU
−17
CRO
−20
NOR
+7
PEN
−15
PAR
−12
WES
+17
BAL
0
EAS
−12
MAN
−5
NEW
−9
Western Suburbs Magpies MAN
−12
NEW
0
CBY
−19
SOU
+2
CRO
−3
NOR
+15
STG
+4
PAR
+6
PEN
+1
BAL
+7
EAS
−4
X MAN
−28
NEW
+16
CBY
+17
SOU
−6
CRO
−1
NOR
+13
STG
−17
PAR
−27
PEN
+2
BAL
−9
EAS
+2
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 F1 F2 F3 GF

Bold – Home game
X – Bye
Opponent for round listed above margin

Ladder

[edit]
Pos 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 22 13 1 8 339 337 +2 27
5 Manly 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 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

Ladder progression

[edit]
  • Numbers highlighted in green indicate that the team finished the round inside the top 5.
  • Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished first on the ladder in that round.
  • Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished last place on the ladder in that round.
  • Underlined numbers indicate that the team had a bye during that round.
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
1 Eastern Suburbs Roosters 0 2 4 6 8 8 10 12 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 24 26 26 26 28 30 32 32
2 Newtown Jets 0 1 3 3 5 7 9 11 11 11 13 15 17 17 19 21 22 24 24 24 26 28 30
3 Parramatta Eels 2 4 6 6 6 8 10 10 12 12 12 12 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 28 29
4 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 0 2 4 6 8 10 10 10 10 12 13 13 15 17 19 19 21 23 25 25 25 25 27
5 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 2 4 4 4 4 4 6 8 8 8 10 10 12 14 14 14 15 17 19 21 23 25 26
6 Western Suburbs Magpies 0 1 1 3 3 5 7 9 11 13 13 13 13 15 17 17 17 19 19 19 21 21 23
7 North Sydney Bears 2 2 2 4 6 6 6 6 8 10 10 10 12 12 14 14 14 14 16 16 16 16 18
8 St. George Dragons 2 4 4 4 6 6 6 8 8 10 10 10 12 12 12 14 14 14 16 17 17 17 17
9 South Sydney Rabbitohs 0 0 0 0 2 4 4 4 4 4 5 7 7 9 9 11 11 13 13 15 15 17 17
10 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 0 0 2 4 4 6 6 6 6 6 8 8 8 8 8 10 10 10 12 12 14 16 16
11 Penrith Panthers 2 2 4 6 6 6 6 8 8 10 10 10 10 10 10 12 14 14 14 16 16 16 16
12 Balmain Tigers 2 2 2 2 2 2 4 4 4 4 6 6 6 6 6 6 8 8 8 9 9 11 13

Finals

[edit]

The elimination semi-final between Newtown and Manly-Warringah will always be remembered for the notorious all-in brawl, with the main combatants Newtown's Steve Bowden and Manly hardman Mark Broadhurst. Bowden was marched for the incident and was unable to take part in the preliminary final against Eastern Suburbs or the grand final against Parramatta.[2]

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

Chart

[edit]
Qualifying finalMajor semi-finalPreliminary finalGrand final
1 Eastern Suburbs8 Parramatta20
Parramatta12 Newtown11
2 Newtown8 Eastern Suburbs5
3 Parramatta10Minor semi-final Newtown15
Newtown20
4 Cronulla-Sutherland11 Manly15
5 Manly14

Grand final

[edit]
Parramatta Position Newtown
  1. Steve McKenzie
FB
  1. Phil Sigsworth
2. Graeme Atkins WG 2. John Ferguson
3. Mick Cronin CE 3. Mick Ryan
4. Steve Ella CE 4. Brian Hetherington
5. Eric Grothe WG 5. Ray Blacklock
6. Brett Kenny FE 6. Paul Morris
7. Peter Sterling HB 7. Tommy Raudonikis (c)
13. Bob O'Reilly PR 13. Craig Ellis
12. Steve Edge (c) HK 12. Barry Jensen
11. Ron Hilditch PR 11. Steve Blyth
10. Kevin Stevens SR 10. Phil Gould
9. John Muggleton SR 9. Mick Pitman
8. Ray Price LK 8. Graeme O'Grady
14. Steve Sharp Reserve 14. Ken Wilson
18. Paul Taylor Reserve 15. Jim Walters
Reserve 20. Shane McKellar
Reserve 26. Geoff Bugden
Jack Gibson Coach Warren Ryan

Newtown had reached their first grand final in twenty-six years. Parramatta led 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 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 captain two different sides to premiership victory having captained St. George to a win over the Eels in season 1977.

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.

Match details

[edit]
27 September 1981
Newtown Jets 11 – 20 Parramatta Eels
Tries:
Graeme O'Grady 1
Brian Hetherington 1
Tommy Raudonikis 1
Goals:
Paul Morris 1/3
1st: 6 - 7
2nd: 5 - 13
Report
Tries:
Brett Kenny 2
Graeme Atkins 1
Steve Ella 1
Goals:
Mick Cronin 4/6
Sydney Cricket Ground
Attendance: 57,333
Referee: Greg Hartley
Player of the Match: Bob O'Reilly[a]

Cumberland Oval

[edit]

In the resultant celebrations at Parramatta with a large group of supporters having gathered at the Eels homeground of Cumberland Oval, subsequently lit a fire that burned the grandstand to the ground. In late 1984 a construction contract was signed by the NSW Government, with the new Parramatta Stadium being opened on 5 March 1986 by Queen Elizabeth II. Parramatta Stadium itself was knocked down along with the adjacent public pools, in 2017. The new stadium, the Western Sydney Stadium was opened on 14 April 2019.

Player statistics

[edit]

The following statistics are as of the conclusion of Round 22.

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Awarded retrospectively in 2008.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Middleton, David (2008). League of Legends: 100 Years of Rugby League in Australia (PDF). National Museum of Australia. p. 31. ISBN 978-1-876944-64-3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-03-17.
  2. ^ 1981 NSWRFL Semi-final – Manly vs Newtown fight
[edit]