1981 NSWRFL season
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
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. Newtown 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
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.| BalmainImage:Balmain Jersey 1978.png|100px|center 74th season Ground: Leichhardt Oval Coach: Frank Stanton Captain: Allan McMahon→Neil Whittaker | CanterburyImage:Canterbury-Bankstown Jersey 1979.png|100px|center 47th season Ground: Belmore Oval Coach: Ted Glossop Captain: Mark Hughes & Garry Hughes | CronullaImage:Cronulla-Sutherland Jersey 1981.png|100px|center 15th season Ground: Endeavour Field Coach: Greg Pierce Captain: Steve Rogers | Eastern SuburbsImage:Eastern Suburbs Jersey 1980.png|100px|center 74th season Ground: Sydney Sports Ground Coach: Bob Fulton Captain: Royce Ayliffe |
| ManlyImage:Manly-Warringah Jersey 1980.png|100px|center 35th season Ground: Brookvale Oval Coach: Ray Ritchie Captain: Max Krilich | NewtownImage:Newtown Jersey 1979.png|100px|center 74th season Ground: Henson Park Coach: Warren Ryan Captain: Tommy Raudonikis | North SydneyImage:North Sydney Jersey 1980.png|100px|center 74th season Ground:North Sydney Oval Coach: Ron Willey Captain: Mark Graham | ParramattaImage:Parramatta Jersey 1980.png|100px|center 35th season Ground: Cumberland Oval Coach: Jack Gibson Captain: Steve Edge |
| PenrithImage:Penrith Jersey 1980.png|100px|center 15th season Ground: Penrith Park Coach: Len Stacker Captain: Tim Sheens | South SydneyImage:South Sydney Jersey 1980.png|100px|center 74th season Ground: Redfern Oval Coach: Bill Anderson Captain: Nathan Gibbs→Mitch Brennan | St. GeorgeImage:St George Jersey 1979.png|100px|center 61st season Ground: Kogarah Oval Coach: Harry Bath Captain: Craig Young | Western SuburbsImage:Western Suburbs Jersey 1978.png|100px|center 74th season Ground: Lidcombe Oval Coach: Roy Masters Captain: Warren Boland |
Regular season
| 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 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 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 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