1971 NSWRFL season

1971 NSWRFL season
Teams	12
Premiers	South Sydney (20th title)
Minor premiers	Manly-Warringah (1st title)
Matches played	136
Points scored	4477 (total) 32.919 (per match)
Attendance	1,562,338 (total) 11,488 (per match)
Top try scorer(s)	Paul Cross (18)

The 1971 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the sixty-fourth season of Sydney's professional rugby league football competition, Australia's first. Twelve teams, including six foundation clubs and another six admitted post-1908, competed for the J. J. Giltinan Shield during the season, which culminated in a Grand Final match for the W.D. & H.O. Wills between the South Sydney and St. George clubs.

Season summary

The season saw the number of tackles in a set increased from four to six. In addition, the number of points awarded for a field goal was reduced from two to one.^[1]

Each side met all others twice in twenty-two regular season rounds, resulting in the top four teams consisting of Manly-Warringah, South Sydney, St. George and Parramatta who fought out three finals for the right to play in the Grand Final.

The 1971 Rothmans Medal was won by South Sydney's five-eighth Denis Pittard while Rugby League Week awarded their player of the year award to South Sydney's halfback Bob Grant.

This season marked the end of a 23-year run where all but two of the premierships were won by St George or South Sydney.

Teams

Balmain	Canterbury-Bankstown	Cronulla-Sutherland	Eastern Suburbs
Manly-Warringah	Newtown	North Sydney	Parramatta
Penrith	South Sydney	St. George	Western Suburbs

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	20
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

Finals

Under the guidance of revolutionary head-coach Jack Gibson who was in 1971 beginning to embrace the attitude and training methods used in the United States' National Football League, St. George in 1971 had reached the Grand Final in all three grades.

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

Grand Final

St. George	Position	South Sydney
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.

The premiership victory remains South Sydney's most recent to date.

South Sydney 16 (Tries: Branighan, Coote, McCarthy. Goals: Simms 3. Field Goal: Simms.)

St George 10 (Tries: Beath, Walton. Goals: Langlands 2.)

References

1. ^ Middleton, David (2008). League of Legends: 100 Years of Rugby League in Australia. National Museum of Australia. pp. 31. ISBN 978-1-876944-64-3. http://www.nma.gov.au/shared/libraries/attachments/league_of_legends/rugby_league_a_work_in_progress/files/22453/F_RL_work_in_progress.pdf. 

• Rugby League Tables - Season 1971 The World of Rugby League
• Results:1971-80 at rabbitohs.com.au
• 1971 J J Giltinan Shield and WD & HO Wills Cup at rleague.com
• NSWRFL season 1971 at rugbyleagueproject.com