New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1981

Infobox rugby league season
year = 1980
competition = New South Wales Rugby Football League


imagesize = 125px
caption =
teams = 12
premiers =
count = 1st
minor premiers =
mpcount = 16th
matches = 138
points = 4160
attendance = 1312977
top points scorer = (194)
top try scorer = (16)
1981's New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the seventy-fourth season of professional rugby league football in Australia. Twelve clubs, including six Sydney-based foundation teams and another six from Sydney competed for the J J Giltinan Shield and WD & HO Wills Cup during the season, which culminated in a grand final between the Parramatta and Newtown clubs. NSWRFL teams also competed for the 1981 Tooth Cup.

eason 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 Jets hooker Barry Jensen became the first player to be sent from the field in this manner.

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

Grand Final

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

Parramatta 20 (Tries: Kenny 2, Atkins, Ella. Goals: Cronin 4.)

Newtown 11 (Tries: Hetherington, Raudonikis, O'Grady. Goal: Morris.)

References

* [http://www.stats.rleague.com/rl/seas/1981.html Rugby League Tables - Season 1981] "The World of Rugby League"
* [http://www.eraofthebiff.com/mm24.html 1981 Grand Final at eraofthebiff.com]
* [http://www.rabbitohs.com.au/The-Club/Tradition/Results---1981-1990.html Results:1981-90 at rabbitohs.com.au]
* [http://www.rleague.com//db/year/1981/j_j_giltinan_shield_and_wd_ho_wills_cup/index.php 1981 J J Giltinan Shield and WD & HO Wills Cup at rleague.com]
* [http://rugbyleagueproject.com/competitions/NSWRL_1981.html NSWRFL season 1981 at rugbyleagueproject.com]