1971 NSWRFL Grand Final
Saturday, 18 September 1971 · Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, New South Wales
1971 NSWRFL Grand Final result: South Sydney def. St. George, 16-10, at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, New South Wales on Saturday, 18 September 1971.
Sourcing caveat: In 1971 a try was worth 3 points and a goal 2 points; this was the first season a field goal was worth only 1 point (previously 2), the "new one-point field-goal rule" referred to in this page's own prose. The scoring breakdown above reconciles exactly to 16-10 under these rules (Souths: 3 tries x 3 = 9, plus Eric Simms 3/4 goals = 6, plus his 1-point field goal, totalling 16; St George: 2 tries x 3 = 6, plus Graeme Langlands 2/4 goals = 4, totalling 10). Exact try minutes could not be confirmed. No South Sydney interchange players could be confirmed from sources found.
Result
| Team | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | South Sydney | 16 |
| Runner-up | St. George | 10 |
Attendance: 62,838
NRL 1971 — full season ladder & finals series
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | 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 |
| 5 | Canterbury-Bankstown | 22 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 335 | 422 | -87 | 22 |
| 7 | Cronulla-Sutherland | 22 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 352 | 310 | +42 | 20 |
| 7 | 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 |
Qualified for the finals series — top 4 that season.
Finals series
Minor Semi-Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28 Aug 1971 | St. George 19–8 Parramatta Eels | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW | 38,157 |
Major Semi-Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Sep 1971 | South Sydney Rabbitohs 19–13 Manly-Warringah | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW | 50,261 |
Preliminary Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 Sep 1971 | St. George 15–12 Manly-Warringah | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW | 45,883 |
Grand Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 Sep 1971 | South Sydney Rabbitohs 16–10 St. George | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW |
Match officials
| Referee | Keith Holman |
Scorers
| South Sydney | Tries: Ray Branighan — minute unconfirmed; Ron Coote — minute unconfirmed; Bob McCarthy — minute unconfirmed Goals: Eric Simms (3/4) Drop goals: Eric Simms — 1 field goal, first half (opened the scoring, 1-0) |
| St. George | Tries: Barry Beath — minute unconfirmed; Ted Walton — minute unconfirmed Goals: Graeme Langlands (2/4) |
Teams
| South Sydney | St. George | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eric Simms | Fullback | Graeme Langlands (c) | 1 |
| 2 | Keith Edwards | Wing | Ken Batty | 2 |
| 3 | Paul Sait | Centre | Bob Clapham | 3 |
| 4 | Bob Honan | Centre | Ken Maddison | 4 |
| 5 | Ray Branighan | Wing | Geoff Carr | 5 |
| 6 | Denis Pittard | Five-eighth | Tony Branson | 6 |
| 7 | Bob Grant | Halfback | Billy Smith | 7 |
| 8 | Ron Coote | Lock | Ted Walton | 8 |
| 9 | Gary Stevens | Second Row | Barry Beath | 9 |
| 10 | Bob McCarthy | Second Row | Peter Fitzgerald | 10 |
| 11 | John O'Neill | Prop | Grahame Bowen | 11 |
| 12 | George Piggins | Hooker | Col Rasmussen | 12 |
| 13 | John Sattler (c) | Prop | Harry Eden | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| — | reserves — not recorded in sources found | Russell Cox — replaced Grahame Bowen at half-time | — | |
| Mick Dryden — replaced Peter Fitzgerald with 5 minutes remaining | — | |||
| Clive Churchill | Coach | Jack Gibson | ||
Clive Churchill Medal
The Clive Churchill Medal was first awarded in 1986; no official best-on-ground medal existed for this Grand Final.
Match context
A crowd of 62,838, the biggest of the early 1970s deciders, packed the Sydney Cricket Ground to watch the two great powers of the previous two decades meet one last time at the summit, and it proved a farewell in more ways than one. South Sydney, the defending premiers captained by John Sattler and stacked with internationals, started heavy favourites against a young and comparatively inexperienced St. George side led by champion fullback Graeme Langlands; between them the two clubs had claimed the overwhelming majority of the previous two decades' premierships. The contest was tense and tryless early, and the first half yielded a remarkable scoreline: 1-0 to Souths at the break, courtesy of an Eric Simms field goal under the new one-point field-goal rule introduced that season. After the interval the match opened up. Ray Branighan and the brilliant lock Ron Coote crossed for South Sydney, while Barry Beath and Ted Walton answered for the Dragons, Langlands converting both, and halfback Billy Smith loomed as St. George's most dangerous attacking spark until he was injured late in the game. With Souths clinging to a one-point lead at 11-10 and the premiership in the balance, Coote produced the decisive play, bursting some 30 metres, drawing the cover defence and delivering an inside ball for Bob McCarthy to score untouched. Simms finished with three goals and his field goal, and full-time arrived with South Sydney ahead 16-10. Coote, who starred alongside McCarthy in repeatedly threatening to split the Dragons' defence, was widely rated the best player afield in match accounts. The victory delivered South Sydney's fourth premiership in five seasons (1967, 1968, 1970, 1971), the crowning achievement of the club's magnificent era built around Sattler, Simms, Coote, McCarthy and Bob Grant. Nobody at the ground could have imagined it would be the last: the great side was soon broken up as rival clubs raided its stars, and the Rabbitohs would not lift the trophy again until 2014, a 43-year drought that made this triumph an increasingly poignant landmark in the game's history. For St. George, defeat extended the wait for a first premiership since their record eleven-straight run ended in 1966.
Sources
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
← Rugby League · Champions list · All-time records · World Cup · All competitions · Venues · Teams · Players