1981 NSWRL Season — Final Regular-Season Ladder
12 teams, 22 regular-season rounds. Competition points: 2 for a win, 1 for a draw (verified: Pts = 2*W + D for every team). Minor premiers Eastern Suburbs topped the ladder but LOST the Grand Final; Parramatta (3rd on the ladder) won the premiership, defeating Newtown 20-11 in the Grand Final (27 Sep 1981) — their first premiership.
Ladder
| Pos | Club | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | 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-Sutherland | 22 | 13 | 1 | 8 | 339 | 337 | +2 | 27 |
| 5 | Manly-Warringah | 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-Bankstown | 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 |
Qualified for the finals series — top 5 (“final five”) that season.
Finals series
Major Preliminary Semi-Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Sep 1981 | Parramatta Eels 10–8 Newtown | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW | 17,265 |
Minor Preliminary Semi-Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 Sep 1981 | Manly-Warringah 14–11 Cronulla-Sutherland | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW | 21,635 |
Major Semi-Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 Sep 1981 | Parramatta Eels 12–8 Eastern Suburbs Roosters | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW | 27,600 |
Minor Semi-Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 Sep 1981 | Newtown 20–15 Manly-Warringah | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW | 22,440 |
Preliminary Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19 Sep 1981 | Newtown 15–5 Eastern Suburbs Roosters | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW | 25,243 |
Grand Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27 Sep 1981 | Parramatta Eels 20–11 Newtown | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW |
Full Grand Final page (Clive Churchill Medal, match context, sources) →
Sources
Sources
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