Parramatta Eels 10–8 Newtown — Major Preliminary Semi-Final, 1981 NRL Finals Series
5 Sep 1981 · Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW · Attendance: 17,265
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Major Preliminary Semi-Final, 1981 NRL finals series: Parramatta Eels 10–8 Newtown, at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW on 5 Sep 1981.
Sourcing caveat: Confirmed named scorers total Parramatta 7 of 10 points and Newtown 5 (assuming Gould kicked 1/1) of 8 points — both 3 points short, strongly suggesting a second try uncaptured on each side that could not be recovered across three fetch attempts. Reported as an honest gap rather than a guessed scorer.
Scorers
| Parramatta Eels | Tries: Graeme Atkins Goals: Michael Cronin (2/2) |
| Newtown | Tries: Ray Blacklock Goals: Phil Gould (1/1) |
Team sheets
| Parramatta Eels | Newtown | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steve McKenzie | Fullback | Phil Sigsworth | 1 |
| 2 | Tony Melrose | Wing | John Ferguson | 2 |
| 3 | Michael Cronin | Centre | Brian Hetherington | 3 |
| 4 | Steve Ella | Centre | Mick Ryan | 4 |
| 5 | Paul Younane | Wing | Ray Blacklock | 5 |
| 6 | Brett Kenny | Five-Eighth | Paul Morris | 6 |
| 7 | Peter Sterling | Halfback | Tom Raudonikis (c) | 7 |
| 8 | Ray Price | Prop | Graeme O'Grady | 8 |
| 9 | Kevin Stevens | Hooker | Mick Pitman | 9 |
| 10 | Steve Sharp | Prop | Phil Gould | 10 |
| 11 | Ron Hilditch | Second Row | Steve Blyth | 11 |
| 12 | Steve Edge (c) | Second Row | Jim Walters | 12 |
| 13 | Bob O'Reilly | Lock | Steve Bowden | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 15 | John Kolc | Ken Wilson | 14 | |
| 17 | John Muggleton | Barry Jensen | 15 | |
| 20 | Graeme Atkins | |||
| 23 | Gary Howell | |||
| Jack Gibson | Coach | Warren Ryan | ||
Match officials
| Referee | John Gocher |
Match report
Halftime 5-5.