Parramatta Eels 12–8 Eastern Suburbs Roosters — Major Semi-Final, 1981 NRL Finals Series
12 Sep 1981 · Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW · Attendance: 27,600
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Major Semi-Final, 1981 NRL finals series: Parramatta Eels 12–8 Eastern Suburbs Roosters, at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW on 12 Sep 1981.
Sourcing caveat: Confirmed named scorers total Parramatta 9 of 12 points and Easts 5 of 8 points, both 3 points short — the same pattern as this round's other 1981 gaps, suggesting an uncaptured second try each side rather than an error in the recorded final score.
Scorers
| Parramatta Eels | Tries: Eric Grothe Goals: Michael Cronin (3/4) |
| Eastern Suburbs Roosters | Tries: Ron Giteau Goals: Ron Giteau (1/2) |
Team sheets
| Parramatta Eels | Eastern Suburbs Roosters | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steve McKenzie | Fullback | Kerry Boustead | 1 |
| 2 | Graeme Atkins | Wing | Terry Fahey | 2 |
| 3 | Michael Cronin | Centre | Ron Giteau | 3 |
| 4 | Steve Ella | Centre | Noel Cleal | 4 |
| 5 | Eric Grothe | Wing | Steve McFarlane | 5 |
| 6 | Brett Kenny | Five-Eighth | Gary Warnecke | 6 |
| 7 | Peter Sterling | Halfback | Kevin Hastings | 7 |
| 8 | Ray Price | Prop | John Tobin | 8 |
| 9 | John Muggleton | Hooker | Des O'Reilly | 9 |
| 10 | Steve Sharp | Prop | Paul McCabe | 10 |
| 11 | Ron Hilditch | Second Row | Royce Ayliffe (c) | 11 |
| 12 | Steve Edge (c) | Second Row | Jeff Masterman | 12 |
| 13 | Bob O'Reilly | Lock | John Harvey | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Paul Taylor | Marty Gurr | 14 | |
| 17 | Gary Howell | Dave Brown | 16 | |
| 18 | Michael Davis | Robert Laurie | 19 | |
| 25 | Geoff Coburn | Bob Sheens | 21 | |
| Jack Gibson | Coach | Bob Fulton | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Greg Hartley |
Match report
Scores level 8-8 at full time; decided by 10 minutes of extra time each way. Halftime 0-0. Peter Sterling wore jersey #15 for Parramatta this match — his own #7 jumper was reportedly too tight.