Competing teams: (16) the 12 Sydney teams, Brisbane, NSW Country, Queensland Country, and Central Districts (New Zealand).
Round 1:
Cronulla Sutherland 21 beat North Sydney 5.
South Sydney 24 beat Parramatta 17.
Canterbury Bankstown 20 beat Eastern Suburbs 14.
Western Suburbs 20 beat Penrith 8.
St George 29 beat Balmain 11.
Manly Warringah 51 beat Central Districts 11.
Newtown 23 beat Brisbane 19.
St George 21 beat South Sydney 15.
Penrith 31 beat Central Districts 5.
Manly Warringah 24 beat Queensland Country 2.
Western Suburbs 23 beat NSW Country 14.
Canterbury Bankstown 19 beat Parramatta 18.
Balmain 21 beat Eastern Suburbs 5.
Newtown 33 beat Queensland Country 7.
Cronulla Sutherland 25 beat Brisbane 5.
North Sydney 13 beat NSW Country 9.
1 Manly Warringah 2 2 0 0 - 75 13 62
2 Cronulla Sutherland 2 2 0 0 - 46 10 36
3 Newtown 2 2 0 0 - 56 26 30
4 Western Suburbs 2 2 0 0 - 43 22 21
5 St George 2 2 0 0 - 50 26 14
6 Canterbury Bankstown 2 2 0 0 - 39 32 7
7 Penrith 2 1 0 1 - 39 25 14
8 South Sydney 2 1 0 1 - 39 38 1
--------------------------------------------------
9 Balmain 2 1 0 1 - 32 34 -2
10 North Sydney 2 1 0 1 - 18 30 -12
11 Parramatta 2 0 0 2 - 35 43 -8
12 NSW Country 2 0 0 2 - 23 36 -13
13 Eastern Suburbs 2 0 0 2 - 19 41 -22
14 Brisbane 2 0 0 2 - 24 48 -24
15 Queensland Country 2 0 0 2 - 9 57 -48
16 Central Districts 2 0 0 2 - 16 82 -66
Quarterfinals:
Newtown 22 beat Canterbury Bankstown 7.
Cronulla Sutherland 23 beat Penrith 19.
Manly Warringah 16 beat Western Suburbs 13.
South Sydney 23 beat St George 9.
Semifinals:
Cronulla Sutherland 19 beat Newtown 2.
South Sydney 24 beat Manly Warringah 13.
Final:
South Sydney 10 beat Cronulla Sutherland 2.
Player of the Series: Steve Rogers (Cronulla Sutherland).
Two new divisions were added to the competition. Part of North Coast became Far North Coast and part of Southern Division became Central Coast.
Round 1:
Newcastle 10 beat Illawarra 9.
Northern Division 31 beat Monaro 29.
Southern Division 23 beat Western Division 18.
Far North Coast 32 beat Central Coast 18.
Riverina 9 beat North Coast 0.
North Coast and Central Coast, the two teams with the worst
points margins, were eliminated.
Round 2:
Illawarra 20 beat Monaro 12.
Newcastle 17 beat Southern Division 7.
Northern Division 45 beat Far North Coast 21.
Riverina 34 beat Western Division 32.
Semifinals:
Newcastle 30 beat Northern Division 6.
Illawarra 36 beat Riverina 7.
Final:
Newcastle 33 beat Illawarra 7.
The 1981 preseason competition was the last one. The expansion of the competition to 14 teams and 26 rounds in 1982 pushed back the start of the season proper, and there just wasn't time for a preseason competition.
1 Parramatta 3 3 0 0 - 61 12 49 6
2 Eastern Suburbs 3 3 0 0 - 54 23 31 6
------------------------------------------------------
3 Balmain 3 2 0 1 - 28 23 5 4
4 Canterbury Bankstown 3 2 0 1 - 33 29 4 4
5 Manly Warringah 3 2 0 1 - 32 36 -4 4
6 St George 3 1 1 1 - 50 46 4 3
7 Newtown 3 1 0 2 - 36 37 -1 2
8 South Sydney 3 1 0 2 - 37 48 -11 2
9 Penrith 3 1 0 2 - 22 43 -21 2
10 North Sydney 3 1 0 2 - 25 47 -22 2
11 Western Suburbs 3 0 1 2 - 33 47 -14 1
12 Cronulla Sutherland 3 0 0 3 - 23 43 -20 0
Final:
Eastern Suburbs 12 beat Parramatta 3.
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
Preliminary Semifinals:
Parramatta 10 beat Newtown 8.
Manly Warringah 14 beat Cronulla Sutherland 11.
Semifinals:
Parramatta 12 beat Eastern Suburbs 8 after extra time.
Newtown 20 beat Manly Warringah 15.
Preliminary Final:
Newtown 15 beat Eastern Suburbs 5.
Grand Final:
Parramatta 20 beat Newtown 11.