# 1981 Tooth Cup

The 1981 Tooth Cup was the 8th edition of the NSWRFL Midweek Cup, a NSWRFL-organised national club Rugby League tournament between the leading clubs and representative teams from the NSWRFL, the BRL, the CRL, the QRL and the NZRL.
16 teams from across Australia and New Zealand played 23 matches in a round-robin format, with teams playing 2 games each. The top 8 teams advanced to a knockout stage, with the matches being held midweek during the premiership season.

## Qualified Teams

| Team | Nickname | League | Qualification | Participation (bold indicates winners) |
| Canterbury-Bankstown | Bulldogs | NSWRFL | Winners of the 1980 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership | 8th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980) |
| Eastern Suburbs | Roosters | NSWRFL | Runners-Up in the 1980 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership | 8th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980) |
| Western Suburbs | Magpies | NSWRFL | Third Place in the 1980 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership | 8th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980) |
| St. George | Dragons | NSWRFL | Fourth Place in the 1980 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership | 8th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980) |
| South Sydney | Rabbitohs | NSWRFL | Fifth Place in the 1980 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership | 8th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980) |
| Parramatta | Eels | NSWRFL | Sixth Place in the 1980 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership | 8th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980) |
| Manly-Warringah | Sea Eagles | NSWRFL | Seventh Place in the 1980 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership | 8th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980) |
| Newtown | Jets | NSWRFL | Eighth Place in the 1980 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership | 8th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980) |
| Cronulla-Sutherland | Sharks | NSWRFL | Ninth Place in the 1980 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership | 8th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980) |
| Balmain | Tigers | NSWRFL | Tenth Place in the 1980 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership | 8th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980) |
| North Sydney | Bears | NSWRFL | Eleventh Place in the 1980 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership | 8th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980) |
| Penrith | Panthers | NSWRFL | Twelfth Place in the 1980 New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership | 8th (Previous: 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980) |
| Brisbane | Poinsettias | BRL | League Representative Team | 3rd (Previous: 1979, 1980) |
| NSW Country | Kangaroos | CRL | Country League Representative Team | 3rd (Previous: 1979, 1980) |
| Queensland Country | Maroons | QRL | Country League Representative Team | 3rd (Previous: 1979, 1980) |
| Central Districts | Falcons | NZRL | Winners of the 1980 New Zealand Rugby League Inter-District Premiership | 1st |

## Venues

| Sydney | Brisbane | Lismore |
| Leichhardt Oval | Lang Park | Oakes Oval |
| Capacity: 23,000 | Capacity: 45,000 | Capacity: 12,000 |

## Round 1

| Date | Winner | Score | Loser | Score | Venue |
| 18/03/81 | Cronulla-Sutherland | 21 | North Sydney | 5 | Leichhardt Oval |
| 25/03/81 | South Sydney | 24 | Parramatta | 17 | Leichhardt Oval |
| 1/04/81 | Canterbury-Bankstown | 20 | Eastern Suburbs | 14 | Leichhardt Oval |
| 8/04/81 | Western Suburbs | 20 | Penrith | 8 | Leichhardt Oval |
| 15/04/81 | St George | 29 | Balmain | 11 | Oakes Oval |
| 22/04/81 | Manly-Warringah | 51 | Central Districts | 11 | Leichhardt Oval |
| 29/04/81 | Newtown | 23 | Combined Brisbane | 19 | Lang Park |
| 20/05/81 | Manly-Warringah | 24 | QLD Country | 2 | Lang Park |

## Round 2

| Date | Winner | Score | Loser | Score | Venue |
| 6/05/81 | St George | 21 | South Sydney | 15 | Leichhardt Oval |
| 13/05/81 | Penrith | 31 | Central Districts | 5 | Leichhardt Oval |
| 27/05/81 | Western Suburbs | 23 | NSW Country | 14 | Leichhardt Oval |
| 27/05/81 | Canterbury-Bankstown | 19 | Parramatta | 18 | Leichhardt Oval |
| 3/06/81 | Balmain | 21 | Eastern Suburbs | 5 | Leichhardt Oval |
| 10/06/81 | Newtown | 33 | QLD Country | 7 | Lang Park |
| 10/06/81 | Cronulla-Sutherland | 25 | Combined Brisbane | 5 | Lang Park |
| 17/06/81 | North Sydney | 13 | NSW Country | 9 | Leichhardt Oval |
| Club | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | For | Against | Diff. | Points |
| Manly-Warringah | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 75 | 13 | 62 | 4 |
| Cronulla-Sutherland | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 10 | 36 | 4 |
| Newtown | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 56 | 26 | 30 | 4 |
| Western Suburbs | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 22 | 21 | 4 |
| St George | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 26 | 24 | 4 |
| Canterbury-Bankstown | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 32 | 7 | 4 |
| Penrith | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 25 | 14 | 2 |
| South Sydney | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 38 | 1 | 2 |
| Balmain | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 34 | -2 | 2 |
| North Sydney | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 30 | -12 | 2 |
| Parramatta | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 35 | 43 | -8 | 0 |
| NSW Country | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 36 | -13 | 0 |
| Eastern Suburbs | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 41 | -22 | 0 |
| Combined Brisbane | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 48 | -24 | 0 |
| QLD Country | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 57 | -48 | 0 |
| Central Districts (NZ) | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 82 | -66 | 0 |

## Quarter finals

| Date | Winner | Score | Loser | Score | Venue |
| 24/06/81 | Newtown | 22 | Canterbury-Bankstown | 7 | Leichhardt Oval |
| 1/07/81 | Cronulla-Sutherland | 23 | Penrith | 19 | Leichhardt Oval |
| 8/07/81 | Manly-Warringah | 16 | Western Suburbs | 13 | Leichhardt Oval |
| 15/07/81 | South Sydney | 23 | St George | 9 | Leichhardt Oval |

## Semi finals

| Date | Winner | Score | Loser | Score | Venue |
| 22/07/81 | Cronulla-Sutherland | 19 | Newtown | 2 | Leichhardt Oval |
| 5/08/81 | South Sydney | 24 | Manly-Warringah | 13 | Leichhardt Oval |

## Final

| Date | Winner | Score | Loser | Score | Venue |
| 12/08/81 | South Sydney | 10 | Cronulla-Sutherland | 2 | Leichhardt Oval |
The 1981 Tooth Cup Final attracted a still standing (as of 2020) Leichhardt Oval attendance record of 23,000.

### Player of the Series

* Steve Rogers (Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks)

### Golden Try

* Mitch Brennan (South Sydney)

## Sources

* http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/