1981 National Soccer League

The National Soccer League 1981 season was the fifth season of the National Soccer League in Australia. The champions were Sydney City SC, winning their third title.

League table

Pos	Club	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts
1	Sydney City	30	19	5	6	59	30	43
2	South Melbourne	30	13	13	4	41	27	39
3	Brisbane City	30	12	11	7	37	25	35
4	A.P.I.A. Leichhardt Tigers	30	12	11	7	39	33	35
5	Canberra City	30	13	7	10	41	32	33
6	Brisbane Lions	30	11	11	8	41	33	33
7	Adelaide City	30	13	6	11	46	42	32
8	Heidelberg United	30	12	7	11	48	40	31
9	Sydney Olympic	30	11	9	10	46	46	31
10	Newcastle KB United	30	11	8	11	41	41	30
11	Wollongong City	30	8	12	10	35	39	28
12	Preston Lions FC	30	9	7	14	39	41	25
13	Footscray JUST	30	9	7	14	32	48	25
14	Marconi Fairfield	30	9	7	14	23	45	25
15	Blacktown City	30	6	9	15	32	47	21
16	West Adelaide	30	5	4	21	26	57	14

Individual awards

• Player of the Year: Bobby Russell (Adelaide City)
• U-21 Player of the Year: David Mitchell (Adelaide City)
• Top Scorer(s): Gary Cole (Heidelberg United – 16 goals)
• Coach of the Year: Eddie Thomson (Sydney City)

References

• OzFootball Archives - 1981 NSL Season