In 1981 Tooth Cup was the name of the annual mid-week knockout rugby league competition named as such due to sponsorship from brewers, Tooth and Co.. The tournament was played from March to August 1981, culminating in the final between Sydney clubs South Sydney beat Cronulla.
Format
The eighth midweek cup competition format ran like the 1980 Tooth Cup. Each played 2 games with the top 8 teams advancing to the quarter finals.
15 teams that contested the 1980 AMCO Cup remained, with Auckland being replaced by Central Districts (NZ) who were the New Zealand inter-district champions in 1980.
They competing teams were the the 12 Sydney premiership teams (Balmain, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cronulla-Sutherland, Eastern Suburbs, Manly-Warringah, Newtown, North Sydney, Parramatta, Penrith, St George, South Sydney and Western Suburbs), competing teams were the , Combined Brisbane, NSW Country and QLD Country.
Round 1
| Date | Winner | Score | Loser | Score | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18/03/81 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 21 | North Sydney Bears | 5 | Leichhardt Oval |
| 25/03/81 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | Parramatta Eels | 17 | Leichhardt Oval |
| 1/04/81 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 20 | Eastern Suburbs Roosters | 14 | Leichhardt Oval |
| 8/04/81 | Western Suburbs Magpies | 20 | Penrith Panthers | 8 | Leichhardt Oval |
| 15/04/81 | St. George Dragons | 29 | Balmain Tigers | 11 | Oakes Oval |
| 22/04/81 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 51 | Central Districts | 11 | Leichhardt Oval |
| 29/04/81 | Newtown Jets | 23 | Brisbane | 19 | Lang Park |
| 20/05/81 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 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 | Wests | 23 | NSW Country | 14 | Leichhardt Oval |
| 27/05/81 | Canterbury | 19 | Parramatta | 18 | Leichhardt Oval |
| 3/06/81 | Balmain | 21 | Easts | 5 | Leichhardt Oval |
| 10/06/81 | Newtown | 33 | Qld Country | 7 | Lang Park |
| 10/06/81 | Cronulla | 25 | Brisbane | 5 | Lang Park |
| 17/06/81 | North Sydney | 13 | NSW Country | 9 | Leichhardt Oval |
Quarter finals
| Date | Winner | Score | Loser | Score | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24/06/81 | Newtown | 22 | Canterbury | 7 | Leichhardt Oval |
| 1/07/81 | Cronulla | 23 | Penrith | 19 | Leichhardt Oval |
| 8/07/81 | Manly | 16 | Wests | 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 | 19 | Newtown | 2 | Leichhardt Oval |
| 5/08/81 | South Sydney | 24 | Manly | 13 | Leichhardt Oval |
Final
| Date | Winner | Score | Loser | Score | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/08/81 | South Sydney | 10 | Cronulla | 2 | Leichhardt Oval |
The 1981 Tooth Cup Final attracted a still standing (as of 2017) Leichhardt Oval attendance record of 23,000.