New South Wales Rugby League season 1961
| 1961 New South Wales Rugby Football League | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 10 |
| Premiers |
 St. George (8th title) |
| Minor premiers |
 Western Suburbs (4th title) |
| Matches played | 94 |
| Points scored | 2830 |
| Attendance | 1035273 |
| Top points scorer(s) |
 Bob Landers (164) |
| Top try-scorer(s) |
Johnny King (20) |
The 1961 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the 54th season of the rugby league competition based in Sydney. Ten teams from across the city competed for the J J Giltinan Shield and WD & HO Wills Cup during the season, which culminated in a grand final between St. George and Western Suburbs.
Ten Sydney-based clubs participated in the competition with each team meeting all others twice in eighteen regular premiership rounds to reach a top four who battled out four finals.
In round 1, Sydney's Nine Network made the first live telecast of an Australian rugby league match between the Balmain Tigers and the North Sydney Bears from North Sydney Oval on 15 April 1961. The second half of the match was beamed live with former international Ray Stehr the first commentator. There were only two cameras to capture the action, one positioned on each 25-yard line and cameramen frantically switched lenses depending on where play was located.
The St. George Dragons won their eighth premiership, defeating the Western Suburbs Magpies in the Grand Final. The Magpies again won the NSWRFL Club Championship this season.
Also this season the Jersey Flegg Championship was introduced.
The 1961 season also saw the retirement from the League of future Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame inductee, Keith Holman.
Wests beat St George for the minor premiership on for-and-against and they were both ten points clear of their nearest rivals. If the Dragons run was to be stopped, this was the chance in legendary half Keith Holman's last match.
With misty rain on the day of the decider, Wests were knuckling down for another tight forward struggle as had been the case the major semi final also played in the wet. However, Saints stunned the Magpies as they ignored the conditions and threw the ball around.
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