| 1981 Final Table | |||||||
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
| Sydney City | 30 | 19 | 5 | 6 | 59 | 30 | 43 |
| South Melbourne | 30 | 13 | 13 | 4 | 41 | 27 | 39 |
| Brisbane City | 30 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 37 | 25 | 35 |
| APIA Leichhardt | 30 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 39 | 33 | 35 |
| Canberra City | 30 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 41 | 32 | 33 |
| Brisbane Lions | 30 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 41 | 33 | 33 |
| Adelaide City | 30 | 13 | 6 | 11 | 46 | 42 | 32 |
| Heidelberg United | 30 | 12 | 7 | 11 | 48 | 40 | 31 |
| Sydney Olympic | 30 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 46 | 46 | 31 |
| Newcastle KB United | 30 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 41 | 41 | 30 |
| Wollongong City | 30 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 35 | 39 | 28 |
| Preston | 30 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 39 | 41 | 25 |
| Footscray | 30 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 32 | 48 | 25 |
| Marconi-Fairfield | 30 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 23 | 45 | 25 |
| Blacktown | 30 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 32 | 47 | 21 |
| West Adelaide | 30 | 5 | 4 | 21 | 26 | 57 | 14 |
Statistics partly provided by Andrew Howe and the OzSoccer website
Soccer Action Magazine Table
1981 National Soccer League results
| Round 1 | Newcastle KB Utd | Footscray JUST | 3 | 0 |
| Round 2 | Brisbane Lions | Newcastle KB Utd | 0 | 1 |
| Round 3 | Newcastle KB Utd | Blacktown City | 1 | 1 |
| Round 4 | West Adelaide | Newcastle KB Utd | 0 | 1 |
| Round 5 | APIA Leichhardt | Newcastle KB Utd | 2 | 1 |
| Round 6 | Newcastle KB Utd | Wollongong City | 1 | 1 |
| Round 7 | South Melbourne | Newcastle KB Utd | 2 | 0 |
| Round 8 | Newcastle KB Utd | Preston | 4 | 0 |
| Round 9 | Adelaide City | Newcastle KB Utd | 4 | 1 |
| Round 10 | Newcastle KB Utd | Brisbane City | 0 | 2 |
| Round 11 | Sydney City | Newcastle KB Utd | 4 | 1 |
| Round 12 | Newcastle KB Utd | Canberra City | 0 | 1 |
| Round 13 | Marconi Fairfield | Newcastle KB Utd | 1 | 2 |
| Round 14 | Newcastle KB Utd | Sydney Olympic | 1 | 2 |
| Round 15 | Heidelberg | Newcastle KB Utd | 1 | 2 |
| Round 16 | Newcastle KB Utd | Brisbane Lions | 1 | 1 |
| Round 17 | Blacktown City | Newcastle KB Utd | 1 | 2 |
| Round 18 | Newcastle KB Utd | West Adelaide | 4 | 2 |
| Round 19 | Newcastle KB Utd | APIA Leichhardt | 4 | 1 |
| Round 20 | Wollongong City | Newcastle KB Utd | 0 | 0 |
| Round 21 | Newcastle KB Utd | South Melbourne | 0 | 0 |
| Round 22 | Preston | Newcastle KB Utd | 3 | 1 |
| Round 23 | Newcastle KB Utd | Adelaide City | 2 | 2 |
| Round 24 | Brisbane City | Newcastle KB Utd | 1 | 1 |
| Round 25 | Newcastle KB Utd | Sydney City | 1 | 2 |
| Round 26 | Canberra City | Newcastle KB Utd | 4 | 1 |
| Round 27 | Newcastle KB Utd | Marconi Fairfield | 2 | 0 |
| Round 28 | Sydney Olympic | Newcastle KB Utd | 1 | 1 |
| Round 29 | Newcastle KB Utd | Heidelberg | 1 | 2 |
| Round 30 | Footscray JUST | Newcastle KB Utd | 0 | 1 |
1981 National Soccer League Cup
| Preliminary Round | Canberra City | 2 | Newcastle | 1 |
Newcastle KB United 