1981 VFL Season

These are the results for the 1981 season of the Victorian Football League (currently known as the Australian Football League).

It featured twenty-two rounds in a double round-robin format. Carlton were the minor premiers.

The season ended with a finals series following the McIntyre Final Five system. Carlton were the premiers, with Mike Fitzpatrick as the premiership captain and David Parkin as the premiership coach.

Season Details

Name: 1981 VFL Season
Teams: 12
Rounds: 22
Finals System: McIntyre Final Five System
Matches: 138

Team Details

Team Home Ground Coach (Appointed) Coach (Caretaker)
Carlton Princes Park David Parkin
Collingwood Victoria Park Tom Hafey
Essendon Windy Hill Kevin Sheedy
Fitzroy Junction Oval Robert Walls
Footscray Western Oval Royce Hart Frank Goode
Geelong Kardinia Park Bill Goggin
Hawthorn Princes Park Allan Jeans
Melbourne MCG Ron Barassi
North Melbourne Arden Street Oval Malcolm Blight Barry Cable
Richmond MCG Tony Jewell
South Melbourne Lakeside Oval Ian Stewart
St Kilda Moorabbin Oval Alex Jesaulenko

Season Results

Premiers: Carlton
Runners-Up: Collingwood
Minor Premiers: Carlton

Team Results

Minor Premiership Results

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA GF BF GA BA
Carlton 1st 17 -0- 5 68 130.3% 2,303 1,768 327 341 253 250
Collingwood 2nd 17 -0- 5 68 122.6% 2,399 1,957 349 305 275 307
Geelong 3rd 16 -0- 6 64 129.8% 2,224 1,714 315 334 241 268
Essendon 4th 16 -0- 6 64 127.6% 2,323 1,821 324 379 264 237
Fitzroy 5th 14 -0- 8 56 112.1% 2,413 2,152 346 337 300 352
Hawthorn 6th 13 -0- 9 52 109.4% 2,313 2,114 329 339 299 320
Richmond 7th 13 -0- 9 52 105.3% 2,323 2,207 333 325 317 305
North Melbourne 8th 10 -0- 12 40 104.1% 2,386 2,293 337 364 327 331
South Melbourne 9th 8 -0- 14 32 85.8% 2,165 2,522 307 323 370 302
St Kilda 10th 5 -0- 17 20 85.2% 1,930 2,266 270 310 319 352
Footscray 11th 2 -0- 20 8 65.8% 1,764 2,680 253 246 387 358
Melbourne 12th 1 -0- 21 4 63.5% 1,824 2,873 268 216 406 437

Overall Premiership Results

Team Position (Outcome)
Carlton 1st Premiers
Collingwood 2nd Runners-Up
Geelong 3rd Defeated by Collingwood (Preliminary Final)
Fitzroy 4th Defeated by Collingwood (Semi Final)
Essendon 5th Defeated by Fitzroy (Elimination Final)
Hawthorn 6th Did not qualify for finals
Richmond 7th Did not qualify for finals
North Melbourne 8th Did not qualify for finals
South Melbourne 9th Did not qualify for finals
St Kilda 10th Did not qualify for finals
Footscray 11th Did not qualify for finals
Melbourne 12th Did not qualify for finals

Season Fixture

Round 1

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 28/03/1981 2:10 PM Carlton v Richmond VFL Park 144 - 82 56,372
SAT 28/03/1981 2:10 PM Fitzroy v Collingwood Junction Oval 133 - 159 27,202
SAT 28/03/1981 2:10 PM Footscray v St Kilda Western Oval 108 - 157 19,101
SAT 28/03/1981 2:10 PM Geelong v Essendon Kardinia Park 77 - 71 37,256
SAT 28/03/1981 2:10 PM Melbourne v Hawthorn MCG 112 - 153 32,202
SAT 28/03/1981 2:10 PM North Melbourne v South Melbourne Arden Street Oval 145 - 97 19,437

Round 1 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Carlton 1st 1 -0- 0 4 175.6% 144 82
North Melbourne 2nd 1 -0- 0 4 149.5% 145 97
St Kilda 3rd 1 -0- 0 4 145.4% 157 108
Hawthorn 4th 1 -0- 0 4 136.6% 153 112
Collingwood 5th 1 -0- 0 4 119.5% 159 133
Geelong 6th 1 -0- 0 4 108.5% 77 71
Essendon 7th 0 -0- 1 0 92.2% 71 77
Fitzroy 8th 0 -0- 1 0 83.6% 133 159
Melbourne 9th 0 -0- 1 0 73.2% 112 153
Footscray 10th 0 -0- 1 0 68.8% 108 157
South Melbourne 11th 0 -0- 1 0 66.9% 97 145
Richmond 12th 0 -0- 1 0 56.9% 82 144

Round 2

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 04/04/1981 2:10 PM Collingwood v Footscray Victoria Park 178 - 84 26,515
SAT 04/04/1981 2:10 PM Essendon v North Melbourne Windy Hill 111 - 99 26,754
SAT 04/04/1981 2:10 PM Fitzroy v Melbourne VFL Park 155 - 110 20,107
SAT 04/04/1981 2:10 PM Hawthorn v Carlton Princes Park 107 - 123 30,159
SAT 04/04/1981 2:10 PM South Melbourne v Richmond Lakeside Oval 110 - 145 17,937
SAT 04/04/1981 2:10 PM St Kilda v Geelong Moorabbin Oval 107 - 109 24,499

Round 2 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Collingwood 1st 2 -0- 0 8 155.3% 337 217
Carlton 2nd 2 -0- 0 8 141.3% 267 189
Geelong 3rd 2 -0- 0 8 104.5% 186 178
St Kilda 4th 1 -0- 1 4 121.7% 264 217
North Melbourne 5th 1 -0- 1 4 117.3% 244 208
Hawthorn 6th 1 -0- 1 4 110.6% 260 235
Fitzroy 7th 1 -0- 1 4 107.1% 288 269
Essendon 8th 1 -0- 1 4 103.4% 182 176
Richmond 9th 1 -0- 1 4 89.4% 227 254
Melbourne 10th 0 -0- 2 0 72.1% 222 308
South Melbourne 11th 0 -0- 2 0 71.4% 207 290
Footscray 12th 0 -0- 2 0 57.3% 192 335

Round 3

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 11/04/1981 2:10 PM Carlton v Fitzroy Princes Park 108 - 92 24,780
SAT 11/04/1981 2:10 PM Footscray v Melbourne Western Oval 119 - 120 13,256
SAT 11/04/1981 2:10 PM North Melbourne v Geelong Arden Street Oval 116 - 89 17,753
SAT 11/04/1981 2:10 PM Richmond v Essendon MCG 118 - 114 61,908
SAT 11/04/1981 2:10 PM South Melbourne v Hawthorn VFL Park 139 - 117 21,977
SAT 11/04/1981 2:10 PM St Kilda v Collingwood Moorabbin Oval 135 - 157 33,882

Round 3 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Collingwood 1st 3 -0- 0 12 140.3% 494 352
Carlton 2nd 3 -0- 0 12 133.5% 375 281
North Melbourne 3rd 2 -0- 1 8 121.2% 360 297
Richmond 4th 2 -0- 1 8 93.8% 345 368
Geelong 5th 2 -0- 1 8 93.5% 275 294
St Kilda 6th 1 -0- 2 4 106.7% 399 374
Fitzroy 7th 1 -0- 2 4 100.8% 380 377
Hawthorn 8th 1 -0- 2 4 100.8% 377 374
Essendon 9th 1 -0- 2 4 100.7% 296 294
South Melbourne 10th 1 -0- 2 4 85.0% 346 407
Melbourne 11th 1 -0- 2 4 80.1% 342 427
Footscray 12th 0 -0- 3 0 68.4% 311 455

Round 4

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 18/04/1981 2:10 PM Fitzroy v South Melbourne Junction Oval 169 - 100 15,935
SAT 18/04/1981 2:10 PM Melbourne v St Kilda MCG 76 - 128 36,488
SAT 18/04/1981 2:10 PM North Melbourne v Richmond VFL Park 95 - 124 48,528
MON 20/04/1981 2:10 PM Essendon v Hawthorn Windy Hill 79 - 94 29,597
MON 20/04/1981 2:10 PM Footscray v Carlton VFL Park 76 - 104 27,229
MON 20/04/1981 2:10 PM Geelong v Collingwood Kardinia Park 68 - 76 41,395

Round 4 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Collingwood 1st 4 -0- 0 16 135.7% 570 420
Carlton 2nd 4 -0- 0 16 134.2% 479 357
Richmond 3rd 3 -0- 1 12 101.3% 469 463
St Kilda 4th 2 -0- 2 8 117.1% 527 450
Fitzroy 5th 2 -0- 2 8 115.1% 549 477
North Melbourne 6th 2 -0- 2 8 108.1% 455 421
Hawthorn 7th 2 -0- 2 8 104.0% 471 453
Geelong 8th 2 -0- 2 8 92.7% 343 370
Essendon 9th 1 -0- 3 4 96.6% 375 388
South Melbourne 10th 1 -0- 3 4 77.4% 446 576
Melbourne 11th 1 -0- 3 4 75.3% 418 555
Footscray 12th 0 -0- 4 0 69.2% 387 559

Round 5

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 25/04/1981 2:10 PM Collingwood v Melbourne Victoria Park 146 - 83 30,096
SAT 25/04/1981 2:10 PM Essendon v Fitzroy VFL Park 104 - 125 33,465
SAT 25/04/1981 2:10 PM Hawthorn v North Melbourne Princes Park 118 - 83 16,116
SAT 25/04/1981 2:10 PM Richmond v Geelong MCG 112 - 84 46,230
SAT 25/04/1981 2:10 PM South Melbourne v Footscray Lakeside Oval 130 - 68 12,545
SAT 25/04/1981 2:10 PM St Kilda v Carlton Moorabbin Oval 73 - 137 32,341

Round 5 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Carlton 1st 5 -0- 0 20 143.3% 616 430
Collingwood 2nd 5 -0- 0 20 142.3% 716 503
Richmond 3rd 4 -0- 1 16 106.2% 581 547
Fitzroy 4th 3 -0- 2 12 116.0% 674 581
Hawthorn 5th 3 -0- 2 12 109.9% 589 536
St Kilda 6th 2 -0- 3 8 102.2% 600 587
North Melbourne 7th 2 -0- 3 8 99.8% 538 539
South Melbourne 8th 2 -0- 3 8 89.4% 576 644
Geelong 9th 2 -0- 3 8 88.6% 427 482
Essendon 10th 1 -0- 4 4 93.4% 479 513
Melbourne 11th 1 -0- 4 4 71.5% 501 701
Footscray 12th 0 -0- 5 0 66.0% 455 689

Round 6

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 02/05/1981 2:10 PM Carlton v Collingwood Princes Park 87 - 144 36,343
SAT 02/05/1981 2:10 PM Footscray v Essendon Western Oval 91 - 83 19,624
SAT 02/05/1981 2:10 PM North Melbourne v Fitzroy Arden Street Oval 179 - 126 16,219
SAT 02/05/1981 2:10 PM Richmond v Hawthorn MCG 79 - 154 45,750
SAT 02/05/1981 2:10 PM St Kilda v South Melbourne VFL Park 93 - 103 27,250
SUN 03/05/1981 2:10 PM Geelong v Melbourne SCG 153 - 104 11,077

Round 6 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Collingwood 1st 6 -0- 0 24 145.8% 860 590
Carlton 2nd 5 -0- 1 20 122.5% 703 574
Hawthorn 3rd 4 -0- 2 16 120.8% 743 615
Richmond 4th 4 -0- 2 16 94.2% 660 701
North Melbourne 5th 3 -0- 3 12 107.8% 717 665
Fitzroy 6th 3 -0- 3 12 105.3% 800 760
Geelong 7th 3 -0- 3 12 99.0% 580 586
South Melbourne 8th 3 -0- 3 12 92.1% 679 737
St Kilda 9th 2 -0- 4 8 100.4% 693 690
Essendon 10th 1 -0- 5 4 93.0% 562 604
Melbourne 11th 1 -0- 5 4 70.8% 605 854
Footscray 12th 1 -0- 5 4 70.7% 546 772

Round 7

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 09/05/1981 2:10 PM Collingwood v South Melbourne Victoria Park 123 - 58 20,553
SAT 09/05/1981 2:10 PM Essendon v St Kilda Windy Hill 101 - 76 16,828
SAT 09/05/1981 2:10 PM Fitzroy v Richmond Junction Oval 92 - 88 12,977
SAT 09/05/1981 2:10 PM Hawthorn v Geelong Princes Park 56 - 59 13,273
SAT 09/05/1981 2:10 PM Melbourne v Carlton MCG 56 - 96 22,020
SAT 09/05/1981 2:10 PM North Melbourne v Footscray VFL Park 118 - 54 10,989

Round 7 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Collingwood 1st 7 -0- 0 28 151.7% 983 648
Carlton 2nd 6 -0- 1 24 126.8% 799 630
Hawthorn 3rd 4 -0- 3 16 118.5% 799 674
North Melbourne 4th 4 -0- 3 16 116.1% 835 719
Fitzroy 5th 4 -0- 3 16 105.2% 892 848
Geelong 6th 4 -0- 3 16 99.5% 639 642
Richmond 7th 4 -0- 3 16 94.3% 748 793
South Melbourne 8th 3 -0- 4 12 85.7% 737 860
Essendon 9th 2 -0- 5 8 97.5% 663 680
St Kilda 10th 2 -0- 5 8 97.2% 769 791
Melbourne 11th 1 -0- 6 4 69.6% 661 950
Footscray 12th 1 -0- 6 4 67.4% 600 890

Round 8

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 16/05/1981 2:10 PM Collingwood v Essendon VFL Park 87 - 144 79,326
SAT 16/05/1981 2:10 PM Geelong v Carlton Kardinia Park 80 - 85 28,395
SAT 16/05/1981 2:10 PM Hawthorn v Fitzroy Princes Park 144 - 115 17,459
SAT 16/05/1981 2:10 PM Richmond v Footscray MCG 167 - 117 21,721
SAT 16/05/1981 2:10 PM South Melbourne v Melbourne Lakeside Oval 127 - 83 12,307
SAT 16/05/1981 2:10 PM St Kilda v North Melbourne Moorabbin Oval 64 - 168 16,860

Round 8 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Collingwood 1st 7 -0- 1 28 135.1% 1,070 792
Carlton 2nd 7 -0- 1 28 124.5% 884 710
North Melbourne 3rd 5 -0- 3 20 128.1% 1,003 783
Hawthorn 4th 5 -0- 3 20 119.5% 943 789
Richmond 5th 5 -0- 3 20 100.5% 915 910
Fitzroy 6th 4 -0- 4 16 101.5% 1,007 992
Geelong 7th 4 -0- 4 16 98.9% 719 727
South Melbourne 8th 4 -0- 4 16 91.6% 864 943
Essendon 9th 3 -0- 5 12 105.2% 807 767
St Kilda 10th 2 -0- 6 8 86.9% 833 959
Melbourne 11th 1 -0- 7 4 69.1% 744 1,077
Footscray 12th 1 -0- 7 4 67.8% 717 1,057

Round 9

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 23/05/1981 2:10 PM Carlton v South Melbourne Princes Park 172 - 73 22,442
SAT 23/05/1981 2:10 PM Fitzroy v Geelong Junction Oval 93 - 114 15,604
SAT 23/05/1981 2:10 PM Footscray v Hawthorn Western Oval 74 - 84 13,789
SAT 23/05/1981 2:10 PM Melbourne v Essendon MCG 70 - 104 31,769
SAT 23/05/1981 2:10 PM North Melbourne v Collingwood Arden Street Oval 98 - 111 26,255
SAT 23/05/1981 2:10 PM Richmond v St Kilda VFL Park 136 - 105 40,240

Round 9 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Carlton 1st 8 -0- 1 32 134.9% 1,056 783
Collingwood 2nd 8 -0- 1 32 132.7% 1,181 890
Hawthorn 3rd 6 -0- 3 24 119.0% 1,027 863
Richmond 4th 6 -0- 3 24 103.5% 1,051 1,015
North Melbourne 5th 5 -0- 4 20 123.2% 1,101 894
Geelong 6th 5 -0- 4 20 101.6% 833 820
Essendon 7th 4 -0- 5 16 108.8% 911 837
Fitzroy 8th 4 -0- 5 16 99.5% 1,100 1,106
South Melbourne 9th 4 -0- 5 16 84.0% 937 1,115
St Kilda 10th 2 -0- 7 8 85.7% 938 1,095
Footscray 11th 1 -0- 8 4 69.3% 791 1,141
Melbourne 12th 1 -0- 8 4 68.9% 814 1,181

Round 10

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 30/05/1981 2:10 PM Collingwood v Richmond Victoria Park 112 - 57 37,177
SAT 30/05/1981 2:10 PM Essendon v Carlton Windy Hill 79 - 44 30,770
SAT 30/05/1981 2:10 PM Fitzroy v Footscray Junction Oval 147 - 70 11,630
SAT 30/05/1981 2:10 PM Geelong v South Melbourne Kardinia Park 92 - 70 19,760
SAT 30/05/1981 2:10 PM Hawthorn v St Kilda Princes Park 95 - 80 14,961
SAT 30/05/1981 2:10 PM Melbourne v North Melbourne VFL Park 43 - 172 17,015

Round 10 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Collingwood 1st 9 -0- 1 36 136.5% 1,293 947
Carlton 2nd 8 -0- 2 32 127.6% 1,100 862
Hawthorn 3rd 7 -0- 3 28 119.0% 1,122 943
North Melbourne 4th 6 -0- 4 24 135.9% 1,273 937
Geelong 5th 6 -0- 4 24 103.9% 925 890
Richmond 6th 6 -0- 4 24 98.3% 1,108 1,127
Essendon 7th 5 -0- 5 20 112.4% 990 881
Fitzroy 8th 5 -0- 5 20 106.0% 1,247 1,176
South Melbourne 9th 4 -0- 6 16 83.4% 1,007 1,207
St Kilda 10th 2 -0- 8 8 85.5% 1,018 1,190
Footscray 11th 1 -0- 9 4 66.8% 861 1,288
Melbourne 12th 1 -0- 9 4 63.3% 857 1,353

Round 11

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 06/06/1981 2:10 PM Carlton v North Melbourne Princes Park 115 - 84 31,806
SAT 06/06/1981 2:10 PM Richmond v Melbourne MCG 136 - 94 31,025
SAT 06/06/1981 2:10 PM St Kilda v Fitzroy Moorabbin Oval 99 - 59 21,672
MON 08/06/1981 2:10 PM Footscray v Geelong Western Oval 82 - 117 24,974
MON 08/06/1981 2:10 PM Hawthorn v Collingwood VFL Park 127 - 81 92,935
MON 08/06/1981 2:10 PM South Melbourne v Essendon Lakeside Oval 80 - 108 28,558

Round 11 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Carlton 1st 9 -0- 2 36 128.4% 1,215 946
Collingwood 2nd 9 -0- 2 36 127.9% 1,374 1,074
Hawthorn 3rd 8 -0- 3 32 122.0% 1,249 1,024
Geelong 4th 7 -0- 4 28 107.2% 1,042 972
Richmond 5th 7 -0- 4 28 101.9% 1,244 1,221
North Melbourne 6th 6 -0- 5 24 129.0% 1,357 1,052
Essendon 7th 6 -0- 5 24 114.3% 1,098 961
Fitzroy 8th 5 -0- 6 20 102.4% 1,306 1,275
South Melbourne 9th 4 -0- 7 16 82.7% 1,087 1,315
St Kilda 10th 3 -0- 8 12 89.4% 1,117 1,249
Footscray 11th 1 -0- 10 4 67.1% 943 1,405
Melbourne 12th 1 -0- 10 4 63.9% 951 1,489

Round 12

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 13/06/1981 2:10 PM Carlton v Hawthorn Princes Park 139 - 100 26,990
SAT 13/06/1981 2:10 PM Footscray v Collingwood Western Oval 93 - 98 20,903
SAT 13/06/1981 2:10 PM Geelong v St Kilda Kardinia Park 135 - 35 23,037
SAT 13/06/1981 2:10 PM Melbourne v Fitzroy MCG 90 - 134 17,691
SAT 13/06/1981 2:10 PM North Melbourne v Essendon Arden Street Oval 90 - 137 22,526
SAT 13/06/1981 2:10 PM Richmond v South Melbourne VFL Park 126 - 111 24,588

Round 12 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Carlton 1st 10 -0- 2 40 129.4% 1,354 1,046
Collingwood 2nd 10 -0- 2 40 126.1% 1,472 1,167
Geelong 3rd 8 -0- 4 32 116.9% 1,177 1,007
Hawthorn 4th 8 -0- 4 32 116.0% 1,349 1,163
Richmond 5th 8 -0- 4 32 102.9% 1,370 1,332
Essendon 6th 7 -0- 5 28 117.5% 1,235 1,051
North Melbourne 7th 6 -0- 6 24 121.7% 1,447 1,189
Fitzroy 8th 6 -0- 6 24 105.5% 1,440 1,365
South Melbourne 9th 4 -0- 8 16 83.1% 1,198 1,441
St Kilda 10th 3 -0- 9 12 83.2% 1,152 1,384
Footscray 11th 1 -0- 11 4 68.9% 1,036 1,503
Melbourne 12th 1 -0- 11 4 64.1% 1,041 1,623

Round 13

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 20/06/1981 2:10 PM Collingwood v St Kilda Victoria Park 128 - 71 23,669
SAT 20/06/1981 2:10 PM Essendon v Richmond Windy Hill 94 - 90 30,765
SAT 20/06/1981 2:10 PM Fitzroy v Carlton Junction Oval 131 - 106 18,508
SAT 20/06/1981 2:10 PM Geelong v North Melbourne Kardinia Park 170 - 56 27,395
SAT 20/06/1981 2:10 PM Hawthorn v South Melbourne Princes Park 138 - 106 11,656
SAT 20/06/1981 2:10 PM Melbourne v Footscray VFL Park 94 - 125 15,599

Round 13 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Collingwood 1st 11 -0- 2 44 129.2% 1,600 1,238
Carlton 2nd 10 -0- 3 40 124.0% 1,460 1,177
Geelong 3rd 9 -0- 4 36 126.7% 1,347 1,063
Hawthorn 4th 9 -0- 4 36 117.2% 1,487 1,269
Essendon 5th 8 -0- 5 32 116.5% 1,329 1,141
Richmond 6th 8 -0- 5 32 102.4% 1,460 1,426
Fitzroy 7th 7 -0- 6 28 106.8% 1,571 1,471
North Melbourne 8th 6 -0- 7 24 110.6% 1,503 1,359
South Melbourne 9th 4 -0- 9 16 82.6% 1,304 1,579
St Kilda 10th 3 -0- 10 12 80.9% 1,223 1,512
Footscray 11th 2 -0- 11 8 72.7% 1,161 1,597
Melbourne 12th 1 -0- 12 4 64.9% 1,135 1,748

Round 14

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 27/06/1981 2:10 PM Carlton v Footscray Princes Park 115 - 34 17,464
SAT 27/06/1981 2:10 PM Collingwood v Geelong VFL Park 86 - 68 50,441
SAT 27/06/1981 2:10 PM Richmond v North Melbourne MCG 149 - 106 31,212
SAT 27/06/1981 2:10 PM South Melbourne v Fitzroy Lakeside Oval 70 - 93 11,756
SAT 27/06/1981 2:10 PM St Kilda v Melbourne Moorabbin Oval 127 - 55 14,058
SUN 28/06/1981 2:10 PM Hawthorn v Essendon Gabba 133 - 151 20,351

Round 14 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Collingwood 1st 12 -0- 2 48 129.1% 1,686 1,306
Carlton 2nd 11 -0- 3 44 130.1% 1,575 1,211
Geelong 3rd 9 -0- 5 36 123.2% 1,415 1,149
Essendon 4th 9 -0- 5 36 116.2% 1,480 1,274
Hawthorn 5th 9 -0- 5 36 114.1% 1,620 1,420
Richmond 6th 9 -0- 5 36 105.0% 1,609 1,532
Fitzroy 7th 8 -0- 6 32 108.0% 1,664 1,541
North Melbourne 8th 6 -0- 8 24 106.7% 1,609 1,508
St Kilda 9th 4 -0- 10 16 86.2% 1,350 1,567
South Melbourne 10th 4 -0- 10 16 82.2% 1,374 1,672
Footscray 11th 2 -0- 12 8 69.8% 1,195 1,712
Melbourne 12th 1 -0- 13 4 63.5% 1,190 1,875

Round 15

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 04/07/1981 2:10 PM Carlton v St Kilda VFL Park 50 - 35 21,579
SAT 04/07/1981 2:10 PM Fitzroy v Essendon Junction Oval 61 - 80 18,374
SAT 04/07/1981 2:10 PM North Melbourne v Hawthorn Arden Street Oval 55 - 115 8,160
SAT 11/07/1981 2:10 PM Footscray v South Melbourne Western Oval 51 - 114 10,478
SAT 11/07/1981 2:10 PM Geelong v Richmond Kardinia Park 82 - 52 26,634
SAT 11/07/1981 2:10 PM Melbourne v Collingwood MCG 66 - 88 30,803

Round 15 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Collingwood 1st 13 -0- 2 52 129.3% 1,774 1,372
Carlton 2nd 12 -0- 3 48 130.4% 1,625 1,246
Geelong 3rd 10 -0- 5 40 124.6% 1,497 1,201
Hawthorn 4th 10 -0- 5 40 117.6% 1,735 1,475
Essendon 5th 10 -0- 5 40 116.9% 1,560 1,335
Richmond 6th 9 -0- 6 36 102.9% 1,661 1,614
Fitzroy 7th 8 -0- 7 32 106.4% 1,725 1,621
North Melbourne 8th 6 -0- 9 24 102.5% 1,664 1,623
South Melbourne 9th 5 -0- 10 20 86.4% 1,488 1,723
St Kilda 10th 4 -0- 11 16 85.7% 1,385 1,617
Footscray 11th 2 -0- 13 8 68.2% 1,246 1,826
Melbourne 12th 1 -0- 14 4 64.0% 1,256 1,963

Round 16

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 18/07/1981 2:10 PM Collingwood v Carlton Victoria Park 77 - 76 30,708
SAT 18/07/1981 2:10 PM Essendon v Footscray Windy Hill 153 - 60 21,088
SAT 18/07/1981 2:10 PM Fitzroy v North Melbourne VFL Park 121 - 87 17,713
SAT 18/07/1981 2:10 PM Hawthorn v Richmond Princes Park 86 - 131 19,617
SAT 18/07/1981 2:10 PM Melbourne v Geelong MCG 79 - 167 21,947
SAT 18/07/1981 2:10 PM South Melbourne v St Kilda Lakeside Oval 151 - 100 13,297

Round 16 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Collingwood 1st 14 -0- 2 56 127.8% 1,851 1,448
Carlton 2nd 12 -0- 4 48 128.6% 1,701 1,323
Geelong 3rd 11 -0- 5 44 130.0% 1,664 1,280
Essendon 4th 11 -0- 5 44 122.8% 1,713 1,395
Hawthorn 5th 10 -0- 6 40 113.4% 1,821 1,606
Richmond 6th 10 -0- 6 40 105.4% 1,792 1,700
Fitzroy 7th 9 -0- 7 36 108.1% 1,846 1,708
North Melbourne 8th 6 -0- 10 24 100.4% 1,751 1,744
South Melbourne 9th 6 -0- 10 24 89.9% 1,639 1,823
St Kilda 10th 4 -0- 12 16 84.0% 1,485 1,768
Footscray 11th 2 -0- 14 8 66.0% 1,306 1,979
Melbourne 12th 1 -0- 15 4 62.7% 1,335 2,130

Round 17

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 25/07/1981 2:10 PM Carlton v Melbourne Princes Park 153 - 100 15,196
SAT 25/07/1981 2:10 PM Footscray v North Melbourne Western Oval 116 - 125 14,755
SAT 25/07/1981 2:10 PM Geelong v Hawthorn Kardinia Park 71 - 57 24,753
SAT 25/07/1981 2:10 PM Richmond v Fitzroy MCG 115 - 116 37,589
SAT 25/07/1981 2:10 PM St Kilda v Essendon Moorabbin Oval 76 - 93 23,126
SUN 26/07/1981 2:10 PM South Melbourne v Collingwood SCG 121 - 103 22,238

Round 17 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Collingwood 1st 14 -0- 3 56 124.5% 1,954 1,569
Carlton 2nd 13 -0- 4 52 130.3% 1,854 1,423
Geelong 3rd 12 -0- 5 48 129.8% 1,735 1,337
Essendon 4th 12 -0- 5 48 122.8% 1,806 1,471
Hawthorn 5th 10 -0- 7 40 112.0% 1,878 1,677
Fitzroy 6th 10 -0- 7 40 107.6% 1,962 1,823
Richmond 7th 10 -0- 7 40 105.0% 1,907 1,816
North Melbourne 8th 7 -0- 10 28 100.9% 1,876 1,860
South Melbourne 9th 7 -0- 10 28 91.4% 1,760 1,926
St Kilda 10th 4 -0- 13 16 83.9% 1,561 1,861
Footscray 11th 2 -0- 15 8 67.6% 1,422 2,104
Melbourne 12th 1 -0- 16 4 62.9% 1,435 2,283

Round 18

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 01/08/1981 2:10 PM Carlton v Geelong Princes Park 115 - 82 30,512
SAT 01/08/1981 2:10 PM Fitzroy v Hawthorn Junction Oval 73 - 61 16,013
SAT 01/08/1981 2:10 PM Footscray v Richmond VFL Park 69 - 103 19,725
SAT 01/08/1981 2:10 PM Melbourne v South Melbourne MCG 86 - 115 13,886
SAT 01/08/1981 2:10 PM North Melbourne v St Kilda Arden Street Oval 117 - 85 11,517
SUN 02/08/1981 2:10 PM Essendon v Collingwood MCG 88 - 69 64,149

Round 18 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Carlton 1st 14 -0- 4 56 130.8% 1,969 1,505
Collingwood 2nd 14 -0- 4 56 122.1% 2,023 1,657
Essendon 3rd 13 -0- 5 52 123.0% 1,894 1,540
Geelong 4th 12 -0- 6 48 125.1% 1,817 1,452
Fitzroy 5th 11 -0- 7 44 108.0% 2,035 1,884
Richmond 6th 11 -0- 7 44 106.6% 2,010 1,885
Hawthorn 7th 10 -0- 8 40 110.8% 1,939 1,750
North Melbourne 8th 8 -0- 10 32 102.5% 1,993 1,945
South Melbourne 9th 8 -0- 10 32 93.2% 1,875 2,012
St Kilda 10th 4 -0- 14 16 83.2% 1,646 1,978
Footscray 11th 2 -0- 16 8 67.6% 1,491 2,207
Melbourne 12th 1 -0- 17 4 63.4% 1,521 2,398

Round 19

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 08/08/1981 2:10 PM Collingwood v North Melbourne Victoria Park 103 - 79 21,237
SAT 08/08/1981 2:10 PM Essendon v Melbourne Windy Hill 104 - 60 15,365
SAT 08/08/1981 2:10 PM Geelong v Fitzroy VFL Park 85 - 70 25,565
SAT 08/08/1981 2:10 PM Hawthorn v Footscray Princes Park 111 - 90 8,058
SAT 08/08/1981 2:10 PM St Kilda v Richmond Moorabbin Oval 65 - 71 15,943
SUN 09/08/1981 2:10 PM South Melbourne v Carlton MCG 62 - 85 24,388

Round 19 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Carlton 1st 15 -0- 4 60 131.1% 2,054 1,567
Collingwood 2nd 15 -0- 4 60 122.5% 2,126 1,736
Essendon 3rd 14 -0- 5 56 124.9% 1,998 1,600
Geelong 4th 13 -0- 6 52 125.0% 1,902 1,522
Richmond 5th 12 -0- 7 48 106.7% 2,081 1,950
Hawthorn 6th 11 -0- 8 44 111.4% 2,050 1,840
Fitzroy 7th 11 -0- 8 44 106.9% 2,105 1,969
North Melbourne 8th 8 -0- 11 32 101.2% 2,072 2,048
South Melbourne 9th 8 -0- 11 32 92.4% 1,937 2,097
St Kilda 10th 4 -0- 15 16 83.5% 1,711 2,049
Footscray 11th 2 -0- 17 8 68.2% 1,581 2,318
Melbourne 12th 1 -0- 18 4 63.2% 1,581 2,502

Round 20

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 15/08/1981 2:10 PM Carlton v Essendon Princes Park 98 - 99 36,681
SAT 15/08/1981 2:10 PM Footscray v Fitzroy Western Oval 86 - 147 11,770
SAT 15/08/1981 2:10 PM North Melbourne v Melbourne Arden Street Oval 145 - 87 7,749
SAT 15/08/1981 2:10 PM Richmond v Collingwood MCG 86 - 91 69,217
SAT 15/08/1981 2:10 PM South Melbourne v Geelong Lakeside Oval 86 - 139 11,849
SAT 15/08/1981 2:10 PM St Kilda v Hawthorn VFL Park 68 - 77 20,863

Round 20 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Collingwood 1st 16 -0- 4 64 121.7% 2,217 1,822
Carlton 2nd 15 -0- 5 60 129.2% 2,152 1,666
Essendon 3rd 15 -0- 5 60 123.5% 2,097 1,698
Geelong 4th 14 -0- 6 56 126.9% 2,041 1,608
Hawthorn 5th 12 -0- 8 48 111.5% 2,127 1,908
Fitzroy 6th 12 -0- 8 48 109.6% 2,252 2,055
Richmond 7th 12 -0- 8 48 106.2% 2,167 2,041
North Melbourne 8th 9 -0- 11 36 103.8% 2,217 2,135
South Melbourne 9th 8 -0- 12 32 90.5% 2,023 2,236
St Kilda 10th 4 -0- 16 16 83.7% 1,779 2,126
Footscray 11th 2 -0- 18 8 67.6% 1,667 2,465
Melbourne 12th 1 -0- 19 4 63.0% 1,668 2,647

Round 21

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 22/08/1981 2:10 PM Collingwood v Hawthorn Victoria Park 149 - 76 26,680
SAT 22/08/1981 2:10 PM Essendon v South Melbourne Windy Hill 179 - 68 18,787
SAT 22/08/1981 2:10 PM Fitzroy v St Kilda Junction Oval 102 - 64 12,130
SAT 22/08/1981 2:10 PM Geelong v Footscray Kardinia Park 128 - 59 17,573
SAT 22/08/1981 2:10 PM Melbourne v Richmond MCG 99 - 116 19,567
SAT 22/08/1981 2:10 PM North Melbourne v Carlton VFL Park 62 - 84 25,544

Round 21 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Collingwood 1st 17 -0- 4 68 124.7% 2,366 1,898
Carlton 2nd 16 -0- 5 64 129.4% 2,236 1,728
Essendon 3rd 16 -0- 5 64 128.9% 2,276 1,766
Geelong 4th 15 -0- 6 60 130.1% 2,169 1,667
Fitzroy 5th 13 -0- 8 52 111.1% 2,354 2,119
Richmond 6th 13 -0- 8 52 106.7% 2,283 2,140
Hawthorn 7th 12 -0- 9 48 107.1% 2,203 2,057
North Melbourne 8th 9 -0- 12 36 102.7% 2,279 2,219
South Melbourne 9th 8 -0- 13 32 86.6% 2,091 2,415
St Kilda 10th 4 -0- 17 16 82.7% 1,843 2,228
Footscray 11th 2 -0- 19 8 66.6% 1,726 2,593
Melbourne 12th 1 -0- 20 4 64.0% 1,767 2,763

Round 22

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 29/08/1981 2:10 PM Collingwood v Fitzroy Victoria Park 33 - 59 32,393
SAT 29/08/1981 2:10 PM Essendon v Geelong VFL Park 47 - 55 75,221
SAT 29/08/1981 2:10 PM Hawthorn v Melbourne Princes Park 110 - 57 7,922
SAT 29/08/1981 2:10 PM Richmond v Carlton MCG 40 - 67 64,207
SAT 29/08/1981 2:10 PM South Melbourne v North Melbourne Lakeside Oval 74 - 107 8,485
SAT 29/08/1981 2:10 PM St Kilda v Footscray Moorabbin Oval 87 - 38 11,948

Round 22 Ladder

Team Ladder (W-D-L, PP & P%) PF PA
Carlton 1st 17 -0- 5 68 130.3% 2,303 1,768
Collingwood 2nd 17 -0- 5 68 122.6% 2,399 1,957
Geelong 3rd 16 -0- 6 64 129.8% 2,224 1,714
Essendon 4th 16 -0- 6 64 127.6% 2,323 1,821
Fitzroy 5th 14 -0- 8 56 112.1% 2,413 2,152
Hawthorn 6th 13 -0- 9 52 109.4% 2,313 2,114
Richmond 7th 13 -0- 9 52 105.3% 2,323 2,207
North Melbourne 8th 10 -0- 12 40 104.1% 2,386 2,293
South Melbourne 9th 8 -0- 14 32 85.8% 2,165 2,522
St Kilda 10th 5 -0- 17 20 85.2% 1,930 2,266
Footscray 11th 2 -0- 20 8 65.8% 1,764 2,680
Melbourne 12th 1 -0- 21 4 63.5% 1,824 2,873

Final Round 1

Elimination Final

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 05/09/1981 2:30 PM Essendon v Fitzroy VFL Park 94 - 109 58,598

Qualifying Final

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 05/09/1981 2:30 PM Collingwood v Geelong MCG 98 - 112 83,899

Final Round 2

Semi Final

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 12/09/1981 2:30 PM Carlton v Geelong VFL Park 113 - 73 66,078
SAT 12/09/1981 2:30 PM Collingwood v Fitzroy MCG 133 - 132 85,133

Final Round 3

Preliminary Final

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 19/09/1981 2:30 PM Geelong v Collingwood VFL Park 75 - 82 69,536

Final Round 4

Grand Final

Date Match Venue Result Attendance
SAT 26/09/1981 2:50 PM Carlton v Collingwood MCG 92 - 72 112,964