A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| 1981 VFA Premiership Season | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 20 |
| Division 1 | |
| Teams | 10 |
| Premiers | Port Melbourne (14th premiership) |
| Minor premiers | Port Melbourne (13th minor premiership) |
| Division 2 | |
| Teams | 10 |
| Premiers | Camberwell (2nd D2 premiership) |
| Minor premiers | Camberwell (2nd D2 minor premiership) |
← 1980 1982 → | |
The 1981 Victorian Football Association season was the 100th season of the top division of the Australian rules football competition, and the 21st season of second division competition. The Division 1 premiership was won by the Port Melbourne Football Club, after it defeated Preston in the Grand Final on 20 September by 113 points; it was Port Melbourne's 14th Division 1 premiership, the second of three premierships won in a row between 1980 and 1982, and the fifth of six premierships won in nine seasons from 1974 until 1982. The Division 2 premiership was won by Camberwell; it was the club's second Division 2 premiership, and it was the last premiership ever won by the club.
Rule changes
After trialling it during the 1980 finals series, two field umpires were used during all Division 1 matches in 1981. Division 2 continued to be officiated by a single field umpire during the home-and-away season, and by two field umpires during finals.[1]
One consequence of this was that the Liston Trophy voting procedure changed. Previously, in both the Liston Trophy and Field Medal, the field umpire and each of the two goal umpires had independently awarded votes to the best two players on the ground on a 2–1 basis. This year in Division 1, each field umpire but neither of the goal umpires awarded Liston Trophy votes on the same 2–1 basis as before; in Division 2, Field Medal voting procedures were unchanged.[1]
Division 1
The Division 1 home-and-away season was played over 18 rounds; the top four then contested the finals under the Page–McIntyre system. The finals were played at the Junction Oval.
Ladder
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | PF | PA | PP | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Port Melbourne (P) | 18 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 2833 | 1751 | 161.8 | 64 |
| 2 | Preston | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 2373 | 1804 | 131.5 | 48 |
| 3 | Sandringham | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 1954 | 1927 | 101.4 | 40 |
| 4 | Frankston | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 2005 | 2089 | 96.0 | 40 |
| 5 | Prahran | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 2032 | 2159 | 94.1 | 40 |
| 6 | Coburg | 18 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 2172 | 1832 | 118.6 | 36 |
| 7 | Geelong West | 18 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 1870 | 2201 | 85.0 | 32 |
| 8 | Dandenong | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 1878 | 2085 | 90.1 | 28 |
| 9 | Caulfield | 18 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 2035 | 2451 | 83.0 | 20 |
| 10 | Brunswick | 18 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 1607 | 2430 | 66.1 | 12 |
Finals
| Semi-finals | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, 30 August | Sandringham 14.16 (100) | def. | Frankston 13.5 (83) | Junction Oval (crowd: 7,785) | [3] |
| Sunday, 6 September | Port Melbourne 22.25 (157) | def. | Preston 12.14 (86) | Junction Oval (crowd: 10,021) | [4] |
| Preliminary Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, 13 September | Preston 28.7 (175) | def. | Sandringham 26.12 (168) | Junction Oval (crowd: 7,171) | [5] |
| 1981 VFA Division 1 Grand Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, 20 September | Port Melbourne | def. | Preston | Junction Oval (crowd: 20,180) | [6] |
| 6.6 (42) 9.9 (63) 19.14 (128) 32.19 (211) |
Q1 Q2 Q3 Final |
2.1 (13) 9.4 (58) 11.8 (74) 15.8 (98) |
Umpires: Roy Groom, Barry Fitzpatrick | ||
| Cook 8, Anderson 5, Jim Christou 4, O'Riley 4, Evans 3, Goss 3, Davies 2, Ebeyer 2, Swan | Goals | Halas 5, Box 2, Boden, Brine, Cooper, Heard, McEwan, McGaw, Marks, Vann | |||
Awards
- The leading goalkicker for the season was Rex Hunt (Sandringham), who kicked 95 goals during the home-and-away season and 110 goals overall.[2][6]
- The J. J. Liston Trophy was won by Vic Aanensen (Port Melbourne), who polled 24 votes; it was Aanensen's second Liston Trophy in three seasons. Aanensen finished ahead of Tony West (Brunswick), who polled 23 votes, and Brian Jones (Frankston), who polled 17 votes.[1]
- Dandenong won the seconds premiership. Dandenong 16.16 (112) defeated Port Melbourne 15.14 (104) in the Grand Final, played as a curtain-raiser to the seniors Grand Final on 20 September.[6]
Division 2
The Division 2 home-and-away season was played over eighteen rounds; the top four then contested the finals under the Page–McIntyre system; all finals were played on Sundays at Toorak Park.
Ladder
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | PF | PA | PP | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Camberwell (P) | 18 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 2417 | 1504 | 160.7 | 56 |
| 2 | Waverley | 18 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 2444 | 1423 | 171.7 | 52 |
| 3 | Mordialloc | 18 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 2139 | 1504 | 142.2 | 52 |
| 4 | Werribee | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 2209 | 1624 | 136.0 | 50 |
| 5 | Oakleigh | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 2271 | 1726 | 131.6 | 44 |
| 6 | Northcote | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 2040 | 1738 | 117.4 | 44 |
| 7 | Williamstown | 18 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 2114 | 2030 | 104.1 | 38 |
| 8 | Yarraville | 18 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 1688 | 2359 | 71.6 | 16 |
| 9 | Box Hill | 18 | 2 | 16 | 0 | 1568 | 2777 | 56.5 | 8 |
| 10 | Sunshine | 18 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 1136 | 3341 | 34.0 | 0 |