1981 VFA season

none December 2017 December 2017 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) left ← 1980 right 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. 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. 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 main WDL 5 Q 1981 VFA Division 1 Ladder true points y 4 2 PMB Port Melbourne NBU Preston SAN Sandringham FRA Frankston PRA Prahran COB Coburg GLW Geelong West DAN Dandenong CAU Caulfield BRU Brunswick 16 2 0 2833 1751 P 12 6 0 2373 1804 10 8 0 1954 1927 10 8 0 2005 2089 10 8 0 2032 2159 9 9 0 2172 1832 8 10 0 1870 2201 7 11 0 1878 2085 5 13 0 2035 2451 3 15 0 1607 2430 Premiers #CCFFCC QF QF QF QF 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for. complete The Age 23 August 1981 Port coasts past premiership rival 28 Melbourne Marc Fiddian Finals Semi-finals Sunday, 30 August Sandringham 14.16 (100) H Frankston 13.5 (83) Junction Oval 7,785 The Age 27 Marc Fiddian Dolphins are sunk 31 August 1981 Melbourne Sunday, 6 September Port Melbourne 22.25 (157) H Preston 12.14 (86) Junction Oval 10,021 The Age 25 Marc Fiddian 7 September 1981 Bullants' bluff no match for Boroughs' brilliance Melbourne Preliminary Final Sunday, 13 September Preston 28.7 (175) H Sandringham 26.12 (168) Junction Oval 7,171 The Age 33 Marc Fiddian Preston defies gallant Zebras 14 September 1981 Melbourne 1981 VFA Division 1 Grand Final Sunday, 20 September Port Melbourne 6.6 (42) 9.9 (63) 19.14 (128) 32.19 (211) Cook 8, Anderson 5, Jim Christou 4, O'Riley 4, Evans 3, Goss 3, Davies 2, Ebeyer 2, Swan H Preston 2.1 (13) 9.4 (58) 11.8 (74) 15.8 (98) Halas 5, Box 2, Boden, Brine, Cooper, Heard, McEwan, McGaw, Marks, Vann Junction Oval 20,180 Port storms to Grand Final record Marc Fiddian 21 September 1981 The Age 29 Melbourne Roy Groom, Barry Fitzpatrick 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. 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.The Age Melbourne Marc Fiddian 28, 27 27 August 1981 Aanensen wins his second Liston 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. 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 main WDL Q 5 1981 VFA Division 2 Ladder true points y 4 2 CAM Camberwell WAV Waverley MOR Mordialloc WER Werribee OAK Oakleigh NOR Northcote WIL Williamstown YAR Yarraville BOX Box Hill SUN Sunshine 14 4 0 2417 1504 P 13 5 0 2444 1423 13 5 0 2139 1504 12 5 1 2209 1624 11 7 0 2271 1726 11 7 0 2040 1738 9 8 1 2114 2030 4 14 0 1688 2359 2 16 0 1568 2777 0 18 0 1136 3341 Premiers #CCFFCC QF QF QF QF 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for. complete The Age Melbourne Marc Fiddian 29 10 August 1981 Tough run in for Prahran Finals Semi-finals Sunday, 16 August Mordialloc 16.20 (116) H Werribee 13.8 (86) Toorak Park 3,580 The Age 25 Marc Fiddian Prahran kicks on for fifth straight victory 17 August 1981 Melbourne Sunday, 23 August Camberwell 30.15 (195) H 13.13 (91) Toorak Park 5,298 Preliminary Final Sunday, 30 August 20.15 (135) H Mordialloc 13.16 (94) Toorak Park 2,700 1981 VFA Division 2 Grand Final Sunday, 6 September Camberwell 2.3 (15) 7.10 (52) 12.11 (83) 15.16 (106) Stevenson 5, Hammond 4, Cook, Chamberlain, Davidson, Hirst, Neilson, Oliver H 1.3 (9) 3.4 (22) 8.7 (55) 11.8 (74) Angelis 2, Davies 2, Styles 2, Venville 2, Beddoe, Brick, Plummer Toorak Park 8,250 Bill Torney, Frank Vergona Awards The leading goalkicker for the Division 2 was Peter Stevenson (Camberwell), who kicked 106 goals in the home-and-away season and 119 goals overall. The J. Field Medal was won by Brian Matthey (Oakleigh), who polled 36 votes. Matthey finished ahead of Neil Peart (Northcote), who polled 33 votes, and Adrian McClure (Waverley), who polled 29 votes. Camberwell won the seconds premiership. Camberwell 18.12 (120) defeated Oakleigh 17.14 (116) in the Grand Final, played as a curtain-raiser to the senior Grand Final on 6 September. Notable events Interleague matches For the first time, the Association named separate representative teams for Division 1 and Division 2. The Division 1 team played a match against the Greater Northern Football League, which was a short-lived amalgamation between the Launceston-based Northern Tasmanian Football Association and the north-west coastal North Western Football Union. Division 2 played against the South Australian Football Association, a second-tier senior competition which had been formed in Adelaide in 1978. 1981 Interleague Matches Sunday, 7 June G.N.F.L. 15.20 (110) H V.F.A. First Division 15.10 (100) Devonport Oval The Age Melbourne 22 8 June 1981 League statistics Sunday, 12 July S.A.F.A. 6.3 (39) A V.F.A. Second Division 6.8 (44) Thebarton Oval http://www.hardballget.net/2nd-division--reserves.html 14 June 2014 David Eastman Other VFA representative teams – 2nd Division https://archive.today/20140615100844/http://www.hardballget.net/2nd-division--reserves.html 15 June 2014 dead dmy-all Other notable events Former Frankston president Alan Wickes became president of the Association at the annual general meeting in March 1981, challenging and defeating Cr Alex Gillon by a majority of 26–15. Gillon had served as president of the Association for 27 years since his election in 1954, and it was the first time since his election that anybody had opposed him for the office.Santo Caruso Marc Fiddian Jim Main Football Grounds of Melbourne Pennon Publishing 2002 Essendon North, VIC 21 Wickes, like Gillon, was determined to prevent the Victorian Football League from playing football on Sundays in Victoria, but said he believed the Association had not done enough in recent years under Gillon to justify the state government's continuing support on the matter.The Age Melbourne Marc Fiddian 40 7 March 1981 Wickes new VFA chiefThe Age Melbourne Marc Fiddian 36 28 March 1981 VFA firm on Sunday stand On 5 April, the first round of Division 2 matches for the season, Waverley 52.31 (343) defeated Sunshine 8.5 (53).The Age Melbourne Marc Fiddian 27 6 April 1981 Vintage port drowns the Zebras Waverley's score set a new record for the highest score in Association history, breaking the previous record of 43.29 (287) set by Port Melbourne in 1941.The Age Melbourne 30 8 April 1981 none Waverley full-forward Paul Angelis kicked 23 goals in the match, the highest by any player since George Gough (Northcote) kicked 25 goals in a match in 1924.The Argus Melbourne Football – Fourth place struggle 1 September 1924 13 Old Boy Geelong West's financial position deteriorated dramatically in the lead-up to the 1981 season, and early in the year a number of high-profile senior players – including full-forward Joe Radojevic and former Association representative players Tony Gilmore, Ivan Russell and Seve Woolfe – went on strike seeking payments owed from 1980.The Age Melbourne Marc Fiddian 22 24 April 1981 Seven Roosters strike over pay The club was able to get itself out of immediate financial hardship and end the strike during the year.The Age Melbourne Marc Fiddian 45 8 September 1981 Oakleigh potential fails to sway VFA On 12 May, Caulfield rover Mark Crocker was suspended until the start of the 1983 season for spitting in field umpire Ray Groom's face.The Age Melbourne Marc Fiddian 30 13 May 1981 Rover out until 1983 Crocker maintained that he had not spit at Groom, and merely made a noise with his lips; he was still appealing the suspension as late as the beginning of the 1982 season, but the full suspension was upheld.The Age Melbourne Marc Fiddian 34 31 March 1982 Pledger gets 4 On 21 June, Fred Cook (Port Melbourne) kicked his 934th career senior Association goal, passing Bob Bonnett (Port Melbourne, 933 goals) to become the leading goalkicker in Association history. Cook still holds this title as of 2023. The record-breaking goal was witnessed by 12,000 fans, the Association's highest home-and-away crowd since the mid 1970s.The Age Melbourne Marc Fiddian 25 22 June 1981 Cook makes history as Port coasts In a high-scoring and remarkable Division 1 preliminary final, Preston 28.7 (175) defeated Sandringham 26.12 (168). Preston had led the game by 65 points after twelve minutes of the third quarter, but Sandringham fought back from this huge deficit – helped in large part by Rex Hunt, who kicked seven goals in the final quarter – and took the lead late in the final quarter, before Preston steadied to win by seven points. Preston was helped by its goal-kicking accuracy, kicking 13.0 after half time. Sandringham's score is one of the highest losing scores, in a final or otherwise, in top level senior football.http://www.oocities.org/jsmooth_00001/Footyfacts.html Australian Football Facts & Feats James Hothersall 14 June 2014 Despite leading by only five points at half-time, Port Melbourne recorded the highest ever score and winning margin in a Division 1 Grand Final, 32.19 (211) and 113 points respectively. See also List of VFA/VFL premiers References Category:Victorian Football League seasons VFL