1981 WAFL season

Australian rules football season December 2017 December 2017 wafl 1981 Eight Cla 5 Cla 6 88 18,106 Warren Ralph (Cla) Stephen Michael (SF) 1980 1982 The 1981 WAFL season was the 97th season of the West Australian Football League in its various incarnations. The season opened on 11 April and concluded on 3 October with the 1981 WAFL Grand Final between Claremont and South Fremantle. It was the last WAFL season to begin in April and end in October; from 1982 the league shifted the schedule of the season forward by a week and in later years by another. The 1981 WAFL season is famous because of its prodigious scoring, chiefly by premiers Claremont and runners-up South Fremantle. The Claremont trio of Warren Ralph, and brothers Jimmy and Phil Krakouer broke numerous records related to scoring in single matches and seasons.This was to be the Krakouer brothers' last season at Claremont, before a move to North Melbourne, where they helped introduce this attacking style of football to the VFL. During 1981, the 1979 record score by Swan Districts was broken twice, with the last round record by South Fremantle still remaining as the highest score in senior WAFL history. The average score of 123 points per team per game is the highest in WAFL history and as much as ten points higher than the VFL/AFL maximum during 1982, whilst tailender Perth set the unenviable record of conceding 157 points per match,http://waflfootyfacts.net/season_records.html WAFL Footy Facts High Average Against 8 February 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20131203021655/http://waflfootyfacts.net/season_records.html#7 3 December 2013 allowing under 100 only on a very wet day against East Perth. Home-and-away season Round 1 Round 1 Saturday, 11 April SD 21.21 (147) H WP 10.12 (72) Bassendean Oval 12467 Saturday, 11 April EP 25.10 (160) H Per 14.10 (94) Perth Oval 7626 Saturday, 11 April Cla 22.22 (154) H SF 18.18 (126) Claremont Oval 10105 Saturday, 11 April EF 21.16 (142) H Sub 18.12 (120) East Fremantle Oval 7010 *Impressive commitment and skilful coaching by Moss dispel the expectation South Fremantle would be invincible in 1981.Casellas Ken Claremont Plan Thwarts South The West Australian 13 April 1981 80 Bill Valli, who played no pre-season football, takes Subiaco from 55 points down at quarter-time to four points down with ten minutes to go.Sheterline John Valli Sparks Revival The West Australian 13 April 1981 81 Round 2 Round 2 Saturday, 18 April WP 23.16 (154) H EP 14.14 (98) Leederville Oval 13053 Saturday, 18 April SF 22.21 (153) H EF 20.14 (134) Fremantle Oval 14827 Monday, 20 April Per 13.9 (87) A SD 38.21 (249) Lathlain Park 10859 Young Doug Swans Dump Perth by 162 Points The West Australian 21 April 1981 111-112 Monday, 20 April Sub 22.21 (153) H Cla 18.15 (123) Subiaco Oval 9167 *Swan Districts just fail to equal their 1979 record score, but equal the record for most scoring shots.https://waflfootyfacts.net/team/scores/mostshotsfor.php?Team=Swan%20Districts Swan Districts: Most Scoring Shots WAFL Footy Facts It did beat Perth's previous biggest loss in the 1959 First Semi-Final by 33 pointshttps://waflfootyfacts.net/team/margins/losses.php?Team=Perth Perth: Biggest Losses WAFL Footy Facts The dominance of Buckenara and Neil Taylor ensures Subiaco run over Claremont into the breeze in the last quarter.Christian Geoff Subiaco Finish All Over Claremont The West Australian 21 April 1981 111-112 Round 3 Round 3 Saturday, 25 April SD 22.17 (149) H Sub 17.11 (113) Bassendean Oval 11070 Saturday, 25 April EP 21.9 (135) H SF 17.14 (116) Perth Oval 10426 Saturday, 25 April Cla 29.17 (191) H Per 12.23 (95) Subiaco Oval 5997 Saturday, 25 April EF 19.25 (139) H WP 8.17 (65) East Fremantle Oval 8923 East Fremantle's unusual policy of playing four roving forwards gives Old Easts an open forward line that completely outplays the Cardinals, as shown by a match total of ninety-three effective handballs to West Perth's fifty.Casellas Ken Roving Sewell Foils Defence The West Australian 27 April 1981 68 Round 4 Round 4 Saturday, 2 May Sub 18.16 (124) H WP 17.18 (120) Subiaco Oval 8451 Saturday, 2 May Per 17.13 (115) A SF 26.28 (184) Lathlain Park 6053 Saturday, 2 May Cla 20.26 (146) H EP 17.11 (113) Claremont Oval 10347 Saturday, 2 May SD 28.17 (185) H EF 12.6 (78) Bassendean Oval 12020 Six third quarter goals by Demon flanker Doug Simms brings the match to life despite the Demons being thrashed for the fourth successive week and finishing with a percentage of 49.87.Sheterline John Doug Simms Stands Out in Attack The West Australian 4 May 1981 100 Round 5 Round 5 Saturday, 9 May SF 17.19 (121) H SD 16.16 (112) Fremantle Oval 16120 Saturday, 9 May EP 23.23 (161) H Sub 10.11 (71) Perth Oval 8562 Saturday, 9 May Cla 26.24 (180) H WP 13.9 (87) Subiaco Oval 8871 Saturday, 9 May EF 20.21 (141) H Per 13.20 (98) East Fremantle Oval 5023 Round 6 Round 6 Saturday, 16 May Sub 13.19 (97) A SF 17.13 (115) Subiaco Oval 7930 Saturday, 16 May WP 18.15 (123) H Per 17.9 (111) Leederville Oval 7006 Saturday, 16 May SD 27.14 (176) H EP 17.13 (115) Bassendean Oval 14107 Saturday, 16 May EF 14.12 (96) A Cla 19.12 (126) East Fremantle Oval 8851 East Perth's gamble to rely on bold attacking play fails as Swan Districts win the toss with a stiff easterly and later dominate the final quarter against this breeze.Sheterline John East Perth Gamble Backfires The West Australian 18 May 1981 69 Round 7 Round 7 Saturday, 23 May Per 22.16 (148) H Sub 17.12 (114) Lathlain Park 5018 Saturday, 23 May Cla 24.12 (156) H SD 16.14 (110) Claremont Oval 16154 Saturday, 23 May EP 24.12 (156) H EF 17.10 (112) Perth Oval 9808 Sunday, 24 May WP 17.14 (116) A SF 18.18 (126) Subiaco Oval 11180 *Perth put on 12.6 (78) to 1.2 (8) in 29 minutes around half-time to defeat Subiaco for the fourteenth straight meeting after the Lions led by 22 points with the wind. Alan Johnson dominates in the centre and Subiaco's weakness in key forward positions is too great a handicap.Casellas Ken Perth Maintains Their Hoodoo The West Australian 25 May 1981 65 The WAFL's first Sunday match since 1976, despite a first wet football day,Australian Bureau of Meteorology http://www.bom.gov.au/jsp/ncc/cdio/weatherData/av?p_display_type=dataDGraph&p_stn_num=009034&p_nccObsCode=136&p_month=05&p_startYear=1981 Perth Regional Office (009034) May 1981 rainfall proves a great success, with Stephen Michael's superb ruckwork winning a tight game for the Bulldogs.Christian Geoff Michael Again the Master as South Win By 10 Points The West Australian 25 May 1981 72 Round 8 Round 8 Saturday, 30 May SD 31.14 (200) H Per 10.13 (73) Bassendean Oval 5125 Saturday, 30 May Cla 25.11 (161) H Sub 19.12 (126) Claremont Oval 5552 Monday, 1 June EP 20.18 (138) A WP 22.10 (142) Perth Oval 13564 Monday, 1 June EF 13.15 (93) A SF 27.17 (179) East Fremantle Oval 15212 Led by Les Fong in this 150th match, West Perth, despite a serious knee injury to John Duckworth, come back from 32 points down during the third quarter to win a thriller over their rivals.Christian Geoff West Perth Stage Superb Fightback The West Australian 2 June 1981 95, 100 Round 9 Round 9 Saturday, 6 June WP 5.10 (40) A SD 18.17 (125) Leederville Oval 7534 Saturday, 6 June Per 10.14 (74) A EP 13.8 (86) Lathlain Park 4038 Saturday, 6 June SF 16.19 (115) H Cla 13.17 (95) Fremantle Oval 9920 Saturday, 6 June Sub 14.13 (97) H EF 14.5 (89) Subiaco Oval 4122 *The absence of Les Fong and Cory Bewick from the forward line allows Swans defender Craig Holden to dominate West Perth's attack. Backed up by a magnificent effort in atrocious conditions upfield (led by Neesham and Blackaby) Swans hold West Perth to the lowest score of the season.Casellas Ken Holden Excels as Attacking Backman The West Australian 8 June 1981 81 Maurice Rioli's wet-weather skill and a better-suited forward line for the wet conditions – with Hardie and Monteath kicking four goals each – allows South Fremantle to come from ten points down early in the last quarter to a twenty-point win.Christian Geoff South Overcome Invading Troops The West Australian 8 June 1981 80 Round 10 Round 10 Saturday, 13 June Sub 15.7 (97) A SD 14.18 (102) Subiaco Oval 8236 Saturday, 13 June SF 22.15 (147) H EP 11.11 (77) Fremantle Oval 11908 Saturday, 13 June Per 10.14 (74) A Cla 23.18 (156) Lathlain Park 5563 Saturday, 13 June WP 37.17 (239) H EF 9.7 (61) Leederville Oval 7716 *Gary Buckenara kicks six magnificent goals but a poor second quarter denies Subiaco an upset despite scoring the first six goals of the match.Sheterline John Buckenara at His Best The West Australian 15 June 1981 72 After a wet-weather debacle the previous week, West Perth's attack led by former Footscray full-forward Phil Bradmore, achieves a club record scoreThe record score was equalled and the record margin broken in 1987.Australian Football https://australianfootball.com/clubs/highest_scores/West%2BPerth%2B/279/129 West Perth Highest Scores and winning marginhttps://australianfootball.com/clubs/biggest_wins/West%2BPerth%2B/279/129 Australian Football West Perth Biggest Wins At one point, West Perth kicked 16.6 (102) without East Fremantle scoring.Christian Geoff Adamson and Menaglio Shine The West Australian 15 June 1981 73 Round 11 Round 11 Saturday, 27 June WP 9.13 (67) H Sub 9.11 (65) Leederville Oval 7930 Saturday, 27 June SF 30.18 (198) H Per 10.13 (73) Fremantle Oval 4487 Saturday, 27 June EP 13.14 (92) A Cla 21.17 (143) Perth Oval 7595 Saturday, 27 June EF 10.13 (73) A SD 13.13 (91) East Fremantle Oval 4452 *In heavy rain, Perth at one point lead South Fremantle 8.5 (53) to 7.6 (48) before the Bulldogs kick 23.12 (150) to 2.6 (18) for the rest of the game.Casellas Ken Monteath Move Pays Dividends The West Australian 29 June 1981 71 In tough conditions, aided by two superb “wrong-foot” kicks from Jager and Menaglio, West Perth come back from 26 points down to win a thriller.Christian Geoff Left-Foot Side Kick Sinks Subiaco The West Australian 29 June 1981 70 Round 12 Round 12 Saturday, 4 July SD 19.20 (134) H SF 13.8 (86) Bassendean Oval 14600 Saturday, 4 July Sub 26.14 (170) H EP 12.8 (80) Subiaco Oval 7148 Saturday, 4 July Cla 30.19 (199) H WP 20.9 (129) Claremont Oval 8922 Saturday, 4 July Per 23.24 (162) H EF 21.9 (135) Lathlain Park 4091 With young Laurie Keene kicking nine goals, Subiaco make a charge for fourth place against the struggling Royals, for whom no one does much in attack against Mitch Fussell's speed.Young Doug Subiaco Are on the Move The West Australian 6 July 1981 84 Round 13 Round 13 Saturday, 11 July SF 23.20 (158) H Sub 10.17 (77) Fremantle Oval 6375 Saturday, 11 July WP 26.23 (179) H Per 13.17 (95) Subiaco Oval 3500 Banks Ron West Perth Get an Armchair Ride The West Australian 13 June 1981 97 Saturday, 11 July EP 14.13 (97) A SD 17.9 (111) Perth Oval 6500 Saturday, 11 July Cla 30.17 (197) H EF 14.11 (95) Claremont Oval 5183 Subiaco lose full-back Fussell with a compound left leg fracture and this loss combined with their on-field loss to South Fremantle ends the Lions hopes of a finals berth.Christian Geoff Plenty Hangs on Big Clash at Bassendean The West Australian 13 July 1981 96, 104 Round 14 Round 14 Saturday, 18 July WP 23.8 (146) H SF 19.19 (133) Leederville Oval 8205 Saturday, 18 July Sub 22.17 (149) H Per 14.8 (92) Subiaco Oval 4289 Saturday, 18 July SD 16.16 (112) A Cla 17.12 (114) Bassendean Oval 14019 Saturday, 18 July EF 9.17 (71) A EP 12.11 (83) East Fremantle Oval 4211 *In another superb pressure match, Claremont claim top position by kicking 3.1 (19) to 2.5 (17) against the win after scores were level early in the final quarter.Christian Geoff Claremont Show True Grit The West Australian 20 July 1981 68 A brilliant 10 goals without a miss in the last quarter in “unsettled” weather gives West Perth a superb triumph and allows them to hold fourth place.Young Doug West Perth Were All Smiles at the Finish The West Australian 20 July 1981 69 In a lacklustre game in changeable weather, East Perth come from behind to stay in the battle for fourth position and tailender East Fremantle are luck a $2000 bet was turned down.Sheterline John East F‘tle Lucky Not to Lose $2000 The West Australian 20 July 1981 69 Round 15 Round 15 Saturday, 25 July WP 10.10 (70) A SD 25.22 (172) Subiaco Oval 12169 Saturday, 25 July EP 20.16 (136) H Per 17.8 (110) Perth Oval 4765 Saturday, 25 July Cla 23.22 (160) H SF 14.25 (109) Claremont Oval 12670 Saturday, 25 July EF 14.9 (93) A Sub 18.19 (127) East Fremantle Oval 3987 West Perth suffer another big loss to Swan Districts and again fall out of the four. The Cardinals do not goal between the five-minute mark of the opening quarter and the twenty-minute mark of the second as Swans’ waves of speed move down the field to produce eleven of their own.Young Doug West Perth Rot Sets in Early The West Australian 27 July 1981 55 Round 16 Round 16 Saturday, 1 August Per 13.15 (93) A SD 18.20 (128) Lathlain Park N/A Saturday, 1 August WP 15.9 (99) A EP 25.10 (160) Leederville Oval 11980 Saturday, 1 August Sub 12.10 (82) A Cla 28.13 (181) Subiaco Oval 8348 Saturday, 1 August SF 24.22 (166) H EF 19.5 (119) Fremantle Oval 6510 An unfashionable but brilliant centreline and the move of John Hayes to full-forward where he kicks 7.1 (43) allows East Perth to beat finals rival West Perth and move a game plus percentage clear inside the four.Christian Geoff East Perth Centreline Sets Up Chances The West Australian 3 August 1981 64 Round 17 Round 17 Saturday, 8 August SD 30.17 (197) H Sub 10.14 (74) Bassendean Oval 9237 Saturday, 8 August EP 20.11 (131) H SF 16.22 (118) Subiaco Oval 11022 Saturday, 8 August Cla 39.20 (254) H Per 12.9 (81) Claremont Oval 5820 Saturday, 8 August EF 21.17 (143) H WP 16.11 (107) East Fremantle Oval 5175 *East Perth's Grant Campbell gives a classic display to lead his team to a 40-point lead at quarter-time before Bulldog ruckman Michael is equally brilliant in a belated charge.Christian Geoff Campbell, Michael Turn It on for Fans The West Australian 10 August 1981 77 Swan Districts kick 26.13 (169) to 7.7 (49) after quarter-time as the refusal of Subiaco's Neil Taylor to man Phil Narkle allows the latter and his brother to create havoc as Subiaco coach Ken Armstrong makes the mistake of using Douge in the centre.Sheterline John Blackaby shows His True Worth The West Australian 10 August 1981 77 Claremont kick their highest score,https://waflfootyfacts.net/team/scores/highfor.php?Team=Claremont WAFL Footy Facts Claremont: Highest Scores and the highest in the WAFL to that point, to thrash the Demons who kick only 3.5 (23) after half-time.WAFL Footy Facts https://waflfootyfacts.net/team/all/scores/highest.php Highest Scores Round 18 Round 18 Saturday, 15 August Sub 25.13 (163) H WP 9.15 (69) Subiaco Oval 4858 Saturday, 15 August Per 18.13 (121) H SF 15.13 (103) Lathlain Park 4897 Saturday, 15 August Cla 23.24 (162) H EP 8.13 (61) Claremont Oval 10172 Saturday, 15 August SD 24.24 (168) H EF 8.15 (63) Bassendean Oval 6123 *The brilliance of the Krakouer brothers slightly weakens East Perth's hold on fourth position as the Royals score only 3.12 (30) to 20.18 (138) after quarter-time despite Ralph kicking only a single goal.Christian Geoff Krakouers Ignite the Flame The West Australian 17 August 1981 89 Without champion Buckenara and arguable “rookie of the year” Ray Reeves, Subiaco settle West Perth's fate for 1981 as they seize the game at the start with Bill Valli returning with great effect.Young Doug Subiaco Are Not a Spent Force The West Australian 17 August 1981 88 Round 19 Round 19 Saturday, 22 August SF 21.22 (148) H SD 16.17 (113) Fremantle Oval 12142 Saturday, 22 August EP 19.14 (128) H Sub 16.7 (103) Perth Oval 10220 Saturday, 22 August WP 12.9 (81) A Cla 35.15 (225) Leederville Oval 7145 Saturday, 22 August EF 20.19 (139) H Per 17.18 (120) Subiaco Oval 3218 *Four opening goals in as many minutes stuns Swans, who suffer their sixth loss in eight matches against South since the start of 1980. Ruckman Michael and half-back Simon Outhwaite dominate for the Bulldogs.Young Doug South's Slick Start Stuns Swans The West Australian 24 August 1981 73 With their win, East Fremantle makes sure Perth would finish bottom of the WA(N)FL ladder for the first time since 1935. East Perth seal the four with a skilful burst after the seventeen-minute mark of the last quarter, in the process showing the lack of class and anticipation in Subiaco's key forwards.Christian Geoff East Perth's Skill Tells in the Crisis The West Australian 24 August 1981 73 Claremont became the only WAFL team to win three consecutive games by over 100 points.http://waflfootyfacts.net/streaks_all_teams.html WAFL Footy Facts Streaks 16 August 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20140415054014/http://waflfootyfacts.net/streaks_all_teams.html 15 April 2014 Round 20 Round 20 Saturday, 29 August Sub 18.12 (120) H SF 10.23 (83) Subiaco Oval 7814 Saturday, 29 August WP 16.19 (115) H Per 16.15 (111) Leederville Oval 4827 Saturday, 29 August SD 18.14 (122) H EP 14.17 (101) Bassendean Oval 12728 Saturday, 29 August EF 7.16 (58) A Cla 10.21 (81) East Fremantle Oval 7935 East Fremantle kick only 1.9 (15) in dry (but windy) conditions after quarter-time, not goalling in the second or third quarters — a first in the WA(N)FL since Subiaco in Round 11 of 1976. Their wasteful short-kicking game allows the Tigers to recover from Old Easts’ ferocious tackling in the first quarter.Young Doug Claremont Forced to Struggle The West Australian 31 August 1981 108 Round 21 Round 21 Saturday, 5 September SF 40.18 (258) H WP 12.6 (78) Fremantle Oval 6157 Saturday, 5 September Per 18.16 (124) A Sub 26.15 (171) Lathlain Park 4984 Saturday, 5 September Cla 22.16 (148) H SD 20.13 (133) Claremont Oval 18106 Saturday, 5 September EP 17.15 (117) H EF 12.10 (82) Perth Oval 5660 *South Fremantle set a still-standing record for the highest score in the WAFL, beating Claremont's record from Round 17. The Bulldogs become the first team to lead by 100 points at half-time in open-age WA(N)FL football.http://waflfootyfacts.net/QtrHalfRecords.html WAFL Footy Facts Largest Margins at Half-Time 17 November 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20131104071109/http://waflfootyfacts.net/QtrHalfRecords.html#18 4 November 2013 dead dmy-all Despite the early loss of Phil Krakouer and a 35-point deficit midway through the third quarter, Claremont overcome a strong Swan Districts defence for a twelfth straight victory in front of a record Claremont Oval crowd via brilliant running and handball.Christian Geoff Claremont Show Great Character The West Australian 7 September 1981 97 Ladder main WDL 1981 WAFL ladder Ladder true points y 4 2 Cla Cla 19 2 0 3352 2128 P SD SD 16 5 0 3036 2019 SF SF 13 8 0 2942 2400 EP EP 11 10 0 2425 2523 Sub Sub 9 12 0 2413 2582 WP WP 8 13 0 2298 2973 EF EF 5 16 0 2156 2837 Per Per 3 18 0 2151 3311 Premiers #CCFFCC Q Q Q Q 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for. complete 1981 Ladder https://waflfootyfacts.net/season/games/results.php?Season=1981#Ladder WAFL Footy Facts Finals series First semi-final First semi-final Saturday, 12 September SF 19.14 (128) H EP 13.10 (88) Subiaco Oval 32,860 Despite a heavy knock, Bruce Monteath kicks 6.2 (38) of 6.4 (40) to avoid a potential upset by the Royals. He had no recollection of equalling the WA(N)FL record of nine goals in a final.Sheterline John Monteath's Goals Were Only a Blur The West Australian 14 September 1981 70 Second semi-final Second semi-final Saturday, 19 September Cla 14.24 (108) H SD 12.9 (81) Subiaco Oval 33,478 A wayward Claremont win with surprising ease owing to Swan Districts’ roving weakness in windy conditions combined with the overlooked power of Claremont's defence.Christian Geoff 24 Carat Gold (and Blue): Too Many Guns in Claremont Arsenal The West Australian 21 September 1981 75, 80 Preliminary final Preliminary final Sunday, 27 September SD 15.15 (105) A SF 28.10 (178) Subiaco Oval 33,940 South Fremantle gain the opportunity to defend their 1980 premiership with a brilliant twenty-goal second half after being sixteen points behind late in the second quarter. Rover Noel Carter rivals his last-round eleven-goal display and Monteath is again superb – this time at centre half-forward.Christian Geoff South Are on Target – Now for Claremont in the Grand Final The West Australian 28 September 1981 76, 80 Grand Final 1981 WAFL Grand Final Saturday, 3 October Cla 4.5 (29) 7.7 (49) 11.13 (79) 16.15 (111) Malaxos 5, Blackwell 3, Ralph 3, Daniels, Jimmy Krakouer, Panizza, Shaw, Watson Moss, Phil Krakouer, Shaw, Pearce, Morton, Blackwell, Malaxos, Harper H SF 1.3 (9) 7.15 (57) 10.20 (80) 12.24 (96) Monteath 4, Carter 3, McKay, Hardie, Rioli, Randall, Vasoli Rioli, Barrett, Monteath, Carter, Vasoli, Michael Subiaco Oval 50,517 Ross Capes, Ron Powell Simpson Medal Gary Shaw (Cla)Maurice Rioli (SF) Notes "note" References 2 External links Official WAFL website Category:West Australian Football League seasons WAFL