Carlton finished top of the 1981 VFL ladder with 68 points and 130.3%, ahead of Collingwood on percentage. Carlton won the premiership from 1st, beating Collingwood by 20 points in the Grand Final.
Final VFL ladder · Updated Thu 17 Nov 2022, 9:54am (Melbourne time)
| Pos | Club | P | Pts | % | W | L | D | PF | PA | Last 5 | Finals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CarltonCAR🏆 | 22 | 68 | 130.3 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 2303 | 1768 | WWLWW | Premiers |
| 2 | CollingwoodCOL | 22 | 68 | 122.6 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 2399 | 1957 | LWWWL | Runner-up |
| 3 | GeelongGEE | 22 | 64 | 129.8 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 2224 | 1714 | LWWWW | Lost PF |
| 4 | EssendonESS | 22 | 64 | 127.6 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 2323 | 1821 | WWWWL | Lost FW1 |
| 5 | FitzroyFITTOP 5 | 22 | 56 | 112.1 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 2413 | 2152 | WLWWW | Lost SF |
| 6 | HawthornHAW | 22 | 52 | 109.4 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 2313 | 2114 | LWWLW | – |
| 7 | RichmondRIC | 22 | 52 | 105.3 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 2323 | 2207 | WWLWL | – |
| 8 | North MelbourneNTH | 22 | 40 | 104.1 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 2386 | 2293 | WLWLW | – |
| 9 | SydneySYD | 22 | 32 | 85.8 | 8 | 14 | 0 | 2165 | 2522 | WLLLL | – |
| 10 | St KildaSTK | 22 | 20 | 85.2 | 5 | 17 | 0 | 1930 | 2266 | LLLLW | – |
| 11 | Western BulldogsWBD | 22 | 8 | 65.8 | 2 | 20 | 0 | 1764 | 2680 | LLLLL | – |
| 12 | MelbourneMEL | 22 | 4 | 63.5 | 1 | 21 | 0 | 1824 | 2873 | LLLLL | – |