Collingwood top the VFL ladder after Round 21, 1981 on 68 points (124.7%), four points clear of Carlton.
Snapshot after Round 21 · Updated Thu 17 Nov 2022, 9:54am
| Pos | Movement | Club | P | Pts | % | W | L | D | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | CollingwoodCOL | 21 | 68 | 124.7 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 2366 | 1898 |
| 2 | – | CarltonCAR | 21 | 64 | 129.4 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 2236 | 1728 |
| 3 | – | EssendonESS | 21 | 64 | 128.9 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 2276 | 1766 |
| 4 | – | GeelongGEE | 21 | 60 | 130.1 | 15 | 6 | 0 | 2169 | 1667 |
| 5 | FitzroyFITTOP 5 | 21 | 52 | 111.1 | 13 | 8 | 0 | 2354 | 2119 | |
| 6 | RichmondRIC | 21 | 52 | 106.7 | 13 | 8 | 0 | 2283 | 2140 | |
| 7 | HawthornHAW | 21 | 48 | 107.1 | 12 | 9 | 0 | 2203 | 2057 | |
| 8 | – | North MelbourneNTH | 21 | 36 | 102.7 | 9 | 12 | 0 | 2279 | 2219 |
| 9 | – | SydneySYD | 21 | 32 | 86.6 | 8 | 13 | 0 | 2091 | 2415 |
| 10 | – | St KildaSTK | 21 | 16 | 82.7 | 4 | 17 | 0 | 1843 | 2228 |
| 11 | – | Western BulldogsWBD | 21 | 8 | 66.6 | 2 | 19 | 0 | 1726 | 2593 |
| 12 | – | MelbourneMEL | 21 | 4 | 64.0 | 1 | 20 | 0 | 1767 | 2763 |