The 1981 Australian Football Championships Night Series was the 3rd edition of the AFC Night Series, a VFL-organised national club Australian rules football tournament between the leading clubs from the VFL, the

SANFL The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL ( or ''S-A-N-F-L''), is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport. Originally formed as the ...

, the WAFL and State Representative Teams. A total of 34 teams from across Australia played 35 matches over five months, with the qualifying rounds held during the pre-season and the main draw held midweek throughout the premiership season.

Qualified Teams

¹ Includes previous appearances in the

Championship of Australia The Championship of Australia was an Australian rules football tournament which was contested between football clubs from the Victorian, South Australian, Western Australian and Tasmanian football leagues. The Championship took place three ti ...

and

NFL Night Series The NFL Night Series was an Australian rules football tournament which was contested annually from 1976 until 1979. The tournament, played concurrently with the premiership season, was contested at different times by football clubs from the Victo ...

Venues

Knockout stage

Round 1

Round 2

Round 2 Playoff

Round 3

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Australian Football Championships Night Series final

References

{{AFL pre-season seasons Australian rules interstate football History of Australian rules football Australian rules football competitions in Australia 1981 in Australian rules football