Under 19s Grand Final, 1981
Melbourne vs Geelong
Saturday 26 September
Venue: MCG
Attendance: n/a (curtain raiser)
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | |
| Melbourne | 5.1 | 10.9 | 12.13 | 19.18.132 |
| Geelong | 4.2 | 8.5 | 12.13 | 14.17.101 |
Melbourne win by 31 points
Goalkickers: Cordner 5, Fidge 3, Bergman 2, Tossol 2, Withers 2, Battiston 1, Connolly 1, Dickson 1, Fisher 1, McCarthy 1
After twice playing Geelong at Kardinia Park during the year, Melbourne's first meeting with them at the MCG delivered a silver lining in a season where the seniors only won a single game. The game was tight for three quarters, with the Demons opening a 16 point lead at half time thanks to a pair of David Cordner goals in time on. The Cats pegged back the deficit early in the third, and led by nine points late in the term. A goal to Chris Connolly cut the gap back to two points, and by the late change scores were level.
Seven goals in the final term delivered Ray Jordon his seventh Under 19s premiership, and Melbourne's first Under 19s flag since 1971.
Best were Battiston, Connolly, and Dickson
Selected team
1 - Peter Tossol
2 - Stephen McCarthy
5 - Rohan McKaige
6 - Ross Fisher
7 - Dale Dickson
9 - Ron Howard
10 - Scott Sutcliffe
11 - Chris Connolly
12 - Mark Withers
14 - Adrian Battiston
15 - Glenn Boland
16 - David Muir
17 - Chris Bell
18 - Michael O'Sullivan
19 - Brett Dawson
20 - Bruce Joycey
21 - Mark Fisher
22 - Ted Fidge
23 - David Cordner
24 - Ralph Bergman
25 - Tony Loorham
26 - Simon Woodman
29 - Sean Whitworth
B: Boland, McKaige, M. Fisher
HB: Loorham, Sutcliff, Muir
C: Withers, Dickson, O'Sullivan
HF: Fidge, Bergman, Tossol
F: Dawson, Cordner, McCarthy
Foll: Joycey, Connolly, Battiston
Int (from): Woodman, Howard, Bell, Whitworth, R. Fisher
Media
Herald - 27/09/1981
Canberra Times - 27/09/1981