1981 VFL draft

The 1981 VFL draft was the first annual national draft held by the Victorian Football League, the leading Australian rules football league.
Held on 8 October 1981, all twelve VFL clubs participated in the draft, each having two picks, with the team finishing last in the 1981 VFL season having first choice, followed by the other eleven clubs in reverse finishing position order. Wooden spooners named Perth wingman Alan Johnson as the first pick of the draft.

Round	Pick	Player	Drafted to	Recruited from	League	Games with new team
1	1	Alan Johnson		Perth	West [Australian Football League\|WAFL]	135
1	2	Neil Craig		Sturt	South [Australian National Football League\|SANFL]	0
1	3	Grant Campbell		Perth Football Club\|East Perth]	WAFL	0
1	4	Mark Naley		South Adelaide	SANFL	0
1	5	Craig Holden		Swan Districts	WAFL	29
1	6	Peter Hofner		Port Adelaide	SANFL	0
1	7	Ken Judge		East Fremantle	WAFL	72
1	8	Wayne Otway		East Perth	WAFL	36
1	9	Dean Turner		East Perth	WAFL	54
1	10	Tony McGuinness		Glenelg	SANFL	0
1	11	Chris Carpenter		Launceston	Northern Tasmanian [Football Association \|NTFA]	0
1	12	Ross Ditchburn		Claremont	WAFL	28
2	13	Danny Hughes		Port Adelaide	SANFL	124
2	14	Trevor Clisby		North Adelaide	SANFL	0
2	15	Geoff Linke		South Adelaide	SANFL	2
2	16	Phil Brooksby		South Adelaide	SANFL	0
2	17	Tom Warhurst		Norwood	SANFL	0
2	18	David Tiller		North Adelaide	SANFL	0
2	19	John Platten		Central [District Football Club\|Central District]	SANFL	258
2	20	Stephen Copping		Glenelg	SANFL	42
2	21	Chris McDermott		Glenelg	SANFL	0
2	22	Greg McAdam		North Adelaide	SANFL	0
2	23	Scott Knight		Launceston	Northern Tasmanian Football [Association \|NTFA]	5
2	24	Chris Velde		Glenelg	SANFL	0