Grand final

Notable events

• Carlton's
  Carlton Football Club
  The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
  
   Grand Final full-back, Scott Howell
  Scott Howell (footballer)
  Scott Howell is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Carlton in the VFL during the early 1980s.Howell debuted for Carlton in the 1980 finals series and played in Carlton's premiership team the following season...
  
  , was a member of the only three-generation set of AFL/VFL Grand Final players. His father Jack E. "Chooka" Howell
  Jack Howell (footballer)
  Jack E. "Chooka" Howell , nicknamed "Chooka" from his distinctive gait, was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League .- Three generations of Grand Final players :...
  
   had played for Carlton
  Carlton Football Club
  The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
  
   in the 1947 Grand Final against Essendon
  Essendon Football Club
  The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
  
  . His grandfather, Jack P. "Chooka" Howell
  Jack P. Howell
  Jack P. "Chooka" Howell was an Australian rules footballer who played with South Melbourne in the VFL...
  
  , had played in the 1918 Grand Final for South Melbourne
  Sydney Swans
  The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
  
   against Collingwood
  Collingwood Football Club
  The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
  
  .

• Malcolm Blight
  Malcolm Blight
  Malcolm Jack Blight AM is a former champion Australian rules football player and coach, and current television commentator. During the 1970s and 1980s Blight played for the Woodville Football Club in the South Australian National Football League and the North Melbourne Football Club in the...
  
   (North Melbourne) and Alex Jesaulenko
  Alex Jesaulenko
  Alex 'Jezza' Jesaulenko MBE is a former Australian rules footballer and coach. He is regarded as one of the game's greatest-ever players and is an official Legend of the Australian Football Hall of Fame...
  
   (St. Kilda) became the final playing coaches in league history. Jesaulenko retired as player after round 8, 16-May-1981 becoming the last captain-coach. Blight was sacked as coach after round 16, 18-Jul-1981 making him the last person ever to be a playing coach a club. (He was not captain during his time as playing coach.)

• It was the final year of a fully Victorian competition. South Melbourne
  Sydney Swans
  The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
  
   would relocate to Sydney
  Sydney
  Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
  
   the following year. It would also be the last game played at Lake Oval
  Lake Oval
  The Lake Oval was an Australian rules football and cricket stadium located in Albert Park, Victoria. It was the home of the South Melbourne Football Club from 1878 until their relocation to Sydney in 1982 , and also of the South Melbourne Cricket Club...
  
  .

• The grand final was the final one played with the old MCG scoreboard. It was given to Manuka Oval
  Manuka Oval
  Manuka Oval is a 13,550 capacity ground located in the suburb of Griffith, adjacent to Manuka, a business district of Canberra, Australia's capital....
  
   in 1982 after the MCG installed a new colour video scoreboard. The old scoreboard still resides at Manuka Oval today.

See also

• Early VFL Final systems
  Early VFL Final systems
  Throughout its history, the Victorian Football League has used a system of finals after playing a regular season to determine the winner of the premiership....
  
  
• Page-McIntyre "Final Four" system
• McIntyre "Final Five" system