| Club: | Hawthorn Football Club |
| Season: | 1981 |
| President: | Ron Cook |
| Coach: | Allan Jeans |
| Captain: | Leigh Matthews |
| Home Ground: | Princes Park |
| Regularseason Comp: | VFL season |
| Regularseason Result: | 13–9 (6th) |
| Finals Series: | Finals series |
| Finals Result: | Did not qualify |
| Club B&Amp;F: | Best and Fairest |
| Best And Fairest: | Terry Wallace |
| Leading Goalscorer: | Leigh Matthews (48) |
| Highest Attendance: | 92,935 (Round 11 vs.) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 7,992 (Round 22 vs.) |
| Average Attendance: | 22,955 |
| Prevseason: | 1980 |
| Nextseason: | 1982 |
The 1981 season was the Hawthorn Football Club's 57th season in the Victorian Football League and 80th overall.
| Rd | Date and local time | Opponent | Scores (Hawthorn's scores indicated in bold) | Venue | Attendance | Record | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | Away | Result | |||||||
| 1 | Saturday, 28 March (2:10 pm) | 16.16 (112) | 23.15 (153) | Won by 41 points | Melbourne Cricket Ground (A) | 32,202 | 1–0 | ||
| 2 | Saturday, 4 March (2:10 pm) | 16.11 (107) | 17.21 (123) | Lost by 16 points | Princes Park (H) | 30,159 | 1–1 | ||
| 3 | Saturday, 11 April (2:10 pm) | 21.13 (139) | 18.9 (117) | Lost by 22 points | VFL Park (A) | 21,977 | 1–2 | ||
| 4 | Monday, 20 April (2:10 pm) | 11.13 (79) | 13.16 (94) | Won by 15 points | Windy Hill (A) | 29,597 | 2–2 | ||
| 5 | Saturday, 25 April (2:10 pm) | 17.16 (118) | 11.17 (83) | Won by 35 points | Princes Park (H) | 16,116 | 3–2 | ||
| 6 | Saturday, 2 May (2:10 pm) | 10.19 (79) | 23.16 (154) | Won by 75 points | Melbourne Cricket Ground (A) | 45,750 | 4–2 | ||
| 7 | Saturday, 9 May (2:10 pm) | 8.8 (56) | 7.17 (59) | Lost by 3 points | Princes Park (H) | 13,273 | 4–3 | ||
| 8 | Saturday, 16 May (2:10 pm) | 21.18 (144) | 16.19 (115) | Won by 29 points | Princes Park (H) | 17,459 | 5–3 | ||
| 9 | Saturday, 23 May (2:10 pm) | 10.14 (74) | 11.18 (84) | Won by 10 points | Western Oval (A) | 13,789 | 6–3 | ||
| 10 | Saturday, 30 May (2:10 pm) | 13.17 (95) | 11.14 (80) | Won by 15 points | Princes Park (H) | 14,961 | 7–3 | ||
| 11 | Monday, 8 June (2:10 pm) | 18.19 (127) | 12.9 (81) | Won by 46 points | VFL Park (H) | 92,935 | 8–3 | ||
| 12 | Saturday, 13 June (2:10 pm) | 21.13 (139) | 14.16 (100) | Lost by 39 points | Princes Park (A) | 26,990 | 8–4 | ||
| 13 | Saturday, 20 June (2:10 pm) | 20.18 (138) | 15.16 (106) | Won by 32 points | Princes Park (H) | 11,656 | 9–4 | ||
| 14 | Sunday, 28 June (2:10 pm) | 20.13 (133) | 22.19 (151) | Lost by 18 points | The Gabba (H) | 20,351 | 9–5 | ||
| 15 | Saturday, 4 July (2:10 pm) | 7.13 (55) | 16.19 (115) | Won by 60 points | Arden Street Oval (A) | 8,160 | 10–5 | ||
| 16 | Saturday, 18 July (2:10 pm) | 12.14 (86) | 20.11 (131) | Lost by 45 points | Princes Park (H) | 19,617 | 10–6 | ||
| 17 | Saturday, 25 July (2:10 pm) | 10.11 (71) | 8.9 (57) | Lost by 14 points | Kardinia Park (A) | 24,753 | 10–7 | ||
| 18 | Saturday, 1 August (2:10 pm) | 10.13 (73) | 7.19 (61) | Lost by 12 points | Junction Oval (A) | 16,013 | 10–8 | ||
| 19 | Saturday, 8 August (2:10 pm) | 15.21 (111) | 13.12 (90) | Won by 21 points | Princes Park (H) | 8,058 | 11–8 | ||
| 20 | Saturday, 15 August (2:10 pm) | 9.14 (68) | 10.17 (77) | Won by 9 points | VFL Park (A) | 20,863 | 12–8 | ||
| 21 | Saturday, 22 August (2:10 pm) | 22.17 (149) | 11.10 (76) | Lost by 73 points | Victoria Park (A) | 26,680 | 12–9 | ||
| 22 | Saturday, 29 August (2:10 pm) | 15.20 (110) | 8.9 (57) | Won by 53 points | Princes Park (H) | 7,922 | 13–9 | ||
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