| 1981 National Soccer League Squads Written by Tony Persoglia and Greg Stock |
| 1980 |
Results | Table | Top Scorers | Squads | NSL Cup | NSL Index | 1982
Club | Adelaide City | APIA Leichhardt | Blacktown City | Brisbane City | Brisbane Lions | Canberra City | Footscray JUST | Heidelberg United | Marconi | Newcastle KB United | Preston Makedonia | South Melbourne | Sydney City | Sydney Olympic | West Adelaide | Wollongong City
Sources: Australian Soccer Weekly, Soccer Action, Soccer World.
| Adelaide City 1981 Squad | ||||
| Player Details | Home-and-Away Season | Full Name | Birth Date | Position | Start | Sub | App | Gls | Red | Cls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Besir | 1951 | Defender | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Greg Buch | 07-Sep-1961 | Forward | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | ||
| Glen Dods | 07-Jul-1957 | Defender | 9 | 2 | 11 | 0 | ||
| Justin Fashanu | 19-Feb-1961 | Forward | 6 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 1 | |
| David Jones | 01-Apr-1955 | Defender | 29 | 0 | 29 | 3 | 1 | |
| Chris Manou | 01-May-1963 | Defender | 6 | 2 | 8 | 0 | ||
| Gary Marocchi | 24-Apr-1955 | Midfielder | 28 | 1 | 29 | 3 | ||
| Peter Marshall | 1958 | Goalkeeper | 15 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 6 | |
| Sergio Melta | 16-Mar-1954 | Midfielder | 26 | 3 | 29 | 5 | ||
| Chris Miller | 1961 | Defender | 3 | 4 | 7 | 0 | ||
| David Mitchell | 13-Jun-1962 | Forward | 25 | 0 | 25 | 9 | ||
| Brian Northcote | 11-Aug-1956 | Midfielder | 23 | 2 | 25 | 6 | ||
| Bugsy Nyskohus | 18-Jun-1950 | Defender | 30 | 0 | 30 | 1 | ||
| John Nyskohus | 15-Oct-1951 | Forward | 30 | 0 | 30 | 8 | ||
| Steve Peressin | 1962 | Goalkeeper | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | |
| John Perin | 10-Jun-1948 | Midfielder | 26 | 0 | 26 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jack Przybylski | Goalkeeper | 13 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 2 | ||
| Peter Rankin | 02-Jun-1964 | Forward | 0 | 8 | 8 | 0 | ||
| Bobby Russell | 16-Jul-1955 | Defender | 30 | 0 | 30 | 4 | ||
| Luciano Signore | 06-May-1962 | Forward | 5 | 3 | 8 | 0 | ||
| Charlie Villani | 02-Mar-1963 | Midfielder | 22 | 2 | 24 | 3 | ||
Coach: Bob D'Ottavi. 30 matches: Won 13; Drew 6; Lost 11.