1978 VFL season
The 1978 VFL season was the 82nd season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 1 April until 30 September, and comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top five clubs.
1978 VFL Premiership season | |
---|---|
Teams | 12 |
Premiers | Hawthorn (4th premiership) |
Minor premiers | North Melbourne (2nd minor premiership) |
Night series | Fitzroy (1st Night series win) |
Matches played | 138 |
Attendance | 3,478,015 (25,203 per match) |
Highest attendance | 101,704 |
Coleman Medallist | Kelvin Templeton (Footscray) |
Brownlow Medallist | Malcolm Blight (North Melbourne) |
The premiership was won by the Hawthorn Football Club for the fourth time, after it defeated North Melbourne by 18 points in the 1978 VFL Grand Final.
Rule Changes
- The 19th and 20th men were converted into interchange players, meaning that any two players could be rested at any time, and could return to the field.
- Goal umpires required to touch goal post if the ball had hit post. Also two flags were positioned at one post and one flag at the other to save time when signalling scores.[1]
Night series
Fitzroy defeated North Melbourne 13.18 (96) to 2.8 (20) in the final.
Premiership season
Round 1
Round 2
Round 2 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 8 April (2:10 pm) | Carlton 13.17 (95) | def. by | Geelong 15.19 (109) | Princes Park (crowd: 18,932) | Report |
Saturday, 8 April (2:10 pm) | Collingwood 22.23 (155) | def. | Essendon 12.16 (88) | Victoria Park (crowd: 34,665) | Report |
Saturday, 8 April (2:10 pm) | Melbourne 24.23 (167) | def. | Fitzroy 23.19 (157) | MCG (crowd: 15,613) | Report |
Saturday, 8 April (2:10 pm) | St Kilda 20.17 (137) | def. | Footscray 19.16 (130) | Moorabbin Oval (crowd: 18,540) | Report |
Saturday, 8 April (2:10 pm) | South Melbourne 16.8 (104) | def. by | Hawthorn 18.24 (132) | Lake Oval (crowd: 15,072) | Report |
Saturday, 8 April (2:10 pm) | North Melbourne 25.16 (166) | def. | Richmond 14.9 (93) | Arden Street Oval (crowd: 22,505) | Report |
|
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 6 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 6 May (2:10 pm) | Carlton 19.12 (126) | def. by | Hawthorn 24.13 (157) | Princes Park (crowd: 19,649) | Report |
Saturday, 6 May (2:10 pm) | Fitzroy 14.12 (96) | def. by | Collingwood 22.16 (148) | Junction Oval (crowd: 25232) | Report |
Saturday, 6 May (2:10 pm) | Essendon 22.18 (150) | def. | Richmond 19.15 (129) | Windy Hill (crowd: 21946) | Report |
Saturday, 6 May (2:10 pm) | Footscray 16.9 (105) | def. by | South Melbourne 18.15 (123) | VFL Park (crowd: 19263) | Report |
Saturday, 6 May (2:10 pm) | Geelong 12.16 (88) | def. by | North Melbourne 16.14 (110) | Kardinia Park (crowd: 23,074) | Report |
Saturday, 6 May (2:10 pm) | Melbourne 21.15 (141) | def. by | St Kilda 31.18 (204) | MCG (crowd: 24852) | Report |
|
Round 7
Round 8
Round 9
Round 10
Round 11
Round 12
Round 13
Round 13 | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 1 July (2:10 pm) | Geelong 8.9 (57) | def. by | Carlton 9.13 (67) | Kardinia Park (crowd: 25,185) | Report |
Saturday, 1 July (2:10 pm) | Essendon 12.26 (98) | def. by | Collingwood 14.21 (105) | Windy Hill (crowd: 29,768) | Report |
Saturday, 1 July (2:10 pm) | Fitzroy 19.27 (141) | def. | Melbourne 8.13 (61) | VFL Park (crowd: 13,933) | Report |
Saturday, 1 July (2:10 pm) | Footscray 33.15 (213) | def. | St Kilda 16.10 (106) | Western Oval (crowd: 16,300) | Report |
Saturday, 1 July (2:10 pm) | Hawthorn 21.14 (140) | def. | South Melbourne 18.11 (119) | Princes Park (crowd: 13,853) | Report |
Saturday, 1 July (2:10 pm) | Richmond 21.16 (142) | def. | North Melbourne 17.15 (117) | MCG (crowd: 27,156) | Report |
|
Round 14
Round 15
Round 16
Round 17
Round 18
Round 19
Round 20
- Richmond were leading Collingwood by 55 points at the 10-minute mark of the second quarter before the Magpies hit back to win by 14 points. It was at the time the third-biggest comeback in League history.[2]
Round 21
Round 22
Ladder
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | PF | PA | PP | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | North Melbourne | 22 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 2407 | 1991 | 120.9 | 64 | Finals |
2 | Hawthorn (P) | 22 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 2496 | 2120 | 117.7 | 64 | |
3 | Collingwood | 22 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 2347 | 2072 | 113.3 | 60 | |
4 | Carlton | 22 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 2329 | 1994 | 116.8 | 56 | |
5 | Geelong | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 2153 | 2104 | 102.3 | 48 | |
6 | St Kilda | 22 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 2330 | 2503 | 93.1 | 46 | |
7 | Richmond | 22 | 10 | 11 | 1 | 2459 | 2389 | 102.9 | 42 | |
8 | South Melbourne | 22 | 9 | 13 | 0 | 2390 | 2383 | 100.3 | 36 | |
9 | Fitzroy | 22 | 8 | 14 | 0 | 2258 | 2339 | 96.5 | 32 | |
10 | Essendon | 22 | 8 | 14 | 0 | 2203 | 2337 | 94.3 | 32 | |
11 | Footscray | 22 | 7 | 15 | 0 | 2272 | 2508 | 90.6 | 28 | |
12 | Melbourne | 22 | 5 | 17 | 0 | 2025 | 2929 | 69.1 | 20 |
Source: VFL ladder
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for.
(P) Premiers
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for.
(P) Premiers
Ladder progression
- Numbers highlighted in green indicates the team finished the round inside the top 5.
- Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the team finished in first place on the ladder in that round.
- Numbers highlighted in red indicates the team finished in last place on the ladder in that round.
- Subscript numbers indicate ladder position at round's end.
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | North Melbourne | 42 | 81 | 121 | 161 | 201 | 241 | 281 | 321 | 321 | 361 | 401 | 441 | 441 | 441 | 481 | 481 | 521 | 521 | 561 | 561 | 601 | 641 |
2 | Hawthorn | 41 | 82 | 122 | 124 | 129 | 167 | 204 | 205 | 244 | 246 | 285 | 286 | 287 | 326 | 365 | 404 | 443 | 482 | 523 | 562 | 602 | 642 |
3 | Collingwood | 44 | 413 | 414 | 813 | 1210 | 168 | 169 | 206 | 245 | 284 | 286 | 287 | 288 | 289 | 327 | 366 | 405 | 445 | 484 | 524 | 564 | 603 |
4 | Carlton | 010 | 012 | 410 | 411 | 411 | 411 | 811 | 128 | 168 | 168 | 207 | 246 | 284 | 402 | 402 | 403 | 442 | 444 | 446 | 523 | 563 | 564 |
5 | Geelong | 09 | 410 | 86 | 123 | 128 | 1212 | 1610 | 207 | 246 | 285 | 324 | 324 | 325 | 364 | 403 | 442 | 444 | 483 | 522 | 445 | 443 | 485 |
6 | St Kilda | 46 | 84 | 102 | 105 | 142 | 182 | 222 | 223 | 224 | 283 | 322 | 323 | 362 | 363 | 364 | 365 | 366 | 406 | 387 | 426 | 426 | 466 |
7 | Richmond | 43 | 84 | 85 | 810 | 814 | 814 | 1212 | 1610 | 1612 | 1613 | 1614 | 1615 | 2014 | 2015 | 2413 | 2812 | 3210 | 3212 | 369 | 387 | 387 | 427 |
8 | South Melbourne | 08 | 017 | 415 | 812 | 127 | 1210 | 1211 | 1213 | 1610 | 1612 | 2010 | 2010 | 2410 | 2410 | 2810 | 329 | 368 | 407 | 447 | 368 | 368 | 368 |
9 | Fitzroy | 07 | 09 | 011 | 49 | 88 | 89 | 810 | 811 | 811 | 812 | 2011 | 2011 | 2012 | 2012 | 2015 | 2413 | 2811 | 2411 | 2411 | 2810 | 329 | 329 |
10 | Essendon | 45 | 47 | 86 | 811 | 125 | 165 | 167 | 1611 | 208 | 2010 | 247 | 248 | 249 | 287 | 289 | 327 | 329 | 329 | 3210 | 329 | 3210 | 3210 |
11 | Footscray | 011 | 011 | 012 | 012 | 412 | 412 | 412 | 412 | 812 | 1210 | 248 | 285 | 324 | 325 | 326 | 328 | 367 | 2810 | 2810 | 2811 | 2811 | 2811 |
12 | Melbourne | 012 | 48 | 49 | 87 | 810 | 417 | 815 | 817 | 817 | 1214 | 1613 | 2012 | 2013 | 2013 | 2411 | 2810 | 2812 | 2813 | 1212 | 1612 | 2012 | 2012 |
Finals
Elimination final
Qualifying final
Semi finals
Preliminary final
Grand final
Hawthorn defeated North Melbourne 18.13 (121) to 15.13 (103), in front of a crowd of 101,704 people. (For an explanation of scoring see Australian rules football).
Awards
- The Coleman Medal was won by Kelvin Templeton of Footscray with 118 goals.[note 1]
- The Brownlow Medal was won by Malcolm Blight of North Melbourne
- The reserves premiership was won by North Melbourne. North Melbourne 17.29 (131) defeated Hawthorn 11.13 (79) in the grand final, held as a curtain-raiser to the seniors grand final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 30 September.[3]
Notes
- The Coleman was first awarded in 1981. In 2001, the AFL announced that the Coleman Medal would be awarded retrospectively from 1955 onwards.
Notable events
- In Round 20, Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser (who was the Number 1 ticket holder for Carlton throughout his time in office) was booed incessantly during the second half of the North Melbourne vs Carlton match at the Arden Street Oval. The booing continued right up to the moment when Mr. Fraser stepped inside his limousine and was driven away from the ground.
See also
References
- "History of Rule Changes". afl.com.au. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- Lovett (2019), p. 1088
- "All the scores". The Age. Melbourne, VIC. 2 October 1978. p. 32.
Bibliography
- Stephen Rogers and Ashley Brown (1998). Every Game Ever Played. 6th ed. Victoria: Penguin Books.
- Lovett, Michael, ed. (2019). AFL Record season 2019 : official statistical history of the AFL. Australian Football League. ISBN 9780648465102.
External links
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