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 |
| Brownlow Medallist | Malcolm Blight (North Melbourne) |
| Coleman Medallist | Kelvin Templeton (Footscray) |
| Attendance | |
| Matches played | 138 |
| Total attendance | 3,478,015 (25,203 per match) |
| Highest | 101,704 |
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.
Home-and-away 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
| (P) | Premiers |
| Qualified for finals |
| # | Team | P | W | L | D | PF | PA | % | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Melbourne | 22 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 2407 | 1991 | 120.9 | 64 |
| 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 |
Rules for classification: 1. premiership points; 2. percentage; 3. points for
Average score: 104.8
Source: AFL Tables
Finals series
Finals week 1
Finals week 2
Preliminary final
Grand final
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.[citation needed]
Awards
- The Coleman Medal was won by Kelvin Templeton of Footscray with 118 goals.
- 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]
References
- 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.
Sources
- 1978 VFL season at AFL Tables
- 1978 VFL season at Australian Football
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