1978 VFA season

none December 2017 December 2017 1978 VFA Premiership Season Teams 20 Division 1 Teams 10 Premiers Prahran(5th premiership) Minor premiers Port Melbourne(12th minor premiership) Division 2 Teams 10 Premiers Frankston(1st D2 premiership) Minor premiers Frankston(2nd D2 minor premiership) left ← 1977 right 1979 → The 1978 Victorian Football Association season was the 97th season of the top division of the Australian rules football competition, and the 18th season of second division competition. The Division 1 premiership was won by the Prahran Football Club, after it defeated Preston in the Grand Final on 24 September by 22 points; it was Prahran's fifth and last Division 1 premiership. The Division 2 premiership was won by Frankston; it is the only Association premiership in either division won by the club to date. Division 1 The Division 1 home-and-away season was played over 18 rounds; the top four then contested the finals under the Page–McIntyre system. The finals were played at the St Kilda Cricket Ground. Ladder 1978 VFA Division 1 Ladder TEAM P W L D PF PA Pct PTS 1 Port Melbourne 18 13 5 0 2305 1994 115.5 52 2 Preston 18 12 5 1 2175 1995 109.0 50 3 Prahran 18 11 6 1 2221 1965 113.0 46 4 Dandenong 18 11 7 0 2276 2017 112.8 44 5 Coburg 18 10 8 0 2087 1887 110.5 40 6 Sandringham 18 8 10 0 2054 1967 104.4 32 7 Brunswick 18 8 10 0 1820 1907 95.4 32 8 Geelong West 18 7 11 0 1936 2180 88.8 28 9 Caulfield 18 6 12 0 1937 2301 84.1 24 10 Mordialloc 18 3 15 0 1783 2381 74.8 12 Key: P = Played, W = Won, L = Lost, D = Drawn, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, Pct = Percentage; (P) = Premiers, PTS = Premiership points SourceThe Age 28 August 1978 Dandy way to stay in finals 25 Melbourne Marc Fiddian Finals Semi-finals Sunday, 3 September Prahran 21.16 (142) H Dandenong 17.15 (117) St Kilda Cricket Ground 7,932 The Age 29 Marc Fiddian Two Blues dump Dandy 4 September 1978 Melbourne Sunday, 10 September Port Melbourne 19.16 (130) A Preston 20.14 (134) St Kilda Cricket Ground 14,480 The Age 29 Marc Fiddian 11 September 1978 Bullants nip Port Melbourne Preliminary Final Sunday, 17 September Port Melbourne 16.16 (112) A Prahran 20.14 (134) St Kilda Cricket Ground 10,475 The Age 28 Marc Fiddian Five-goal Sam hits his straps 18 September 1978 Melbourne 1978 VFA Division 1 Grand Final Sunday, 24 September Preston 5.3 (33) 10.11 (71) 13.12 (90) 17.17 (119) Cann 4, Gonsalves 3, Lorenzini 2, Marks 2, Renwick 2, Wilmot 2, Durward, Ringin Wilmot, for striking Kekovich in the third quarterWilmot, for striking McGuinness in the third quarterMartin, for striking Kekovich in the third quarterMartin, for striking Jeffrey in the third quarterMartin, for headbutting Chapman in the third quarter A Prahran 8.3 (51) 9.7 (61) 18.12 (120) 21.15 (141) Smith 7, Johnston 4, Preen 4, Austin 2, Clarke, Dwyer, Kekovich, Taylor Anderson, for striking Gonsalves in the third quarterKekovich, for attempting to striking Martin in the second quarterMcGuinness, for striking Marshall in the third quarter St Kilda Cricket Ground 29,565 Prahran steps on the Bullants Marc Fiddian 25 September 1978 The Age 27 Melbourne Rex Wenn Awards The leading goalkicker for the third consecutive season was Fred Cook (Port Melbourne). Cook kicked 103 goals in the home-and-away season and 115 goals overall. The J. J. Liston Trophy was won jointly by Barry Nolan (Brunswick) and Trevor Durward (Preston); the two could not be separated on countback, each polling fourteen first preferences and four second preferences, for a total of 32 votes. Laurie Burt (Coburg) was third with 28 votes.The Age Melbourne Marc Fiddian 30 31 August 1978 Trevor, Barry tie for Liston Trophy Preston won the seconds premiership. Preston 10.13 (73) defeated Port Melbourne 10.12 (72) in the Grand Final, played as a stand-alone match on Saturday 16 September at Toorak Park. Werribee won the lightning premiership. Werribee 5.2 (32) defeated Sandringham 3.10 (28) in the Grand Final, played as a curtain-raiser to the senior Grand Final on Sunday 24 September. Werribee was the only Division 2 club to win the lightning premiership in the eight years it existed from 1972 to 1979, and it was the first Association title of any kind won by the club. Division 2 The Division 2 home-and-away season was played over eighteen rounds; the top four then contested the finals under the Page–McIntyre system; all finals were played on Sundays at Toorak Park. Ladder 1978 VFA Division 2 Ladder TEAM P W L D PF PA Pct PTS 1 Frankston (P) 18 15 3 0 2608 1787 145.9 60 2 Camberwell 18 14 4 0 2341 1527 153.3 56 3 Oakleigh 18 12 5 1 2284 1964 116.2 50 4 Yarraville 18 12 6 0 2136 1833 116.5 48 5 Northcote 18 10 8 0 2222 1944 114.3 40 6 Waverley 18 8 9 1 1881 2065 91.0 34 7 Sunshine 18 7 10 1 1930 2243 86.0 30 8 Werribee 18 6 12 0 1816 2277 79.8 24 9 Williamstown 18 3 15 0 1852 2462 75.2 12 10 Box Hill 18 1 16 1 1638 2606 62.8 6 Key: P = Played, W = Won, L = Lost, D = Drawn, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, Pct = Percentage; (P) = Premiers, PTS = Premiership points SourceThe Age Melbourne Marc Fiddian 14 August 1978 Association details Finals Semi-finals Sunday, 20 August Oakleigh 28.22 (190) H Yarraville 15.10 (100) Toorak Park 5,000 The Age 31 Marc Fiddian Preston in by point 21 August 1978 Melbourne Sunday, 27 August Frankston 18.12 (120) H Camberwell 16.8 (104) Toorak Park 6,500 Preliminary Final Sunday, 3 September Camberwell 15.26 (116) H Oakleigh 10.19 (79) Toorak Park 5,000 1978 VFA Division 2 Grand Final Sunday, 10 September Frankston 1.2 (8) 7.7 (49) 9.8 (62) 15.13 (103) Hunter 6, Orchard 3, Roberts 3, Bell, Boyd, Sampson Lewis, for striking Hook in the second quarter H Camberwell 2.4 (16) 5.5 (35) 9.11 (65) 13.11 (89) Hammond 5, B. Smith 3, Adgemis, Hirst, Spithill, Withers, Wright Toorak Park 8,000 The Age 29 Marc Fiddian 11 September 1978 VFA first for Frankston Melbourne Roy Groom Scores were level twenty minutes into the final quarter. Awards The leading goalkicker for Division 2 was Mark Fotheringham (Yarraville) who kicked 100 goals in the home-and-away season and 105 goals overall. Fotheringham, aged 21, was playing his first season of senior Association football.The Age Melbourne Marc Fiddian 32 31 July 1978 Young Eagle flies high The J. Field Medal was won by Lance Styles (Waverley), who polled 39 votes. Styles finished ahead of Richard Radziminski (Sunshine), who finished second with 37 votes, and Ray Orchard (Frankston), who finished third with 30 votes. Oakleigh won the seconds premiership. Oakleigh 24.10 (154) defeated Camberwell 23.12 (150) in the Grand Final, played as a stand-alone match on Saturday, 9 September at Northcote Park. Notable events NFL Night Series The top three Association clubs from 1977 – Port Melbourne, Sandringham and Coburg – were invited to participate in the NFL Night Series, known this year as the Escort Cup. In the competition, played on Tuesday nights concurrently with the premiership season: Port Melbourne defeated New South Wales by 46 points,The Age Melbourne Stephen Phillips 28 10 May 1978 NSW Cooked then Queensland by 32 points,The Age Melbourne 24 21 June 1978 NFL game to Port before losing its semi-final against South Adelaide by five points.The Age Melbourne 24 19 July 1978 Port's brave bid fails Sandringham defeated Australian Capital Territory by four points,The Age Melbourne Stephen Phillips 27 24 May 1978 'Cowboy' has umps in gun before losing its quarter-final to South Adelaide by 59 points.The Age Melbourne Stephen Phillips 25 5 July 1978 Bunton lands a winner Coburg defeated East Perth by 22 points,The Age Melbourne Stephen Phillips 24 7 June 1978 Coburg beats East Perth before losing its quarter-final against Glenelg by 17 points.The Age Melbourne 26 28 June 1978 Coburg flops Interleague matches The Association played an interleague representative match against Queensland for the second consecutive season. 1978 Interleague Matches Sunday, 4 June Queensland 18.14 (122) H V.F.A. 12.20 (92) Gabba The Age Melbourne Marc Fiddian 24 5 June 1978 VFA out of the running Other notable events On 28 May, Box Hill ended a 29-game losing streak dating back to Round 15, 1976, after coming from seven goals behind to draw with Sunshine; Sunshine 15.17 (107) led Box Hill 9.11 (65) at three-quarter time, but Box Hill made up the deficit with the wind in the final quarter to record a draw, 17.17 (119) apiece.The Age Melbourne Marc Fiddian 29 29 May 1978 Losing run draws to an end Box Hill's winless streak extended to 34 games before it recorded its sole win for the season against Williamstown in Round 13.The Age Melbourne 29 10 July 1978 Association details On 20 August, Preston recovered from a 39-point half time deficit to defeat Coburg by one point. When the final siren sounded, the scoreboard showed the clubs tied on 17.12 (114) apiece, but after the goal umpires conferred, the score was confirmed to be Preston 17.13 (115) d. Coburg 17.12 (114). In the Division 1 preliminary final, Prahran overcame a four-goal final quarter deficit to defeat Port Melbourne by 22 points; the win broke an eleven-game losing streak by Prahran against Port Melbourne. Prior to the Division 2 Grand Final, Frankston and Camberwell players became engaged in a scuffle after a disagreement during the warm-up. In its Lightning Premiership semi-final, Werribee forward John Bellin kicked a goal after the final siren to secure victory against Coburg; Werribee 7.1 (43) d. Coburg 6.2 (38). See also List of VFA/VFL premiers References 2 Category:Victorian Football League seasons VFL