1978 VFA season

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.

|- style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%;"

! !! TEAM !! width="25" | P !! width="25" | W !! width="25" | L !! width="25" | D !! width="45" | PF !! width="45" | PA !! width="45" | Pct !! width="45" | PTS

|- style="background: #CCFFCC;"

| 1

| Port Melbourne

| 18

| 13

| 5

| 0

| 2305

| 1994

| 115.5

| 52

|- style="background: #CCFFCC;"

| 2

| Preston

| 18

| 12

| 5

| 1

| 2175

| 1995

| 109.0

| 50

|- style="background: #CCFFCC;"

| 3

| Prahran

| 18

| 11

| 6

| 1

| 2221

| 1965

| 113.0

| 46

|- style="background: #CCFFCC;"

| 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

|- style="background: #FFCCCC;"

| 10

| Mordialloc

| 18

| 3

| 15

| 0

| 1783

| 2381

| 74.8

| 12

|- style="font-size: xx-small;"

| colspan="8" | Key: P = Played, W = Won, L = Lost, D = Drawn, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, Pct = Percentage; (P) = Premiers, PTS = Premiership points

| colspan="2" | Source{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|date=28 August 1978|title=Dandy way to stay in finals|page=25|publication-place=Melbourne|author=Marc Fiddian}}

|}

{{AFLGameHeader|title=Semi-finals}}

{{AFLGame|Sunday, 3 September|Prahran|21.16 (142)|H|Dandenong|17.15 (117)|St Kilda Cricket Ground|7,932|{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|page=29|author=Marc Fiddian|title=Two Blues dump Dandy|date=4 September 1978|publication-place=Melbourne}}}}

{{AFLGame|Sunday, 10 September|Port Melbourne|19.16 (130)|A|Preston|20.14 (134)|St Kilda Cricket Ground|14,480|{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|page=29|author=Marc Fiddian|date=11 September 1978|title=Bullants nip Port|publication-place=Melbourne}}}}

{{AFLGameFooter}}

{{AFLGameHeader|title=Preliminary Final}}

{{AFLGame|Sunday, 17 September|Port Melbourne|16.16 (112)|A|Prahran|20.14 (134)|St Kilda Cricket Ground|10,475|{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|page=28|author=Marc Fiddian|title=Five-goal Sam hits his straps|date=18 September 1978|publication-place=Melbourne}}}}

{{AFLGameFooter}}

{{AFLGameDetailed

|title = 1978 VFA Division 1 Grand Final

|date = Sunday, 24 September

|home team = Preston

|home Q1= 5.3 (33)

|home Q2= 10.11 (71)

|home Q3= 13.12 (90)

|home final= 17.17 (119)

|home goals= Cann 4, Gonsalves 3, Lorenzini 2, Marks 2, Renwick 2, Wilmot 2, Durward, Ringin

|home injuries =

|home reports = Wilmot, for striking Kekovich in the third quarter
Wilmot, for striking McGuinness in the third quarter
Martin, for striking Kekovich in the third quarter
Martin, for striking Jeffrey in the third quarter
Martin, for headbutting Chapman in the third quarter

|winner = A

|away team = Prahran

|away Q1= 8.3 (51)

|away Q2= 9.7 (61)

|away Q3= 18.12 (120)

|away final= 21.15 (141)

|away goals= Smith 7, Johnston 4, Preen 4, Austin 2, Clarke, Dwyer, Kekovich, Taylor

|away injuries =

|away reports = Anderson, for striking Gonsalves in the third quarter
Kekovich, for attempting to striking Martin in the second quarter
McGuinness, for striking Marshall in the third quarter

|venue = St Kilda Cricket Ground

|crowd = 29,565

|report = {{cite news|title=Prahran steps on the Bullants|author=Marc Fiddian|date=25 September 1978|newspaper=The Age|page=27|publication-place=Melbourne}}

|umpires = Rex Wenn

|BOG award =

|BOG winner =

|broadcast =

|anthem =

|notes=

}}

• 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.{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|publication-place=Melbourne|author=Marc Fiddian|pages=30|date=31 August 1978|title=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.

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.

|- style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%;"

! !! TEAM !! width="25" | P !! width="25" | W !! width="25" | L !! width="25" | D !! width="45" | PF !! width="45" | PA !! width="45" | Pct !! width="45" | PTS

|- style="background: #CCFFCC;"

| 1

| Frankston (P)

| 18

| 15

| 3

| 0

| 2608

| 1787

| 145.9

| 60

|- style="background: #CCFFCC;"

| 2

| Camberwell

| 18

| 14

| 4

| 0

| 2341

| 1527

| 153.3

| 56

|- style="background: #CCFFCC;"

| 3

| Oakleigh

| 18

| 12

| 5

| 1

| 2284

| 1964

| 116.2

| 50

|- style="background: #CCFFCC;"

| 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

|- style="font-size: xx-small;"

| colspan="8" | Key: P = Played, W = Won, L = Lost, D = Drawn, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, Pct = Percentage; (P) = Premiers, PTS = Premiership points

| colspan="2" | Source{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|publication-place=Melbourne|author=Marc Fiddian|date=14 August 1978|title=Association details}}

|}

{{AFLGameHeader|title=Semi-finals}}

{{AFLGame|Sunday, 20 August|Oakleigh|28.22 (190)|H|Yarraville|15.10 (100)|Toorak Park|5,000|{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|page=31|author=Marc Fiddian|title=Preston in by point|date=21 August 1978|publication-place=Melbourne}}}}

{{AFLGame|Sunday, 27 August|Frankston|18.12 (120)|H|Camberwell|16.8 (104)|Toorak Park|6,500|}}

{{AFLGameFooter}}

{{AFLGameHeader|title=Preliminary Final}}

{{AFLGame|Sunday, 3 September|Camberwell|15.26 (116)|H|Oakleigh|10.19 (79)|Toorak Park|5,000|}}

{{AFLGameFooter}}

{{AFLGameDetailed

|title = 1978 VFA Division 2 Grand Final

|date = Sunday, 10 September

|home team = Frankston

|home Q1 = 1.2 (8)

|home Q2 = 7.7 (49)

|home Q3 = 9.8 (62)

|home final = 15.13 (103)

|home goals= Hunter 6, Orchard 3, Roberts 3, Bell, Boyd, Sampson

|home best =

|home injuries =

|home reports = Lewis, for striking Hook in the second quarter

|winner = H

||away team = Camberwell

|away Q1 = 2.4 (16)

|away Q2 = 5.5 (35)

|away Q3 = 9.11 (65)

|away final = 13.11 (89)

|away goals= Hammond 5, B. Smith 3, Adgemis, Hirst, Spithill, Withers, Wright

|away best=

|away injuries =

|away reports =

|venue = Toorak Park

|crowd = 8,000

|report = {{cite news|newspaper=The Age|page=29|author=Marc Fiddian|date=11 September 1978|title=VFA first for Frankston|publication-place=Melbourne}}

|umpires = Roy Groom

|BOG award =

|BOG winner =

|broadcast =

|anthem =

|notes=

• Scores were level twenty minutes into the final quarter.

}}

• 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.{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|publication-place=Melbourne|author=Marc Fiddian|page=32|date=31 July 1978|title=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.

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,{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|publication-place=Melbourne|author=Stephen Phillips|page=28|date=10 May 1978|title=NSW Cooked}} then Queensland by 32 points,{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|publication-place=Melbourne|page=24|date=21 June 1978|title=NFL game to Port}} before losing its semi-final against South Adelaide by five points.{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|publication-place=Melbourne|page=24|date=19 July 1978|title=Port's brave bid fails}}
• Sandringham defeated Australian Capital Territory by four points,{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|publication-place=Melbourne|author=Stephen Phillips|page=27|date=24 May 1978|title='Cowboy' has umps in gun}} before losing its quarter-final to South Adelaide by 59 points.{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|publication-place=Melbourne|author=Stephen Phillips|page=25|date=5 July 1978|title=Bunton lands a winner}}
• Coburg defeated East Perth by 22 points,{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|publication-place=Melbourne|author=Stephen Phillips|page=24|date=7 June 1978|title=Coburg beats East Perth}} before losing its quarter-final against Glenelg by 17 points.{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|publication-place=Melbourne|page=26|date=28 June 1978|title=Coburg flops}}

The Association played an interleague representative match against Queensland for the second consecutive season.

{{AFLGameHeader|title=1978 Interleague Matches}}

{{AFLGame|Sunday, 4 June|Queensland|18.14 (122)|H|V.F.A.|12.20 (92)|Gabba||{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|publication-place=Melbourne|author=Marc Fiddian|page=24|date=5 June 1978|title=VFA out of the running}}}}

{{AFLGameFooter}}

• 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.{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|publication-place=Melbourne|author=Marc Fiddian|page=29|date=29 May 1978|title=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.{{cite news|newspaper=The Age|publication-place=Melbourne|page=29|date=10 July 1978|title=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).

• List of VFA/VFL premiers

{{reflist|2}}

{{VFA/VFL seasons}}

{{VFL}}

{{Aussie Rules in Victoria}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:1978 Vfa Season}}

Category:Victorian Football League seasons

VFL