1978 VFL Night Series
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2017}}
{{Use Australian English|date=December 2017}}
{{Infobox international football competition
| tourney_name = VFL Night Series
| year = 1978
| other_titles = VFL Amco-Herald Cup
| dates = 3 March – 20 June 1978
| num_teams = 13
| venues = 1
| cities = 1
| champion_other = Fitzroy
| count = 2
| second_other = North Melbourne
| matches = 13
| attendance = {{#expr: 18585 + 10136 + 10321 + 5136 + 15764 + 8867 + 5822 + 12061 + 8146 + 20694 + 8172 + 6590 + 26420}}
| prevseason = 1977
| nextseason = 1979 (AFC)
}}
The 1978 Victorian Football League Night Series was the 18th edition of the VFL Night Series, a VFL-organised national club Australian rules football tournament between the clubs from the VFL and Tasmania.{{cite web|url=https://www.hardballget.net/afl-npm-1978-vfl-amco-herald-cup.html|author=David Eastman|title=1978 VFL Amco-Herald Cup}}
Qualified Teams
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |
| Team
!Nickname !League !Qualification !Participation (bold indicates winners) |
|---|
| North Melbourne
|Kangaroos |VFL |Winner of the 1977 Victorian Football League |17th {{small|(Previous: 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1977)}} |
| Collingwood
|Magpies |VFL |Runners-Up in the 1977 Victorian Football League |7th {{small|(Previous: 1957, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1977)}} |
| Hawthorn
|Hawks |VFL |Third Place in the 1977 Victorian Football League |15th {{small|(Previous: 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1977)}} |
| Richmond
|Tigers |VFL |Fourth Place in the 1977 Victorian Football League |15th {{small|(Previous: 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1970, 1977)}} |
| South Melbourne
|Swans |VFL |Fifth Place in the 1977 Victorian Football League |17th {{small|(Previous: 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1977)}} |
| Carlton
|Blues |VFL |Sixth Place in the 1977 Victorian Football League |12th {{small|(Previous: 1956, 1957, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1971, 1977)}} |
| Footscray
|Bulldogs |VFL |Seventh Place in the 1977 Victorian Football League |16th {{small|(Previous: 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1977)}} |
| Geelong
|Cats |VFL |Eighth Place in the 1977 Victorian Football League |9th {{small|(Previous: 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1970, 1971, 1977)}} |
| Essendon
|Bombers |VFL |Ninth Place in the 1977 Victorian Football League |11th {{small|(Previous: 1956, 1957, 1958, 1961, 1963, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1977)}} |
| Fitzroy
|Lions |VFL |Tenth Place in the 1977 Victorian Football League |16th {{small|(Previous: 1956, 1957, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1977)}} |
| Melbourne
|Demons |VFL |Eleventh Place in the 1977 Victorian Football League |10th {{small|(Previous: 1957, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1977)}} |
| St Kilda
|Saints |VFL |Twelfth Place in the 1977 Victorian Football League |11th {{small|(Previous: 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1967, 1969, 1977)}} |
| Tasmania
|Devils |State Representative Team |1st |
Venues
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |
| Melbourne |
|---|
| Waverley Park |
| Capacity: 72,000 |
| 150px |
Knockout stage
=Round 1=
{{ AFLFootballbox collapsible
| date=3 March 1978
| team1= South Melbourne
| score= 126–68
| team2= Collingwood
| QtrbyQtr1= 19.12 (126)
| QtrbyQtr2= 10.8 (68)
| stadium= Waverley Park, Melbourne
| attendance= 18,585
}}
{{ AFLFootballbox collapsible
| date=10 March 1978
| team1= North Melbourne
| score= 80–63
| team2= Footscray
| QtrbyQtr1= 11.14 (80)
| QtrbyQtr2= 9.9 (63)
| stadium= Waverley Park, Melbourne
| attendance= 10,136
}}
{{ AFLFootballbox collapsible
| date=17 March 1978
| team1= Carlton
| score= 63–62
| team2= Geelong
| QtrbyQtr1= 8.15 (63)
| QtrbyQtr2= 8.14 (62)
| stadium= Waverley Park, Melbourne
| attendance= 10,321
}}
{{ AFLFootballbox collapsible
| date=23 March 1978
| team1= Fitzroy
| score= 88–70
| team2= Tasmania
| QtrbyQtr1= 13.10 (88)
| QtrbyQtr2= 10.10 (70)
| stadium= Waverley Park, Melbourne
| attendance= 5,136
}}
{{ AFLFootballbox collapsible
| date=4 April 1978
| team1= Richmond
| score= 88–37
| team2= Essendon
| QtrbyQtr1= 13.10 (88)
| QtrbyQtr2= 5.7 (37)
| stadium= Waverley Park, Melbourne
| attendance= 15,764
}}
{{ AFLFootballbox collapsible
| date=11 April 1978
| team1= St Kilda
| score= 96–57
| team2= Melbourne
| QtrbyQtr1= 14.12 (96)
| QtrbyQtr2= 8.9 (57)
| stadium= Waverley Park, Melbourne
| attendance= 8,867
}}
= Quarter-finals =
{{ AFLFootballbox collapsible
| round=QF #1
| date=18 April 1978
| team1= Fitzroy
| score= 92–68
| team2= South Melbourne
| QtrbyQtr1= 14.8 (92)
| QtrbyQtr2= 9.14 (68)
| stadium= Waverley Park, Melbourne
| attendance= 5,822
}}
{{ AFLFootballbox collapsible
| round=QF #2
| date=2 May 1978
| team1= Richmond
| score= 100–83
| team2= Carlton
| QtrbyQtr1= 15.10 (100)
| QtrbyQtr2= 11.17 (83)
| stadium= Waverley Park, Melbourne
| attendance= 12,061
}}
{{ AFLFootballbox collapsible
| round=QF #3
| date=9 May 1978
| team1= Geelong
| score= 67–36
| team2= Hawthorn
| QtrbyQtr1= 10.7 (67)
| QtrbyQtr2= 5.6 (36)
| stadium= Waverley Park, Melbourne
| attendance= 8,146
}}
{{ AFLFootballbox collapsible
| round=QF #4
| date=16 May 1978
| team1= North Melbourne
| score= 60–56
| team2= St Kilda
| QtrbyQtr1= 8.12 (60)
| QtrbyQtr2= 8.8 (56)
| stadium= Waverley Park, Melbourne
| attendance= 20,694
}}
= Semi-finals =
{{ AFLFootballbox collapsible
| round=SF #1
| date=23 May 1978
| team1= Fitzroy
| score= 74–58
| team2= Richmond
| QtrbyQtr1= 10.14 (74)
| QtrbyQtr2= 8.10 (58)
| stadium= Waverley Park, Melbourne
| attendance= 8,172
}}
{{ AFLFootballbox collapsible
| round=SF #2
| date=30 May 1978
| team1= North Melbourne
| score= 98–59
| team2= Geelong
| QtrbyQtr1= 15.8 (98)
| QtrbyQtr2= 9.5 (59)
| stadium= Waverley Park, Melbourne
| attendance= 6,590
}}
= Victorian Football League Night Series final =
{{ AFLFootballbox collapsible
| round= Final
| date=20 June 1978
| team1= Fitzroy
| score= 96–20
| team2= North Melbourne
| QtrbyQtr1= 2.3 (15)
3.5 (23)
10.13 (73)
13.18 (96)
| QtrbyQtr2= 2.1 (13)
2.5 (17)
2.6 (18)
2.8 (20)
| stadium= Waverley Park, Melbourne
| attendance= 26,420
| umpires= Deller, K.Smith
| goals1 = Beecroft 3
McCarthy, McMahon 2
Quinlan, Irwin, Walls, Conlan, Padley, Thompson 1
| goals2 = Blight, Schimmelbusch 1
}}