NON-PREMIERSHIP MATCHES
1977 AMCO-HERALD CUP
SUMMARY OF RESULTS
Date |
Teams |
1/4 |
1/2 |
3/4 |
Final |
Margin |
Venue |
Day/Time |
Crowd |
ROUND 1 |
|||||||||
May-03 |
Collingwood |
1.2 (8) |
1.8 (14) |
4.13 (37) |
9.18 (72) |
56 |
Lake Oval,* |
Tue |
4,805 |
Richmond |
5.3 (33) |
8.6 (54) |
14.11 (95) |
19.14 (128) |
South Melbourne |
(7:45pm) |
|||
May-10 |
Carlton |
3.2 (20) |
7.6 (48) |
11.9 (75) |
12.17 (89) |
10 |
Lake Oval,* |
Tue |
4,118 |
St Kilda*** |
1.5 (11) |
1.10 (16) |
4.15 (39) |
10.19 (79) |
South Melbourne |
(7:45pm) |
|||
May-17 |
North Melbourne*** |
2.3 (15) |
5.4 (34) |
8.6 (54) |
11.8 (74) |
34 |
VFL Park, Waverley |
Tue |
8,468 |
Fitzroy |
2.1 (13) |
4.5 (29) |
10.11 (71) |
16.12 (108) |
(8:40pm)** |
||||
May-24 |
Footscray |
2.1 (13) |
4.2 (26) |
6.6 (42) |
8.9 (57) |
47 |
VFL Park, Waverley |
Tue |
3,475 |
South Melbourne |
5.2 (32) |
9.4 (58) |
11.11 (77) |
15.14 (104) |
(7:50pm) |
||||
May-31 |
Geelong |
0.0 (0) |
0.2 (2) |
2.4 (16) |
6.6 (42) |
42 |
VFL Park, Waverley |
Tue |
2,743 |
Hawthorn |
2.3 (15) |
5.4 (34) |
10.6 (66) |
13.6 (84) |
(7:50pm) |
||||
Jun-07 |
Melbourne |
4.4 (28) |
6.6 (42) |
9.8 (62) |
10.11 (71) |
32 |
VFL Park, Waverley |
Tue |
10,036 |
Essendon |
1.1 (7) |
1.4 (10) |
2.6 (18) |
5.9 (39) |
(7:50pm) |
||||
***St Kilda and North Melbourne
advanced as the two losing teams in Round 1 with the highest percentage |
|||||||||
QUARTER FINALS |
|||||||||
Jun-21 |
South Melbourne |
4.3 (27) |
5.5 (35) |
7.9 (51) |
12.14 (86) |
42 |
VFL Park, Waverley |
Tue |
5,123 |
St Kilda |
5.2 (32) |
5.8 (38) |
16.14 (110) |
19.14 (128) |
(7:50pm) |
||||
Jun-28 |
Hawthorn |
0.4 (4) |
2.6 (18) |
5.9 (39) |
7.10 (52) |
11 |
VFL Park, Waverley |
Tue |
3,346 |
North Melbourne |
0.4 (4) |
1.5 (11) |
2.9 (21) |
5.11 (41) |
(7:50pm) |
||||
Jul-05 |
Melbourne |
3.5 (23) |
5.8 (38) |
10.11 (71) |
11.15 (81) |
22 |
VFL Park, Waverley |
Tue |
6,841 |
Carlton |
4.4 (28) |
8.9 (57) |
9.12 (66) |
15.13 (103) |
(7:50pm) |
||||
Jul-12 |
Richmond |
4.1 (25) |
6.2 (38) |
11.5 (71) |
15.11 (101) |
30 |
VFL Park, Waverley |
Tue |
8,169 |
Fitzroy |
2.2 (14) |
6.5 (41) |
9.10 (64) |
10.11 (71) |
(7:50pm) |
||||
SEMI FINALS |
|||||||||
Jul-19 |
St Kilda |
5.4 (34) |
7.6 (48) |
7.13 (55) |
10.15 (75) |
24 |
VFL Park, Waverley |
Tue |
9,232 |
Hawthorn |
3.2 (20) |
6.6 (42) |
10.13 (73) |
14.15 (99) |
(7:50pm) |
||||
Jul-26 |
Carlton |
3.2 (20) |
3.7 (25) |
5.10 (40) |
6.13 (49) |
19 |
VFL Park, Waverley |
Tue |
6,056 |
Richmond |
2.2 (14) |
2.2 (14) |
4.3 (27) |
4.6 (30) |
(7:50pm) |
||||
GRAND FINAL |
|||||||||
Aug-02 |
Hawthorn |
3.7 (25) |
6.8 (44) |
10.11 (71) |
14.11 (95) |
24 |
VFL Park, Waverley |
Tue |
27,407 |
Carlton |
5.1 (31) |
7.3 (45) |
9.3 (57) |
11.5 (71) |
(7:50pm) |
||||
FIXTURE NOTES |
|||||||||
May-03 |
*Richmond-Collingwood was originally scheduled for VFL Park,
transferred because the new light towers were not completed |
||||||||
May-10 |
*Carlton-St Kilda was originally scheduled for VFL Park, transferred
because the new light towers were not completed |
||||||||
May-17 |
**First night match at VFL Park: the start was delayed by 55 minutes
due to a power failure just before the opening bounce |
||||||||
Jun-14 |
No match due to the VFL Queen's Birthday split-round (a Herald Shield
double-header was played at VFL Park instead) |
ABOUT THE 1977 SERIES
The first VFL Night Series ran from 1956 to 1971 and was brought to an end by dwindling crowds and the League's move to a Final Five. It seems hard to believe in today's multimedia world but matches in those series at Lake Oval were not televised.
It took the strong ratings and advertising revenue generated by the 1976 NFL Wills Cup to finally alert football administrators to the potential benefits of football broadcast live on network television. The 1976 NFL series was planned as a forerunner to a full-scale national competition in 1977 that would feature all VFL, SANFL and WAFL clubs plus representative teams from Tasmania, Queensland, New South Wales and the ACT. [Canberra Times, 15-4-1976] |
Live telecasts of the rival competitions went head-to-head from 7:30pm each Tuesday night with the VFL series broadcast nationally on the Seven network and the NFL series on the ATV-0 network.
PARTICIPATING TEAMS
*(all but one series during the 1956-71 era was contested only by the bottom-8 sides of the season. The 1957 Night Series was the exception, featuring all 12 VFL clubs; with each of the top-4 sides moving to the night competition as their VFL Finals Series commitments ended)
SERIES FORMAT
This resulted in the two defeated teams from Round 1 with the highest percentage (St Kilda and North Melbourne) also advancing to the quarter-finals.
The quarter-finals draw was then determined by ladder position:
(1) Hawthorn vs (8) North Melbourne
(2) South Melbourne vs (7) St Kilda
(3) Melbourne vs (6) Carlton
(4) Richmond vs (5) Fitzroy
From the quarter-finals stage onward all matches were played on a knockout basis.
NOTABLE EVENTS
*Yellow is the new white - ever since the first matches were played under lights in 1879, a white football had been the norm for night play. The 1977 VFL Night Series was the first to use a yellow football and, although the rival NFL series continued to use a white ball until at least 1978, yellow quickly became the standard for night matches Australia-wide.
Footnote - the only documented use of a yellow ball prior to 1977 was a Western Australian state team practice match played before the 1950 National Carnival; on that occasion the yellow ball was trialled for a half and "seemed to suit the players far better than the white ball". [West Australian 15-6-1950] *Lake Oval's last hurrah - construction delays meant the $1 million light towers at VFL Park were not ready for the series-opener on May 3rd. Rather than postpone their heavily-promoted new series, the League transferred the Richmond-Collingwood (May 3) and Carlton-St Kilda (May 10) matches to Lake Oval in South Melbourne, the former home of the VFL Night Premiership from 1956 to 1971 and the only other venue in Melbourne with lighting up to television broadcast standards. *Lights out - on May 17th the first night match to be played at VFL Park was delayed by 55 minutes due to a massive power failure. At 7:20 pm a fuse blew in an S.E.C. feeder pole in nearby Wellington Road, cutting a third of the power to the stadium's new lighting system. Five minutes after the scheduled start time of 7:45 pm restless fans started jeering and slow-clapping, leading to an announcement over the public address system asking fans to be patient. At 8:05 pm all power to the ground had to be cut-off so repairs could be made. Everyone at the ground sat in near-total darkness for the next 18 minutes with the only lighting provided by a back-up generator. Finally, at 8:40 pm night football's new era at Waverley made its belated debut. [The Age 18-5-1977] *Fitzroy fined for wrong shorts - The Lions wore their home shorts for their series-opener, causing a colour clash with North Melbourne who also took to the field in royal blue shorts. The VFL subsequently fined them $5000 ($250 per player) despite the Lions pointing out that the League's official match programme listed them as the home team and advised fans that they would be in blue shorts and North Melbourne in white. Regardless, the VFL enforced the fine; maintaining that Fitzroy were the away team and noting that the Lions had used the visitors rooms for the match. [The Age 20-5-1977] *Frozen Cats and Hawks - the Geelong-Hawthorn match on May 31st was played in constant rain and freezing winds on Melbourne’s coldest day in 81 years. Geelong's Kevin Sheehan reportedly tried to call out for the ball during the second half only to realise his jaw had locked due to the cold. |
|
They were relieved to find the problem was merely due to a technician in the control booth accidentally knocking out the plug to their $1 million dollar lighting system. [The Age 6-7-1977]
*The 'Flying Doormat' goes berserk - Carlton's Bruce Doull was known as an unflappable defender who had calmly and consistently shut-down opposition forwards throughout the 1970s. That all changed when Hawthorn's Kevin Ablett ripped off Doull's trademark elastic headband and ran away with it in the 1977 night series Grand Final. The normally emotionless Doull went ballistic, charging after Ablett and swinging punches wildly.
It took six seasons until an opponent was game enough to try it again, with cheeky Essendon rover Tony Buhagiar stealing the headband during the 1983 VFL Elimination Final and throwing it into the crowd. This time a better-prepared Doull called his opponent's bluff, calmly reaching into his sock and producing another headband, much to the amusement of teammates and opponents alike.
MATCH REPORTS
ROUND 1
Richmond
St Kilda
Fitzroy
South Melbourne
Hawthorn
Essendon
Richmond
ROUND 1 – Tuesday, May 3 at 7:45 pm |
||||||
|
COLLINGWOOD |
1.2 (8) |
1.8 (14) |
4.13 (37) |
9.18 (72) |
|
|
RICHMOND |
5.3 (33) |
8.6 (54) |
14.11 (95) |
19.14 (128) |
|
BEST PLAYERS |
||||||
|
COLLINGWOOD |
Manassa, Cooper, Clifford, Worthington, Kink, Anderson |
||||
|
RICHMOND |
Sheedy, Jess, Raines, Dickson, Roach, Dunne |
||||
GOALS |
||||||
|
COLLINGWOOD |
Picken 3, Perry 2, Anderson 2, Manassa, Kink |
||||
|
RICHMOND |
Dickson 5, Dunne 3, Noonan 3, Heard 2, Monteath
2, Jess 2, Cumming, Scrimshaw |
||||
|
UMPIRES |
Fellows, Sutcliffe |
|
|||
|
CROWD |
4,805* at Lake Oval, South Melbourne |
|
|||
|
SOURCE |
The Football Record |
|
*CROWD DISCREPANCY:
- The Football Record (May 7) lists an estimated crowd of 4,700
- The 1977 Night Series Grand Final edition revises this to 4,805
St Kilda
ROUND 1 – Tuesday, May 10 at 7:45 pm |
||||||
|
CARLTON |
3.2 (20) |
7.6 (48) |
11.9 (75) |
12.17 (89) |
|
|
ST KILDA |
1.5 (11) |
1.10 (16) |
4.15 (39) |
10.19 (79) |
|
BEST PLAYERS |
||||||
|
CARLTON |
Maclure, Doull, Ohlsen, Walls, Bedford, Buckley |
||||
|
ST KILDA |
Barker, G. Elliott, Neale, Duperouzel, R.
Greene, Lofts |
||||
GOALS |
||||||
|
CARLTON |
Ohlsen 3, McKenna 2, Walls 2, Keogh 2, Buckley 2, McConnon |
||||
|
ST KILDA |
Young 3, Neale, O’Keefe, R. Greene, Stevens, Lofts, Hughes, Duperouzel |
||||
|
UMPIRES |
Quinn, Chapman |
|
|||
|
CROWD |
4,118 at Lake Oval, South Melbourne |
|
|||
|
SOURCE |
The Football Record |
|
Fitzroy
ROUND 1 – Tuesday, May 17 at 8:40 pm* |
||||||
|
NORTH MELBOURNE |
2.3 (15) |
5.4 (34) |
8.6 (54) |
11.8 (74) |
|
|
FITZROY |
2.1 (13) |
4.5 (29) |
10.11 (71) |
16.12 (108) |
|
BEST PLAYERS |
||||||
|
NORTH MELBOURNE |
Schimmelbusch, Gumbleton, Frazer, Sutton, Byrne, Dawson |
||||
|
FITZROY |
Wilson, Irwin, Parke, Johnston, Murphy, Alexander |
||||
GOALS |
||||||
|
NORTH MELBOURNE |
Frazer 5, Sutton 2, Schimmelbusch 2, Byrne,
Dawson |
||||
|
FITZROY |
Johnston 4, Parke 4, Christou 2, Irwin, O’Keeffe, McMahon, Whitford, Macleod, Wilson |
||||
|
UMPIRES |
Nash, Dye |
|
|||
|
CROWD |
8,468 at VFL Park, Waverley |
|
|||
|
SOURCE |
The Football Record |
|
Five minutes after the scheduled start time of 7:45 pm restless fans started jeering and slow-clapping, leading to an announcement over the public address system asking fans to be patient.
At 8:05 pm all power to the ground had to be cut-off so repairs could be made. Everyone at the ground sat in near-total darkness for the next 18 minutes with the only lighting provided by a back-up generator. Finally, at 8:40 pm night football's new era at Waverley made its belated debut. [The Age 18-5-1977]
South Melbourne
ROUND 1 – Tuesday, May 24 at 7:50 pm |
||||||
|
FOOTSCRAY |
2.1 (13) |
4.2 (26) |
6.6 (42) |
8.9 (57) |
|
|
SOUTH MELBOURNE |
5.2 (32) |
9.4 (58) |
11.11 (77) |
15.14 (104) |
|
BEST PLAYERS |
||||||
|
FOOTSCRAY |
Murrie, Wheeler, Dempsey, Reid, Perrusich,
Edmond |
||||
|
SOUTH MELBOURNE |
Young, Goss, Brice, Blair, Zantuck,
Teasdale, Jamieson |
||||
GOALS |
||||||
|
FOOTSCRAY |
Edmond 2, Quinlan, Reid, Sandilands, Whitten, Dempsey, Wheeler |
||||
|
SOUTH MELBOURNE |
Young 3, Blair 3, Zantuck 2, Jamieson 2,
Teasdale 2, Goss, Round, Pagan |
||||
|
UMPIRES |
Robinson, James |
|
|||
|
CROWD |
3,475 at VFL Park, Waverley |
|
|||
|
SOURCE |
The Football Record |
|
Hawthorn
ROUND 1 – Tuesday, May 31 at 7:50 pm |
||||||
|
GEELONG |
0.0 (0) |
0.2 (2) |
2.4 (16) |
6.6 (42) |
|
|
HAWTHORN |
2.3 (15) |
5.4 (34) |
10.6 (66) |
13.6 (84) |
|
BEST PLAYERS |
||||||
|
GEELONG |
Clarke, Card, Cassidy, B. Nankervis, I. Nankervis, Sheehan |
||||
|
HAWTHORN |
Hudson, Hendrie, K. Matthews, Trott, O’Halloran, Scott |
||||
GOALS |
||||||
|
GEELONG |
Ruscuklic 2, Witcombe, I. Nankervis, Clarke, Cassidy |
||||
|
HAWTHORN |
Hudson 5, Hendrie 3, K. Matthews 2, Rice, Rowlings, Murphy |
||||
|
UMPIRES |
Morgan, Polites |
|
|||
|
CROWD |
2,743 at VFL Park, Waverley |
|
|||
|
SOURCE |
The Football Record |
|
Geelong's Kevin Sheehan reportedly tried to call out for the ball during the second half only to realise his jaw had locked due to the cold.
Essendon
ROUND 1 – Tuesday, June 7 at 7:50 pm |
||||||
|
MELBOURNE |
4.4 (28) |
6.6 (42) |
9.8 (62) |
10.11 (71) |
|
|
ESSENDON |
1.1 (7) |
1.4 (10) |
2.6 (18) |
5.9 (39) |
|
BEST PLAYERS |
||||||
|
MELBOURNE |
R. Flower, Wells, Campbell, Biffin, Fowler, Tippett |
||||
|
ESSENDON |
Scanlon, Watson, Fletcher, Close, Primmer, |
||||
GOALS |
||||||
|
MELBOURNE |
Walters 3, T. Flower, R. Flower, Tippett, Cook, Wells, Biffin, Fowler |
||||
|
ESSENDON |
Crow, Scanlon, Foulds, Crow, Primmer |
||||
|
UMPIRES |
James, Nash |
|
|||
|
CROWD |
10,036 at VFL Park, Waverley |
|
|||
|
SOURCE |
The Football Record |
|
ROUND 1 LADDER |
||||||
|
TEAM |
W |
L |
For |
Against |
% |
|
Hawthorn |
1 |
- |
84 |
42 |
200.0 |
|
South Melbourne |
1 |
- |
104 |
57 |
182.5 |
|
Melbourne |
1 |
- |
71 |
39 |
182.1 |
|
Richmond |
1 |
- |
128 |
72 |
177.8 |
|
Fitzroy |
1 |
- |
108 |
74 |
145.9 |
|
Carlton |
1 |
- |
89 |
79 |
112.7 |
|
St Kilda* |
- |
1 |
79 |
89 |
88.8 |
|
North Melbourne* |
- |
1 |
74 |
108 |
68.5 |
|
Collingwood |
- |
1 |
72 |
128 |
56.3 |
|
Essendon |
- |
1 |
39 |
71 |
54.9 |
|
Footscray |
- |
1 |
57 |
104 |
54.8 |
|
Geelong |
- |
1 |
42 |
84 |
50.0 |
The quarter-finals draw was determined by ladder position:
(1) Hawthorn vs (8) North Melbourne
(2) South Melbourne vs (7) St Kilda (3) Melbourne vs (6) Carlton (4) Richmond vs (5) Fitzroy |
St Kilda
North Melbourne
Carlton
St Kilda
QUARTER-FINAL – Tuesday, June 21 at
7:50 pm |
||||||
|
SOUTH MELBOURNE |
4.3 (27) |
5.5 (35) |
7.9 (51) |
12.14 (86) |
|
|
ST KILDA |
5.2 (32) |
5.8 (38) |
16.14 (110) |
19.14 (128) |
|
BEST PLAYERS |
||||||
|
SOUTH MELBOURNE |
Lambert, Morrison, Zantuck, Daniher, Evans,
Carter |
||||
|
ST KILDA |
Tweeddale, Lofts, Perovic, Williams, Barker, Ditterich |
||||
GOALS |
||||||
|
SOUTH MELBOURNE |
Morrison 3, Gull 2, Daniher 2, Evans 2, Browning, Carter, Hounsell |
||||
|
ST KILDA |
Lofts 4, Tweeddale 4, Williams 4, Breen,
Stevens, Duperouzel, R. Elliott, Callery, Carlon,
Bond |
||||
|
UMPIRES |
K. Smith, Henry |
|
|||
|
CROWD |
5,123 at VFL Park, Waverley |
|
|||
|
SOURCE |
The Football Record |
|
North Melbourne
QUARTER-FINAL – Tuesday, June 28 at
7:50 pm |
||||||
|
HAWTHORN |
0.4 (4) |
2.6 (18) |
5.9 (39) |
7.10
(52) |
|
|
NORTH MELBOURNE |
0.4 (4) |
1.5 (11) |
2.9 (21) |
5.11 (41) |
|
BEST PLAYERS |
||||||
|
HAWTHORN |
Rowlings, Tuck, Scott, O’Halloran, Polkinghorne, Knights |
||||
|
NORTH MELBOURNE |
Dench, Tanner, Cassin, Henshaw, Moore, Baker |
||||
GOALS |
||||||
|
HAWTHORN |
Hendrie 2, Hudson 2, Bennett, Trott, Rowlings |
||||
|
NORTH MELBOURNE |
Baker 2, Crosswell, Briedis, Byrne |
||||
|
UMPIRES |
Dye, Sawers |
|
|||
|
CROWD |
3,346 at VFL Park, Waverley |
|
|||
|
SOURCE |
The Football Record |
|
Carlton
QUARTER-FINAL – Tuesday, July 5 at
7:50 pm |
||||||
|
MELBOURNE |
3.5 (23) |
5.8 (38) |
10.11 (71) |
11.15 (81) |
|
|
CARLTON |
4.4 (28) |
8.9 (57) |
9.12 (66) |
15.13 (103) |
|
BEST PLAYERS |
||||||
|
MELBOURNE |
Norsworthy, McKellar, Hardeman, Coles,
Smith, Fowler, Flower |
||||
|
CARLTON |
Byrne, Canfield, Doull, Jesaulenko, Mangels,
Walls |
||||
GOALS |
||||||
|
MELBOURNE |
Biffin 4, Coles 3, Brewer 2, Fowler, Norsworthy |
||||
|
CARLTON |
Ashman 4, Walls 3, Jesaulenko 3, Armstrong
2, Canfield 2, McConnon |
||||
|
UMPIRES |
Quinn, Robinson |
|
|||
|
CROWD |
6,841 at VFL Park, Waverley |
|
|||
|
SOURCE |
The Football Record / The Sun / The Age |
|
------------------
During the Herald Shield curtain-raiser a 10-minute blackout occurred causing the match to be shortened. VFL officials feared another power failure like that of May 17 had occurred.
They were relieved to find the problem was caused by a technician in the control booth accidentally knocking out the plug to their $1 million dollar lighting system! [The Age 6-7-1977]
QUARTER-FINAL – Tuesday, July 12 at
7:50 pm |
||||||
|
RICHMOND |
4.1 (25) |
6.2 (38) |
11.5 (71) |
15.11 (101) |
|
|
FITZROY |
2.2 (14) |
6.5 (41) |
9.10 (64) |
10.11 (71) |
|
BEST PLAYERS |
||||||
|
RICHMOND |
Monteath, McGhie, Pitura, Bourke, Sheedy, Roach,
Cloke |
||||
|
FITZROY |
Irwin, Serafini, Hansen, Shepherd, Merrigan, Thompson |
||||
GOALS |
||||||
|
RICHMOND |
Monteath 6, Noonan 4, Hummel 2, Pitura 2, Lynch |
||||
|
FITZROY |
Thompson 2, Hansen, McMahon, Harris, Austen, Wilson, Linton, Serafini,
Chapman |
||||
|
UMPIRES |
Deller, Lyons |
|
|||
|
CROWD |
8,169 at VFL Park, Waverley |
|
|||
|
SOURCE |
The Football Record |
|