NON-PREMIERSHIP MATCHES

1978 AMCO-HERALD CUP

RESULTS
ABOUT
TEAMS / FORMAT
EVENTS
MATCH REPORTS
MATCH REPORTS
RESULTS

SUMMARY OF RESULTS

Date

Teams

1/4

1/2

3/4

Final

Margin

Venue

Day/Time

Crowd

ROUND 1

Mar-03

Collingwood

2.0 (12)

5.0 (30)

7.2 (44)

10.8 (68)

58

VFL Park, Waverley

Fri

18,585

South Melbourne

3.0 (18)

6.3 (39)

14.8 (92)

19.12 (126)

(8:30pm)

Mar-10

Footscray

4.5 (29)

5.6 (36)

6.7 (43)

9.9 (63)

17

VFL Park, Waverley

Fri

10,136

North Melbourne

3.1 (19)

5.7 (37)

6.12 (48)

11.14 (80)

(8:30pm)

Mar-17

Geelong*

1.3 (9)

1.4 (10)

6.10 (46)

8.14 (62)

1

VFL Park, Waverley

Fri

10,321

Carlton

2.7 (19)

4.10 (34)

5.13 (43)

8.15 (63)

(8:30pm)

Mar-23

Tasmania

1.6 (12)

3.7 (25)

9.8 (62)

10.10 (70)

18

VFL Park, Waverley

Thu

5,136

Fitzroy

2.2 (14)

3.4 (22)

7.7 (49)

13.10 (88)

(8:30pm)

Apr-04

Richmond

2.3 (15)

5.6 (36)

8.7 (55)

13.10 (88)

51

VFL Park, Waverley

Tue

15,764

Essendon

2.0 (12)

2.1 (13)

4.4 (28)

5.7 (37)

(8:30pm)

Apr-11

Melbourne

5.4 (34)

5.5 (35)

7.7 (49)

8.9 (57)

39

VFL Park, Waverley

Tue

8,867

St Kilda

1.1 (7)

4.8 (32)

9.11 (65)

14.12 (96)

(8:30pm)

*Geelong advanced as the losing team in Round 1 with the highest percentage

Hawthorn (winners of the 1977 series) received a first-round bye and advanced directly to the quarter finals

QUARTER FINALS

Apr-18

South Melbourne

2.3 (15)

3.6 (24)

6.10 (46)

9.14 (68)

24

VFL Park, Waverley

Tue

5,822

Fitzroy

3.0 (18)

5.4 (34)

10.5 (65)

14.8 (92)

(8:30pm)

May-02

Richmond

2.2 (14)

3.2 (20)

13.6 (84)

15.10 (100)

17

VFL Park, Waverley

Tue

12,061

Carlton

0.3 (3)

3.9 (27)

4.10 (34)

11.17 (83)

(8:30pm)

May-09

Hawthorn

1.1 (7)

2.3 (15)

5.5 (35)

5.6 (36)

31

VFL Park, Waverley

Tue

8,146

Geelong

1.1 (7)

4.1 (25)

6.4 (40)

10.7 (67)

(8:30pm)

May-16

St Kilda

3.5 (23)

5.5 (35)

7.7 (49)

8.8 (56)

4

VFL Park, Waverley

Tue

20,694

North Melbourne

1.5 (11)

2.7 (19)

6.10 (46)

8.12 (60)

(8:30pm)

SEMI FINALS

May-23

Fitzroy

3.2 (20)

5.6 (36)

7.10 (52)

10.14 (74)

16

VFL Park, Waverley

Tue

8,172

Richmond

1.4 (10)

1.7 (13)

2.8 (20)

8.10 (58)

(8:30pm)

May-30

Geelong

3.0 (18)

6.2 (38)

8.4 (52)

9.5 (59)

39

VFL Park, Waverley

Tue

6,590

North Melbourne

4.0 (24)

5.1 (31)

7.3 (45)

15.8 (98)

(8:30pm)

GRAND FINAL

Jun-13

VFL officials decided at 8am on the day of the match to postpone the Grand Final to June 20 due to torrential rain

Jun-20

Fitzroy

2.3 (15)

3.5 (23)

10.13 (73)

13.18 (96)

76

VFL Park, Waverley

Tue

26,420

North Melbourne

2.1 (13)

2.5 (17)

2.6 (18)

2.8 (20)

(8:30pm)

FIXTURE NOTES

Apr-25

No match due to the Anzac Day split-round in the VFL premiership competition

Jun-06

No match due to the Queen's Birthday split-round in the VFL premiership competition

 

ABOUT

ABOUT THE 1978 SERIES

Despite the events of 1977 the NFL remained hopeful of convincing the VFL to return to the fold, enabling a full national competition in 1978. During September and October 1977 a series of meetings were held between Australia's top football bodies and the NFL proposed a knockout series featuring 32 teams:
  • 12 VFL teams
  • 6 SANFL teams
  • 5 WAFL teams
  • 3 Tasmanian teams (1 each from the TANFL, NTFA and NWFU)
  • 2 VFA teams
  • 4 state representative teams (A.C.T., Queensland, N.S.W. and the Australian Amateurs)

Also, in addition to the usual venues in Adelaide, Perth and Melbourne, some matches would be played in Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Darwin to promote Australian football.

The VFL rejected the NFL's plans and proposed that the last 15 games of the series should be played at VFL Park, Waverley.

They refused to participate if the VFA was involved and did not see any need for the Australian Amateurs to be included.
Picture
Fitzroy's Ron Alexander, coach Graham Campbell, and acting-skipper Garry Wilson celebrate the Lions' boilover win in the final (Hutton's Football Book, Jim Main, 1981)
NFL General Manager, Keith Webb observed: "The VFL is trying to get all the NFL participants into a VFL-run competition. But the NFL is a national body and as such it should run the national competition, not a state body such as the VFL". [Canberra Times, 20-10-1977, p.22/24]

The SANFL and WAFL rejected the VFL's proposals and the stand-off continued. However, the first signs of a breakaway appeared with the Tasmanian Football League choosing to participate in both the NFL and VFL competitions - making them the first non-VFL team to play in the Victorian League's series.

The rival VFL and NFL competitions again went head-to-head nationally on the Seven and ATV-0 networks. On two occasions games were played in the same city, on the same night:
  • May 9: Geelong v Hawthorn at VFL Park drew a crowd of 8,146 / Port Melbourne v N.S.W. at Lake Oval drew a crowd of 3,682
  • May 23: Fitzroy v Richmond at VFL Park drew a crowd of 8,172 / Sandringham v A.C.T. at Lake Oval drew a crowd of 2,680

TEAMS / FORMAT

PARTICIPATING TEAMS

The 1978 series featured all 12 VFL clubs plus the Tasmanian state representative team.

The first four matches (played during the VFL pre-season) were held on Thursday or Friday nights, the rest of the matches were played on Tuesday nights throughout the VFL premiership season. 

SERIES FORMAT

Hawthorn, the winners of the 1977 series, received a first round bye. This left twelve teams to compete in the first round and meant only seven teams would advance to the quarter finals instead of the required eight, so a 'lucky-loser' system was again adopted.

Geelong advanced to the quarter-finals as the losing team from Round 1 with the highest percentage.

The quarter-finals draw was then determined by ladder position:

(1) Hawthorn v (8) Geelong
(2) Richmond v (7) Carlton
(3) South Melbourne v (6) Fitzroy
(4) St Kilda v (5) North Melbourne

From the quarter-finals stage onward all matches were played on a knockout basis.

EVENTS

NOTABLE EVENTS

*A series of firsts - not only was the 1978 series the first to feature a non-VFL team (Tasmania), it was also the first to include matches played in the pre-season.


*A glimpse of the future - although the term "Australian Football Championships" appeared on the cover of the Football Record throughout the 1978 Amco-Herald Cup (see right), the competition was organised and run entirely by the VFL.

In June 1978 the VFL announced their plans to form a new company to oversee a night series that would be broadcast nationally and Australian Football Championships Pty. Ltd. was incorporated on July 28, 1978 to run the new national night competition.

The VFL were joined by the WAFL, TANFL, ACTAFL and NSWAFL in the joint venture. However, the SANFL rejected the VFL's overtures, choosing to remain aligned with the NFL instead. They were joined by the VFA and QAFL in a greatly-reduced NFL series in 1979.


*No gloves, no worries - the May 9th Hawthorn-Geelong match was played in wet, greasy conditions and four Hawthorn players wore gloves throughout the match; a first for Australian football. The following day The Age reported that the Hawks were defeated by the "kittens without mittens".
Picture
Tasmania vs Fitzroy programme (private collection)
*Fitzroy pull-off an upset - at the time of the Grand Final, North Melbourne (10-1) were first and Fitzroy (2-9) last in the day competition. On paper a Kangaroos victory seemed a certainty and North's predicted winning margin was the only thing the various football media outlets disagreed on in the lead-up to the match.   

However, their respective win-loss records did not tell the full story. Seven of the Lions' losses had been by 10-points or less and North, after a strong start to the season, had tapered-off in the month before the Night Grand Final, posting two lucky 3-point wins (one of which was against Fitzroy) as well as copping a 59-point thrashing from Carlton.

The pundits were a little surprised at Fitzroy's six-point half time lead but were left stunned at what followed. The Lions unleashed a fifty-point onslaught in the third-quarter, kicking 7.8 to a solitary point by North Melbourne. By the final siren Fitzroy had outscored the Kangaroos by 73 to 3 in the second half to claim just their second senior flag since the 1944 VFL Premiership (the other was the 1959 Night Premiership).


*Wilson raises the trophy - Fitzroy’s captain Harvey Merrigan was unavailable for the Grand Final due to injury, and in his absence vice-captain Garry Wilson led the team to victory.


*Leading goalkicker of the series - Fitzroy's Bob Beecroft led all scorers with 13 goals from 4 games.

MATCH REPORTS

MATCH REPORTS

Listed below are match reports for all 13 games played during the series. This is the first time these reports have been collated and published online or in print and they were sourced from the following newspapers:
The Age (Melbourne)
The Sun News-Pictorial (Melbourne)
The Mercury (Hobart)
The Football Record (AFL)
​
ROUND 1
LADDER
QTR FINALS
SEMI FINALS
G.F. TEAMS
GRAND FINAL
ROUND 1

ROUND 1

Collingwood v
Richmond
Carlton v
St Kilda
North Melbourne v
Fitzroy
Footscray v
South Melbourne
Geelong v
Hawthorn
Melbourne v
Essendon
Collingwood v
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

 

 

This match was originally scheduled to be played at VFL Park but was moved because the light towers were not completed.

*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
Carlton v
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

 

 

This match was originally scheduled to be played at VFL Park but was moved because the light towers were not completed.
North Melbourne v
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

 

 

*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]
Footscray v
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

 

 

Geelong v
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

 

 

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.
Melbourne v
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,
Van der Haar, Andrews

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

 

 

LADDER

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

 

*St Kilda and North Melbourne advanced to the next round as the two losing teams with the highest percentage.

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
QTR FINALS
South Melbourne v
St Kilda
Hawthorn v
North Melbourne
Melbourne v
Carlton
Richmond v Fitzroy
South Melbourne v
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

 

 

Hawthorn v
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

 

 

Melbourne v
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

 

 

NOTE: The Football Record lists only 14 of Carlton’s 15 goals, crediting Canfield with one goal instead of two.

------------------

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]
Richmond v Fitzroy

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