NIGHT SERIES / PRE-SEASON CUP:
FACTS & FIGURES
|
NAMING RIGHTS SPONSORS
YEAR |
COMPETITION
NAME |
SPONSOR |
NOTES |
|
1956-63 |
VFL Night Premiership |
(none) |
Due to a lack of sponsorship, prizemoney was
provided by the VFL |
|
1964-69 |
Golden Fleece Night Premiership |
Golden Fleece |
The AFL's annual stats guide incorrectly has Golden Fleece commencing
in 1965. Consequently, the 1965 start date appears across a number of other
sources. |
|
1970 |
Radiant Night Premiership |
L. J. Morgan Pty. Ltd. |
Radiant was a brand of stainless steel industrial kitchen products. |
|
1971 |
Heinz 'Big Red' Night Premiership |
H. J. Heinz Company |
Big Red was Heinz's iconic tomato sauce and tomato soup brand. |
|
1976 |
NFL-Wills Cup |
W.D. & H.O. Wills |
Tobacco company, Wills sponsored the NFL series 1976-79 |
|
1977-78 |
Amco-Herald Cup |
Amco Jeans and the |
Many sources incorrectly list jeans brand Amco
as "Amoco" |
|
1979-82 |
Escort Championships |
W.D. & H.O. Wills |
Escort was one of Wills' major cigarette brands at this time. The
series is frequently referred to as the "Escort Cup" which was
actually the name of the NFL's 1979 series and later SANFL series. |
|
1983-84 |
Sterling Cup |
W.D. & H.O. Wills |
Benson and Hedges Sterling was a new brand of cigarette |
|
1985-86 |
Foster's Football Cup |
Elder's Brewing Group |
Foster's Lager was the major beer brand of C.U.B. |
|
1987 |
The VFL Cup |
(none) |
The opening match (Collingwood-Geelong) was sponsorless. |
|
National Panasonic Cup |
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co |
National Panasonic was sponsor from the 2nd match until the final. |
||
1988-89 |
Panasonic Cup |
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co |
Matsushita renamed their Australian division "Panasonic" in
1988. |
|
1990-94 |
Foster's Cup |
Foster's Brewing Group |
In 1990 C.U.B.'s parent company Elder's Brewing was renamed Foster's
Brewing. |
|
1995-01 |
Ansett Australia Cup |
Ansett Australia |
This series was usually referred to as simply the Ansett
Cup. |
|
2002-05 |
Wizard Home Loans Cup |
Wizard Home Loans |
This series was usually referred to as simply the Wizard Cup. |
|
2006-13 |
NAB Cup |
National Australia Bank (NAB) |
NAB also sponsored the AFL's pre-season practice matches |
|
SERIES OVERVIEW
YEAR |
TEAMS |
GAMES |
CROWDS |
AVG. |
CLUBS |
NOTES |
|||
1956 |
8 |
7 |
143,820 |
20,546 |
VFL bottom-eight |
Consolation series featuring teams that missed the VFL finals |
|||
1957 |
12 |
11 |
187,200 |
17,018 |
All 12 teams |
The VFL's top-four teams joined the series as they finished finals |
|||
1958 |
8 |
7 |
109,150 |
15,593 |
VFL bottom-eight |
Return to a consolation series |
|||
1959 |
8 |
7 |
76,300 |
10,900 |
VFL bottom-eight |
Crowd numbers crashed due to atrocious weather throughout |
|||
1960 |
8 |
7 |
93,100 |
13,300 |
VFL bottom-eight |
- |
|||
1961 |
8 |
7 |
152,019 |
21,717 |
VFL bottom-eight |
- |
|||
1962 |
8 |
7 |
111,710 |
15,959 |
VFL bottom-eight |
- |
|||
1963 |
8 |
7 |
99,392 |
14,199 |
VFL bottom-eight |
- |
|||
1964 |
8 |
7 |
128,360 |
18,337 |
VFL bottom-eight |
- |
|||
1965 |
8 |
7 |
153,635 |
21,948 |
VFL bottom-eight |
Crowds boosted by NM winning their first senior VFL flag |
|||
1966 |
8 |
7 |
94,900 |
13,557 |
VFL bottom-eight |
- |
|||
1967 |
8 |
7 |
93,888 |
13,413 |
VFL bottom-eight |
- |
|||
1968 |
8 |
7 |
89,469 |
12,781 |
VFL bottom-eight |
- |
|||
1969 |
8 |
7 |
79,631 |
11,376 |
VFL bottom-eight |
- |
|||
1970 |
8 |
7 |
72,732 |
10,390 |
VFL bottom-eight |
- |
|||
1971 |
8 |
7 |
77,953 |
11,136 |
VFL bottom-eight |
- |
|||
YEAR |
TEAMS |
GAMES |
CROWDS |
AVG. |
VFL |
SANFL |
WAFL |
STATE |
|
1976 |
12 |
15 |
106,054 |
7,070 |
1975
top four + 7th |
1975
top four |
1975
top three |
- |
|
1977 |
12 |
13 |
99,514 |
7,654 |
All
12 teams |
- |
- |
- |
|
1978 |
13 |
13 |
156,714 |
12,055 |
All
12 teams |
- |
- |
TAS |
|
1979 |
23 |
22 |
unknown |
unknown |
All
12 teams |
- |
All
8 teams |
TAS,ACT,NSW |
|
1980 |
34 |
33 |
169,218 |
5,127 |
All
12 teams |
All
10 teams |
All
8 teams |
TAS,ACT,NSW,QLD |
|
1981 |
34 |
35 |
216,776 |
6,193 |
All
12 teams |
All
10 teams |
All
8 teams |
TAS,ACT,NSW,QLD |
|
1982 |
18 |
17 |
100,406 |
5,906 |
All
12 teams |
1981
top three |
1981
top three |
- |
|
1983 |
17 |
16 |
115,989 |
7,249 |
All
12 teams |
1982
top two |
1982
2nd/3rd* |
TAS |
|
1984 |
17 |
16 |
104,266 |
6,516 |
All
12 teams |
1983
top two |
1983
2nd/3rd* |
QLD |
|
1985 |
17 |
16 |
94,222 |
5,888 |
All
12 teams |
1984
top two |
1984
top two |
QLD |
|
1986 |
14 |
15 |
111,620 |
7,441 |
All
12 teams |
1985
top two |
- |
- |
|
YEAR |
TEAMS |
GAMES |
CROWDS |
AVG. |
CLUBS |
NOTES |
|||
1987 |
14 |
14 |
137,953 |
9,853 |
All 14 teams |
SANFL & WAFL clubs replaced by Brisbane and West Coast |
|||
1988 |
14 |
13 |
155,035 |
11,926 |
All 14 teams |
- |
|||
1989 |
14 |
13 |
195,090 |
15,007 |
All 14 teams |
- |
|||
1990 |
13 |
13 |
216,946 |
16,688 |
13 of 14 |
Brisbane banned due to financial issues |
|||
1991 |
15 |
14 |
220,847 |
15,775 |
All 15 teams |
Adelaide joined the AFL |
|||
1992 |
15 |
14 |
238,919 |
17,066 |
All 15 teams |
Michael Tuck Medal introduced for Grand Final B.O.G. |
|||
1993 |
15 |
14 |
215,351 |
15,382 |
All 15 teams |
- |
|||
1994 |
15 |
14 |
251,736 |
17,981 |
All 15 teams |
- |
|||
1995 |
16 |
15 |
250,103 |
16,674 |
All 16 teams |
Fremantle joined the AFL |
|||
1996 |
16 |
15 |
279,200 |
18,613 |
All 16 teams |
- |
|||
1997 |
16 |
15 |
296,589 |
19,773 |
All 16 teams |
Fitzroy merged with Brisbane, Port Adelaide joined the AFL |
|||
1998 |
16 |
15 |
299,075 |
19,938 |
All 16 teams |
First overseas pre-season matches played |
|||
1999 |
16 |
15 |
274,488 |
18,299 |
All 16 teams |
- |
|||
2000 |
16 |
27 |
325,736 |
12,064 |
All 16 teams |
Format changed to four round-robin groups followed by SF & GF |
|||
2001 |
16 |
27 |
398,557 |
14,761 |
All 16 teams |
- |
|||
2002 |
16 |
27 |
398,309 |
14,752 |
All 16 teams |
- |
|||
2003 |
16 |
15 |
267,016 |
17,801 |
All 16 teams |
Format reverted to a traditional knockout structure |
|||
2004 |
16 |
15 |
259,128 |
17,275 |
All 16 teams |
- |
|||
2005 |
16 |
15 |
307,181 |
20,479 |
All 16 teams |
- |
|||
2006 |
16 |
15 |
235,036 |
15,669 |
All 16 teams |
- |
|||
2007 |
16 |
15 |
242,179 |
16,145 |
All 16 teams |
- |
|||
2008 |
16 |
15 |
244,103 |
16,274 |
All 16 teams |
- |
|||
2009 |
16 |
15 |
282,930 |
18,862 |
All 16 teams |
- |
|||
2010 |
16 |
15 |
227,481 |
15,165 |
All 16 teams |
- |
|||
2011 |
18 |
25 |
256,342 |
19,718** |
All 17 + GWS |
GC & GWS joined - Rd.1 changed to six groups of three |
|||
2012 |
18 |
36 |
262,209 |
10,925** |
All 18 teams |
Ess-StK match cancelled, points awarded to St Kilda |
|||
2013 |
18 |
37 |
244,218 |
9,768** |
All 18 teams |
More matches played at regional venues than previous series |
PRIZEMONEY
YEAR |
WINNER |
RUNNER-UP |
VALUE |
NOTES |
|
1956 |
£
200 |
- |
˄ |
K.
G. Luke Trophy (valued at £75) was also presented to the winning team |
|
1957 |
£
200 |
- |
- |
- |
|
1958 |
£
400 |
£
200 |
˄ |
- |
|
1959 |
£
500 |
£
250 |
˄ |
- |
|
1960 |
£
500 |
£
250 |
- |
- |
|
1961 |
£
500 |
£
250 |
- |
- |
|
1962 |
£
500 |
£
250 |
- |
- |
|
1963 |
£
500 |
£
250 |
- |
- |
|
1964 |
£
1400 |
£
650 |
˄ |
Winner
= 500 from VFL + 900 from Golden Fleece |
|
1965 |
£
1400 |
£
650 |
- |
as
above |
|
1966 |
2,800 |
1,300 |
˄ |
Winner
= 1000 from VFL + 1800 from Golden Fleece |
|
1967 |
2,800 |
1,300 |
- |
as
above |
|
1968 |
2,800 |
1,300 |
- |
as
above |
|
1969 |
2,800 |
1,300 |
- |
as
above |
|
1970 |
2,800 |
1,300 |
- |
Winner
= 1000 from VFL + 1800 from Radiant |
|
1971 |
2,800 |
1,300 |
- |
Winner
= 2800 from Heinz / 2nd = 1300 from Heinz |
|
1976 |
21,000 |
16,000 |
˄ |
NFL
Wills Cup |
|
1977 |
50,000 |
42,000 |
˄ |
Series
was sponsored by Amco / Herald & Weekly Times |
|
1978 |
50,000 |
42,000 |
- |
Series
was sponsored by Amco / Herald & Weekly Times |
|
1979 |
68,000 |
47,000 |
˄ |
- |
|
1980 |
64,000 |
48,000 |
˅ |
- |
|
1981 |
80,000 |
tbd |
˄ |
- |
|
1982 |
105,000 |
80,000 |
˄ |
- |
|
1983 |
115,000 |
90,000 |
˄ |
- |
|
1984 |
120,000 |
95,000 |
˄ |
Player
of the series won a Nissan |
|
1985 |
120,000 |
95,000 |
- |
- |
|
1986-2013
= yet to be determined |
TROPHIES
1956-71 - K.G. Luke Trophy
|
1976 - NFL Wills Cup
|
1977-78 - Amco-Herald Cup
|
Written and researched by David Eastman
|
First published 15/2/2017
Last updated 20/5/2019 |