1982 VFL season
The 1982 VFL season was the 86th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season featured twelve clubs, ran from 20 March until 25 September, and comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top five clubs.
| 1982 VFL premiership season | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 12 |
| Premiers | Carlton 14th premiership |
| Minor premiers | Richmond 8th minor premiership |
| Night series | Swans 1st Night series win |
| Brownlow Medallist | Brian Wilson Melbourne (23 votes) |
| Coleman Medallist | Malcolm Blight North Melbourne (94 goals) |
| Attendance | |
| Matches played | 138 |
| Total attendance | 3,681,556 (26,678 per match) |
| Highest | 107,536 |
The season saw the VFL establish its first permanent interstate presence, as the South Melbourne Football Club (which was known after June just as the Swans, being renamed Sydney the following year) played all of its home games on Sunday afternoons in Sydney, New South Wales.
The premiership was won by the Carlton Football Club for the 14th time and second time consecutively, after it defeated Richmond by 18 points in the VFL grand final.
Night series
The Swans defeated North Melbourne 13.12 (90) to 8.10 (58) in the final.
Home-and-away season
Round 1
| Round 1 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 27 March (2:10 pm) | Carlton 16.17 (113) | drew with | Fitzroy 17.11 (113) | Princes Park (crowd: 26,669) | |
| Saturday, 27 March (2:10 pm) | Collingwood 7.16 (58) | def. by | Geelong 21.20 (146) | VFL Park (crowd: 53,549) | |
| Saturday, 27 March (2:10 pm) | Essendon 29.16 (190) | def. | Footscray 11.15 (81) | Windy Hill (crowd: 26,456) | |
| Saturday, 27 March (2:10 pm) | St Kilda 12.16 (88) | def. by | Hawthorn 17.17 (119) | Moorabbin Oval (crowd: 19,719) | |
| Saturday, 27 March (2:10 pm) | Richmond 18.14 (122) | def. | North Melbourne 15.14 (104) | MCG (crowd: 38,864) | |
| Sunday, 28 March (2:10 pm) | Swans 20.17 (137) | def. | Melbourne 16.12 (108) | SCG (crowd: 15,764) | |
Round 2
| Round 2 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 20 March (2:10 pm) | Fitzroy 13.11 (89) | def. by | Richmond 20.10 (130) | VFL Park (crowd: 38,686) | Report |
| Saturday, 3 April (2:10 pm) | Carlton 8.17 (65) | def. by | Essendon 13.13 (91) | VFL Park (crowd: 60,208) | Report |
| Saturday, 3 April (2:10 pm) | Footscray 14.8 (92) | def. by | Collingwood 15.14 (104) | Western Oval (crowd: 27,266) | Report |
| Saturday, 3 April (2:10 pm) | Hawthorn 13.19 (97) | def. | Geelong 11.12 (78) | Princes Park (crowd: 15,600) | Report |
| Saturday, 3 April (2:10 pm) | Melbourne 20.26 (146) | def. | St Kilda 16.10 (106) | MCG (crowd: 25,467) | Report |
| Saturday, 3 April (2:10 pm) | North Melbourne 24.13 (157) | def. | Swans 16.21 (117) | Arden Street Oval (crowd: 14,097) | Report |
Round 3
| Round 3 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 10 April (2:10 pm) | Collingwood 13.16 (94) | def. by | Carlton 20.8 (128) | Victoria Park (crowd: 34,055) | Report |
| Saturday, 10 April (2:10 pm) | Fitzroy 14.16 (100) | def. by | North Melbourne 25.14 (164) | Junction Oval (crowd: 21,888) | Report |
| Saturday, 10 April (2:10 pm) | St Kilda 17.14 (116) | def. by | Swans 20.22 (142) | Moorabbin Oval (crowd: 17,811) | Report |
| Monday, 12 April (2:10 pm) | Richmond 25.22 (172) | def. | Essendon 16.14 (110) | MCG (crowd: 90,564) | Report |
| Monday, 12 April (2:10 pm) | Hawthorn 28.26 (194) | def. | Footscray 7.9 (51) | VFL Park (crowd: 22,209) | Report |
| Monday, 12 April (2:10 pm) | Geelong 21.12 (138) | def. | Melbourne 5.16 (46) | Kardinia Park (crowd: 24,672) | Report |
Round 4
| Round 4 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 17 April (2:10 pm) | Carlton 21.22 (148) | def. | Hawthorn 12.15 (87) | Princes Park (crowd: 29,654) | Report |
| Saturday, 17 April (2:10 pm) | Richmond 15.17 (107) | def. | Collingwood 10.15 (75) | VFL Park (crowd: 59,472) | Report |
| Saturday, 17 April (2:10 pm) | Essendon 12.19 (91) | def. by | North Melbourne 14.24 (108) | Windy Hill (crowd: 27,190) | Report |
| Saturday, 17 April (2:10 pm) | Melbourne 19.12 (126) | def. by | Footscray 19.19 (133) | MCG (crowd: 19,832) | Report |
| Saturday, 17 April (2:10 pm) | St Kilda 16.9 (105) | def. | Geelong 13.14 (92) | Moorabbin Oval (crowd: 17,148) | Report |
| Sunday, 18 April (2:10 pm) | Swans 24.18 (162) | def. | Fitzroy 14.22 (106) | SCG (crowd: 13,617) | Report |
Round 10
| Round 10 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 29 May (2:10 pm) | Carlton 18.16 (124) | def. | Richmond 16.11 (107) | Princes Park (crowd: 35,372) | Report |
| Saturday, 29 May (2:10 pm) | Melbourne 16.24 (120) | def. | Collingwood 17.11 (113) | MCG (crowd: 52,169) | Report |
| Saturday, 29 May (2:10 pm) | Essendon 22.17 (149) | def. | St Kilda 18.11 (119) | VFL Park (crowd: 36,736) | Report |
| Saturday, 29 May (2:10 pm) | Fitzroy 25.11 (161) | def. | Geelong 19.18 (132) | Junction Oval (crowd: 16,256) | Report |
| Saturday, 29 May (2:10 pm) | Footscray 15.10 (100) | def. by | North Melbourne 23.20 (158) | Western Oval (crowd: 15,686) | Report |
| Sunday, 30 May (2:10 pm) | Swans 15.13 (103) | def. by | Hawthorn 24.13 (157) | SCG (crowd: 15,420) | Report |
| |||||
Ladder
| (P) | Premiers |
| Qualified for finals |
| # | Team | P | W | L | D | PF | PA | % | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richmond | 22 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 2682 | 2125 | 126.2 | 72 |
| 2 | Hawthorn | 22 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 2828 | 2149 | 131.6 | 68 |
| 3 | Carlton (P) | 22 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 2561 | 2008 | 127.5 | 66 |
| 4 | Essendon | 22 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 2576 | 2057 | 125.2 | 64 |
| 5 | North Melbourne | 22 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 2693 | 2458 | 109.6 | 56 |
| 6 | Fitzroy | 22 | 12 | 9 | 1 | 2614 | 2550 | 102.5 | 50 |
| 7 | Swans | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 2621 | 2537 | 103.3 | 48 |
| 8 | Melbourne | 22 | 8 | 14 | 0 | 2488 | 2752 | 90.4 | 32 |
| 9 | Geelong | 22 | 7 | 15 | 0 | 2073 | 2293 | 90.4 | 28 |
| 10 | Collingwood | 22 | 4 | 18 | 0 | 2201 | 2575 | 85.5 | 16 |
| 11 | St Kilda | 22 | 4 | 18 | 0 | 2188 | 3052 | 71.7 | 16 |
| 12 | Footscray | 22 | 3 | 19 | 0 | 2066 | 3035 | 68.1 | 12 |
Rules for classification: 1. premiership points; 2. percentage; 3. points for
Average score: 112.1
Source: AFL Tables
Finals series
Finals week 1
| Qualifying final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 4 September (2:30 pm) | Hawthorn 16.9 (105) | def. by | Carlton 25.13 (163) | MCG (crowd: 70,552) | Report |
| Elimination final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 4 September (2:30 pm) | Essendon 16.19 (115) | def. by | North Melbourne 19.14 (128) | VFL Park (crowd: 50,537) | Report |
Finals week 2
| Semi-finals | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SF1: Saturday, 11 September (2:30 pm) | Hawthorn 24.22 (166) | def. | North Melbourne 18.6 (114) | MCG (crowd: 61,729) | Report |
| SF2: Saturday, 11 September (2:30 pm) | Richmond 16.17 (113) | def. | Carlton 13.12 (90) | VFL Park (crowd: 65,611) | Report |
Season notes
- South Melbourne, affected by limited finances and loss of its inner-city support base ever since World War II, relocated to Sydney after experimental matches played by the VFL there since 1979. Early in the season, the team was still formally known as South Melbourne, although it marketed itself as 'Sydney Swans' in Sydney; on 2 June, the team formally became known as 'the Swans' for the remainder of the season,[2] before formally becoming the 'Sydney Swans' in 1983.[3]
- The VFL's new headquarters at 120 Jolimont Road, Jolimont was officially opened by the recently appointed Victorian Governor Sir Brian Murray at a special dinner on 17 March in the function room of the building. The dinner, which was attended by over 120 invited guests, also served as the launch of the VFL season.[4]
- Looking to build on the previous season's successful first outing for premiership points at The Gabba,[5] the VFL had hoped that the Round 7 match between St Kilda and Richmond, originally scheduled at VFL Park, could be relocated to Brisbane without needing a replacement match played at Waverley. However, League officials were unable to get approval from the clubs to remove the stipulation that required a replacement game at VFL Park if a premiership game was to be played at The Gabba. Essendon, who had played in the previous season's historic first game at the Gabba for premiership points, had been approached about transferring their home game against Collingwood from Windy Hill to Waverley, but refused.[6] Football fans in Brisbane would have to wait until 1991 for the next League game played at the Gabba for premiership points.
- Round 3 - the split Easter round - set a number of VFL records on and off the field; the total gate takings for the round was regarded as the highest on record at the time, officially reported as $486,652, paid by 213,199 people.[7]
- From 4 May, patrons were banned from bringing alcoholic beverages into VFL matches, and were limited to purchasing at most two pre-opened cans at a time from vendors at the ground.[8]
- Owing to the extreme drought and consequent firm grounds, the 1982 season remains the highest-scoring on record. Among the records were:
- an average game score of 112 points; the next highest average score in a season was 106 points in 1979 and 1983
- St Kilda and Footscray became the only teams ever to concede 3,000 points in one season
- 66 scores of 20 goals occurred, a record equalled only in 1991
- 57 matches where both teams scored more than 100 points - no other season had more than fifty such matches
- Round 10 is the only round in VFL/AFL history in which every team scored 100 or more points.
- In Round 16 against North Melbourne, Hawthorn set record scores of 13.3 (81) for the first quarter and 20.7 (127) for the first half. The former record stood until 2011, and the latter stood until 2004.
- After a negative response from the players since its introduction in 1980, the VFL abandoned the practice of presenting runners-up medals to the losing team as part of the grand final post-match presentation.[9]
- In Round 18, Leigh Matthews ran into and broke a behind post at Windy Hill.
- Early in the season, the VFL arranged for the grand finalists to play a rematch as a demonstration sport at the 1982 Commonwealth Games, held in Brisbane shortly after the season was finished.[10] Carlton and Richmond played the exhibition match at the Gabba on Wednesday, 6 October, and Richmond won the high-scoring match 28.16 (184) to 26.10 (166).[11]
Awards
- The Coleman Medal was won by Malcolm Blight from North Melbourne.
- The Brownlow Medal was awarded to Brian Wilson from Melbourne.
- The inaugural VFL Players Association Most Valuable Player Award was won by Leigh Matthews. In 2002, the award was renamed the Leigh Matthews Trophy in his honour.
- The reserves premiership was won by Geelong for the third consecutive season. Geelong 19.18 (132) defeated St Kilda 12.11 (83) in the grand final, held as a curtain-raiser to the seniors Grand Final on 25 September.[12]
References
- "Coach sacked by Footscray". The Canberra Times. Vol. 56, no. 17, 051. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 4 June 1982. p. 18. Retrieved 24 June 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- Simunovich, Peter (3 June 1982). "The Swans – officially". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne. p. 67.
- Sydney - Part 2 Archived 7 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine Full Points Footy
- "VFL HAS A NEW HOME". The Football Record. Vol. 71, no. 3. 20 March 1982. p. 3.
- Gill, Shannon (20 October 2020). "How a pear-shaped novelty became the grand final stage". ESPN.
- Carter, Ron (18 March 1982). "Saints v Tigers here : 'Gabba game is KO'd". The Age. No. 39, 568. p. 34.
- "VFL's day of records". The Age. No. 39, 589. 13 April 1982. p. 1.
- Simunovich, Peter (17 June 1982). "Victory in VFL's booze battle". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne. p. 76.
- Simunovich, Peter (22 July 1982). "VFL: no medals for runners-up". The Sun News-Pictorial (Final ed.). Melbourne. p. 63.
- Sheahan, Mike (3 March 1982). "Games Grand Final replay". The Herald (Final ed.). Melbourne. p. 44.
- Reed, Ron (7 October 1982). "Grace Gabba the crowd grabba". The Sun News-Pictorial (Final ed.). Melbourne. p. 66.
- Gerry Carmen (27 September 1982). "Geelong's hat-trick". The Age. Melbourne, VIC. p. 27.
- Stephen Rogers and Ashley Brown (1998). Every Game Ever Played. 6th ed. Victoria: Penguin Books.
Sources
- 1982 VFL season at AFL Tables
- 1982 VFL season at Australian Football
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