1998 AFL season
The 1998 AFL season was the 102nd season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featured sixteen clubs, ran from 27 March until 26 September, and comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top eight clubs.
1998 AFL premiership season | |
---|---|
Teams | 16 |
Premiers | Adelaide 2nd premiership |
Minor premiers | North Melbourne 4th minor premiership |
Pre-season cup | North Melbourne 2nd pre-season cup win |
Brownlow Medallist | Robert Harvey (St Kilda) |
Leading goalkicker | Tony Lockett (Sydney) |
Attendance | |
Matches played | 185 |
Total attendance | 6,691,897 (36,172 per match) |
Highest | 94,431 (Grand Final, Adelaide vs. North Melbourne) |
The premiership was won by the Adelaide Football Club for the second time and second time consecutively, after it defeated North Melbourne by 35 points in the 1998 AFL Grand Final.
AFL draft
See 1998 AFL Draft.
Ansett Australia Cup
North Melbourne defeated St Kilda 14.13 (97) to 12.11 (83) in the final.
Premiership season
Ladder
All teams played 22 games during the home and away season, for a total of 176. An additional 9 games were played during the finals series.
Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | PF | PA | PP | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | North Melbourne | 22 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 2486 | 2117 | 117.4 | 64 | Finals series |
2 | Western Bulldogs | 22 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 2353 | 2019 | 116.5 | 60 | |
3 | Sydney | 22 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 2283 | 2143 | 106.5 | 56 | |
4 | Melbourne | 22 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 2009 | 1956 | 102.7 | 56 | |
5 | Adelaide (P) | 22 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 2172 | 1763 | 123.2 | 52 | |
6 | St Kilda | 22 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 2148 | 2104 | 102.1 | 52 | |
7 | West Coast | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 1940 | 1773 | 109.4 | 48 | |
8 | Essendon | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 2250 | 2071 | 108.6 | 48 | |
9 | Richmond | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 2018 | 1926 | 104.8 | 48 | |
10 | Port Adelaide | 22 | 9 | 12 | 1 | 1928 | 2017 | 95.6 | 38 | |
11 | Carlton | 22 | 9 | 13 | 0 | 2018 | 2109 | 95.7 | 36 | |
12 | Geelong | 22 | 9 | 13 | 0 | 1777 | 1963 | 90.5 | 36 | |
13 | Hawthorn | 22 | 8 | 14 | 0 | 1992 | 2083 | 95.6 | 32 | |
14 | Collingwood | 22 | 7 | 15 | 0 | 1968 | 2167 | 90.8 | 28 | |
15 | Fremantle | 22 | 7 | 15 | 0 | 1739 | 2277 | 76.4 | 28 | |
16 | Brisbane Lions | 22 | 5 | 16 | 1 | 1860 | 2453 | 75.8 | 22 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for.
(P) Premiers
Ladder progression
Finals series
Grand final
Attendance
Team | Hosted | Average | Highest | Lowest | Total | Last Season | +/- |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Essendon | 11 | 54,894 | 83,773 | 26,241 | 603,830 | 52,848 | + 2046 |
Collingwood | 11 | 49,399 | 81,542 | 23,188 | 543,391 | 48,708 | + 691 |
Richmond | 11 | 44,307 | 70,200 | 25,723 | 487,377 | 34,515 | + 9792 |
Adelaide | 11 | 41,245 | 46,850 | 38,430 | 453,696 | 40,173 | + 1072 |
Melbourne | 11 | 40,085 | 76,387 | 16,518 | 440,931 | 27,714 | + 12,371 |
St Kilda | 11 | 36,231 | 71,488 | 20,063 | 398,543 | 35,232 | + 999 |
North Melbourne | 11 | 35,791 | 68,050 | 11,321 | 393,703 | 32,520 | + 3271 |
West Coast Eagles | 11 | 34,199 | 37,920 | 27,059 | 376,194 | 32,582 | + 1617 |
Carlton | 11 | 32,634 | 69,963 | 16,058 | 358,971 | 33,634 | - 1000 |
Hawthorn | 11 | 32,173 | 41,780 | 18,698 | 353,902 | 32,380 | - 207 |
Port Adelaide | 11 | 31,799 | 41,476 | 28,167 | 349,794 | 35,829 | - 4030 |
Sydney | 11 | 31,549 | 36,505 | 25,951 | 347,034 | 35,818 | - 4269 |
Geelong | 11 | 28,371 | 61,089 | 19,449 | 312,078 | 28,324 | + 47 |
Western Bulldogs | 11 | 23,832 | 36,428 | 16,131 | 262,153 | 19,335 | + 4497 |
Fremantle | 11 | 23,104 | 34,710 | 17,452 | 254,143 | 21,982 | + 1122 |
Brisbane Lions | 11 | 16,675 | 19,509 | 14,738 | 183,424 | 19,550 | - 2875 |
Totals | 176 | 34,768 | 83,773 | 11,321 | 6,119,164 | 33,197 | + 1571 |
Venue | Hosted | Average | Highest | Lowest | Total | Last Season | +/- |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MCG | 55 | 47,585 | 83,773 | 16,518 | 2617,182 | 43,488 | + 4097 |
Football Park | 22 | 36,522 | 46,850 | 28,167 | 803,490 | 38,001 | - 1479 |
Waverley Park | 26 | 34,549 | 71,488 | 18,698 | 898,269 | 33,806 | + 743 |
SCG | 11 | 31,549 | 36,505 | 25,951 | 347,034 | 35,818 | - 4269 |
Subiaco Oval | 16 | 29,800 | 37,920 | 17,452 | 476,798 | 28,371 | + 1429 |
WACA | 6 | 25,590 | 28,193 | 22,037 | 153,539 | 23,578 | + 2012 |
Kardinia Park | 9 | 23,307 | 26,879 | 19,449 | 209,767 | 21,269 | + 2038 |
Victoria Park | 2 | 23,241 | 23,293 | 23,188 | 46,481 | 24,473 | - 1233 |
Optus Oval | 17 | 21,874 | 27,659 | 16,058 | 371,859 | 20,781 | + 1093 |
Gabba | 11 | 16,675 | 19,509 | 14,738 | 183,424 | 19,550 | - 2875 |
Manuka Oval | 1 | 11,321 | 11,321 | 11,321 | 11,321 | N/A | N/A |
Totals | 176 | 34,768 | 83,773 | 11,321 | 6,119,164 | 33,197 | - 1571 |
Awards
- The Brownlow Medal was awarded to Robert Harvey of St Kilda
- The Leigh Matthews Trophy was awarded to Wayne Carey of North Melbourne
- The Coleman Medal was awarded to Tony Lockett of Sydney
- The Norm Smith Medal was awarded to Andrew McLeod of Adelaide
- The AFL Rising Star award was awarded to Byron Pickett of North Melbourne
- The Wooden Spoon was "awarded" to Brisbane Lions
Notes
- Adelaide became the first club since the introduction of the final five in 1972 to win the premiership from outside the top four, despite losing their first final heavily against Melbourne.
- Sydney's 101-point loss to St Kilda in round 10 is the most recent occasion as of 2023 that the club has lost a premiership match by 100 points or more.[1]