1988 VFL season

The 1988 Victorian Football League season was the 92nd season of the elite Australian rules football competition. This season commenced in April 1988 and concluded on 24 September 1988, with Hawthorn winning their seventh Premiership in their sixth consecutive Grand Final appearance. After a one-year break that saw the league being broadcast nationally on the ABC network (and in Brisbane by then TVQ-0), the league returned to the 7 Network, the network wherein its television success began.

Night series[]

Hawthorn 10.10 (70) defeated Geelong 9.13 (67) in the Night Series, which for the first time was played entirely as a pre-season competition, rather than a concurrent competition to the Premiership season.

Premiership season[]

Round 1[]

Round 2[]

Round 3[]

Round 4[]

Round 5[]

Round 6[]

Round 7[]

Round 8[]

Round 9[]

Round 10[]

Round 11[]

Round 12[]

Round 13[]

Round 14[]

Round 15[]

Round 16[]

Round 17[]

Round 18[]

Round 19[]

Round 20[]

Round 21[]

Round 22[]

Ladder[]

Finals[]

Elimination finals[]

Qualifying final[]

Semi finals[]

Preliminary final[]

Grand Final[]

Player statistics and awards[]

Leading goalkickers[]

Brownlow Medal count[]

• The Leigh Matthews Trophy was awarded to Gerard Healy of the Sydney Swans.
• The Norm Smith Medal was awarded to Gary Ayres of Hawthorn.
• North Melbourne 18.16 (124) defeated Essendon 06.05 (41) in the under 19's grand final, held as a curtain-raiser to the reserves grand final on 24 September at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
• Footscray 17.14 (116) defeated North Melbourne 14.12 (96) in the reserves Grand Final, held as a curtain-raiser to the seniors Grand Final on 24 September at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.^[1]

Notable events[]

• Three new rules aimed at encouraging a long-kicking style of play were introduced. These were:^[2]
  • The length of the 15-metre penalty for wasting an opponent's time after he takes a mark was increased to fifty metres.
  • Players were required to take a kick if awarded a free kick. If the player played on by handpass, the ball would be returned for a ball-up; the penalty for playing on was originally a free kick to the opposition, but this was commuted to a ball up after proving unpopular during pre-season trials.
  • The full-back was required to kick the ball over a distance of at least two metres when kicking in after a behind.
• The VFL banned lace-up guernseys starting from this season after Robert Flower and Brian Wilson both suffered broken fingers when they became tangled in the laces during tackles.^[3] A handful of players had been wearing the tight-fitting guernseys which were laced up in the front in recent years.
• The Brisbane Bears played two matches in Perth during the season. At the club's suggestion, Brisbane's home match against the West Coast Eagles in Round 3 was moved from Carrara Stadium in Gold Coast to the WACA Ground in Perth after persistent and heavy rain in south-eastern Queensland left the ground and its adjoining facilities unable to accommodate the game. Brisbane had expected the clubs' Round 16 match to be moved from Perth to Gold Coast in return, only to discover that the league considered the Round 3 match a home game for Brisbane, meaning that they would be required to travel for the Round 16 match in Perth as well.^[4]
• The VFL took over the operation of the financially crippled Sydney Swans during the year until its parent company, Powerplay, could find a buyer for the franchise. The VFL bought the club for a nominal $10 on 9 May, taking on its operating costs but not its debts.^[5]

See also[]

• List of VFL debuts in 1988
• McIntyre "Final Five" system

References[]

Bibliography[]

• Stephen Rodgers: Every Game Ever Played VFL/AFL Results 1897–1991 3rd Edition 1992. Penguin Books Australia ISBN 0-670-90526-7.

External links[]

• 1988 VFL Season Statistics at AFL Tables