1979 NFL Championship Series (Australia)

Last updated

1979 NFL Championship Series
NFL Escort Cup
Tournament details
Dates25 April – 10 July 1979
Teams 14
Venue(s) 3  (in 3 host cities)
Final positions
Champions South Adelaide (2nd title)
Runners-up Norwood
Tournament statistics
Matches played13
Attendance46,492 (3,576 per match)
1978

The 1979 NFL Championship Series was the 4th edition of the NFL Night Series, an NFL-organised national club Australian rules football tournament between the leading clubs from the SANFL, the VFA and QAFL. [1]

Contents

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 a rival national night competition, in opposition to the NFL Night Series. By October 1978, The VFL were joined by the WAFL, TANFL, NSWAFL and ACTAFL in the joint venture and transferred from NFL Night Series to the AFC Night Series. 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.

But by May 1979, the NFL, the SANFL and the AFC/VFL held meetings to discuss the future of the series and agree that the SANFL would join the AFC Night Series in 1980 and that the NFL would ceased running their Night Series beyond this edition. [2]

Qualified Teams

TeamNicknameLeagueQualificationParticipation (bold indicates winners) 1
Norwood Redlegs SANFL Winners of the 1978 South Australian National Football League 7th (Previous: 1888 , 1907 , 1975, 1976, 1977 , 1978)
Sturt Double Blues SANFL Runners-Up of the 1978 South Australian National Football League 7th (Previous: 1968, 1969, 1970, 1974, 1976, 1977)
Port Adelaide Magpies SANFL Third Place in the 1978 South Australian National Football League 8th (Previous: 1890 , 1910 , 1913 , 1914 , 1976, 1977, 1978)
Glenelg Tigers SANFL Fourth Place in the 1978 South Australian National Football League 5th (Previous: 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978)
West Torrens Eagles SANFL Fifth Place in the 1978 South Australian National Football League 1st
Woodville Woodpeckers SANFL Sixth Place in the 1978 South Australian National Football League 1st
South Adelaide Panthers SANFL Seventh Place in the 1978 South Australian National Football League 5th (Previous: 1893, 1896, 1977, 1978 )
Central District Bulldogs SANFL Eighth Place in the 1978 South Australian National Football League 2nd (Previous: 1977)
West Adelaide Bloods SANFL Ninth Place in the 1978 South Australian National Football League 6th (Previous: 1908 , 1909, 1911 , 1977, 1978)
North Adelaide Roosters SANFL Tenth Place in the 1978 South Australian National Football League 4th (Previous: 1971, 1972 , 1977)
Prahran Two Blues VFA Winners of the 1978 Victorian Football Association Premiership 1st
Preston Bullants VFA Runners-Up in the 1978 Victorian Football Association Premiership 2nd (Previous: 1977)
Western Districts Bulldogs QAFL Winners of the 1978 Queensland Australian Football League 1st
Windsor-Zillmere Eagles QAFL Runners-Up in the 1978 Queensland Australian Football League 1st
1 Includes previous appearances in the Championship of Australia.

Venues

Adelaide Melbourne Brisbane
Norwood Oval Preston City Oval Brisbane Cricket Ground
Capacity: 22,000Capacity: 15,000Capacity: 35,000
OIC norwood oval 1.jpg Preston city oval.jpg Australia vs South Africa.jpg

Knockout stage

Round 1

25 April 1979 Prahran 44-89 Port Adelaide Preston City Oval, Melbourne  
6.8 (44)13.11 (89)Attendance: 6,000
25 April 1979 Preston 76-108 Central District Preston City Oval, Melbourne  
11.10 (76)16.12 (108)Attendance: 6,000
25 April 1979 Windsor-Zillmere 79-133 West Torrens Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane  
12.7 (79)20.13 (133)Attendance: 4,000
25 April 1979 Western Districts 62-125 South Adelaide Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane  
9.8 (62)17.23 (125)Attendance: 4,000
8 May 1979 Sturt 114-83 North Adelaide Norwood Oval, Adelaide  
16.18 (114)12.11 (83)Attendance: 5,332
8 May 1979 Norwood 94-77 West Adelaide Norwood Oval, Adelaide  
13.16 (94)11.11 (77)Attendance: 5,332

Quarter Finals

QF #1 15 May 1979 West Torrens 125-78 Woodville Norwood Oval, Adelaide  
18.17 (125)11.12 (78)Attendance: 1,935
QF #2 22 May 1979 South Adelaide 83-70 Sturt Norwood Oval, Adelaide  
12.11 (83)10.10 (70)Attendance: 1,500
QF #3 29 May 1979 Glenelg 101-83 Central District Norwood Oval, Adelaide  
15.11 (101)12.11 (83)Attendance: 2,027
QF #4 5 June 1979 Norwood 71-56 Port Adelaide Norwood Oval, Adelaide  
10.11 (71)8.8 (56)Attendance: 5,739

Semi Finals

SF #1 12 June 1979 South Adelaide 78-61 West Torrens Norwood Oval, Adelaide  
12.6 (78)9.7 (61)Attendance: 2,676
SF #2 26 June 1979 Norwood 65-38 Glenelg Norwood Oval, Adelaide  
9.11 (65)5.8 (38)Attendance: 4,767

NFL Championship Series Final

Final 10 July 1979 Norwood 40-51 South Adelaide Norwood Oval, Adelaide  
1.4 (10)
4.5 (29)
5.8 (38)
5.10 (40)
2.3 (15)
5.5 (35)
5.7 (37)
7.9 (51)
Attendance: 12,516
Umpires: Peter Mead
  Goals 
Rosser, Craig, Armour, Gallagher, Adamson 1 G Brooksby, Linke 2
Schneebichler, Cox, Baynes 1

Related Research Articles

Australian Football League Pre-eminent and only fully professional mens competition of Australian rules football

The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent and only fully professional men's competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the game. Originally known as the Victorian Football League (VFL), it was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition from the Victorian Football Association (VFA), with its inaugural season commencing the following year. The VFL, aiming to become a national competition, began expanding beyond Victoria to other Australian states in the 1980s, and changed its name to the AFL in 1990.

Australian National Football Council

The Australian National Football Council (ANFC) was the national governing body for Australian rules football in Australia from 1906 until 1995. The council was a body of delegates representing each of the sport's individual state leagues which controlled football in their states. The council was the owner of the laws of the game and managed interstate administrative and football matters. Its function was superseded by the AFL Commission.

Championship of Australia Football tournament

The Championship of Australia was an Australian rules football tournament which was contested between football clubs from the Victorian, South Australian, Western Australian and Tasmanian football leagues. The Championship took place three times in the 19th century and then from 1907 to 1914 with the exception of 1912 and every year from 1968 to 1975. All but two of the Championships were played in Adelaide and all of them occurred after the respective league seasons had ended. The 1975 Championship of Australia was the last edition of the competition with the 1976 NFL Championship replacing the format, albeit for only one year with VFL clubs.

The 1976 NFL Championship Series was the 1st edition of the NFL Night Series, an NFL-organised national club Australian rules football tournament between the leading clubs from the VFL, the SANFL and the WANFL.

The 1982 Escort Championships was an Australian rules football knock out tournament held between March and July 1982. The tournament was organised by Australian Football Championships, and was contested by teams from the Victorian Football League, South Australian National Football League and West Australian Football League. The tournament was won by the Swans, who defeated North Melbourne in the Grand Final.

The 1980 Escort Championships was an Australian rules football knock out tournament held between March and July 1980. The tournament was organised by Australian Football Championships, and was contested by teams from the Victorian Football League, South Australian National Football League and West Australian Football League, and the representative teams from New South Wales, Tasmania, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory. The tournament was won by North Melbourne, who defeated Collingwood in the Grand Final.

The 1979 Victorian Football Association season was the 98th season of the top division of the Australian rules football competition, and the 19th season of second division competition. The Division 1 premiership was won by the Coburg Football Club, after it defeated Geelong West in the Grand Final on 23 September by eight points; it was Coburg's fourth Division 1 premiership, and its first since 1928, ending a 51-year Division 1 premiership drought. The Division 2 premiership was won by Camberwell; it was the first premiership in either division ever won by the club since its admission to the Association in 1926, 53 years earlier.

David Roger Armour is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Geelong in the Victorian Football League (VFL), East Perth in the Western Australian Football League (WAFL) and Norwood in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL).

The NFL Night Series was an Australian rules football tournament which was contested annually from 1976 until 1979. The tournament, played concurrently with the premiership season, was contested at different times by football clubs from the Victorian, South Australian, Western Australian and Queensland football leagues, and was operated by the National Football League, which was the national administrative body for the sport.

The Victorian Football League night series, also known during its history by a variety of sponsored names, was an Australian rules football tournament held annually between 1956 and 1971, and again on three occasions in the late 1970's and 1980's. For most years the series was a consolation series, played on weekday nights each September as a knock-out tournament amongst teams which failed to reach the Victorian Football League finals.

The Australian Football Championships (AFC) night series, known during its history by a variety of sponsored names, was an Australian rules football tournament held annually between 1979 and 1986. The competition was a knock-out competition featuring clubs from the Victorian Football League, South Australian National Football League, West Australian Football League and state representative teams from the minor states, and matches were played primarily on weekday nights concurrently with the respective leagues' premiership seasons.

The 1977 NFL Championship Series was the 2nd edition of the NFL Night Series, an NFL-organised national club Australian rules football tournament between the leading clubs from the SANFL, the WANFL, the VFA and State Representative Teams.

The 1978 NFL Championship Series was the third edition of the NFL Night Series, an NFL-organised national club Australian rules football tournament between the leading clubs from the SANFL, the WANFL, the VFA and State Representative Teams.

The 1979 Australian Football Championships Night Series was the 1st edition of the AFC Night Series, a VFL-organised national club Australian rules football tournament between the leading clubs from the VFL, the WANFL and State Representative Teams.

The 1981 Australian Football Championships Night Series was the 3rd edition of the AFC Night Series, a VFL-organised national club Australian rules football tournament between the leading clubs from the VFL, the SANFL, the WAFL and State Representative Teams.

The 1983 Australian Football Championships Night Series was the 5th edition of the AFC Night Series, a VFL-organised national club Australian rules football tournament between the leading clubs from the VFL, the SANFL, the WAFL and State Representative Teams.

The 1984 Australian Football Championships Night Series was the 6th edition of the AFC Night Series, a VFL-organised national club Australian rules football tournament between the leading clubs from the VFL, the SANFL, the WAFL and State Representative Teams.

The 1985 Australian Football Championships Night Series was the 7th edition of the AFC Night Series, a VFL-organised national club Australian rules football tournament between the leading clubs from the VFL, the SANFL, the WAFL and State Representative Teams.

The 1986 Australian Football Championships Night Series was the 8th edition of the AFC Night Series, a VFL-organised national club Australian rules football tournament between the leading clubs from the VFL and the SANFL.

The 1987 Victorian Football League Night Series was the 19th edition of the VFL Night Series, a Victorian Football League (VFL)-organised Australian rules football tournament between the clubs from the VFL.

References

  1. David Eastman. "1979 NFL Escort Cup".
  2. David Eastman. "1979 AFC Escort Championships".