| 1988 season | |
|---|---|
| President | Richard Colless |
| Coach | John Todd |
| Captain(s) | Ross Glendinning |
| Home ground | Subiaco Oval WACA Ground |
| National Panasonic Cup | semi-finals |
| VFL season | 5th |
| Finals series | N/A |
| Best & Fairest | Chris Mainwaring |
| Leading goalkicker | Ross Glendinning (73 goals) |
| Highest home attendance | 43,438 (elimination final vs Melbourne at Waverley Park) |
| Lowest home attendance | 7,157 (round 10 vs Richmond at the MCG) |
| Average home attendance | 19,277 |
The 1988 VFL season was the West Coast Eagles' second season in the Victorian Football League (VFL). John Todd was appointed coach after Ron Alexander was sacked and Ross Glendinning remained captain. The Eagles played 22 games, winning 13 and losing 9 to finish 5th on the ladder.
West Coast recruited 12 players, with 11 from WAFL clubs, for the 1988 season:
West Coast defeated Sydney by 87 points in front of a crowd of 12,587 at the WACA Ground in the first round of the competition, the first night-series/pre-season match to be played in Western Australia since 1981, before losing to Essendon by 36 points in the second round.
Home team's score listed in bold:
| Round | Date | Score | Opponent | Opponent's Score | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wednesday, 10 February 2:10pm | 19.14 (128) | Sydney | 5.11 (41) | Won by 87 points | WACA Ground | 12,587 |
| 2 | Saturday, 12 March 2:10pm | 8.12 (60) | Essendon | 14.12 (96) | Lost by 36 points | Waverley Park | 5,992 |
Home team's score listed in bold:
| Round | Date | Score | Opponent | Opponent's Score | Result | Venue | Attendance | Best on ground | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saturday, 2 April 2:10pm | 14.20 (104) | Geelong | 11.17 (83) | Won by 21 points | Kardinia Park (stadium) | 20,781 | Alex Ishchenko | West Coast |
| 2 | Friday, 8 April 7:40pm | 26.19 (175) | Essendon | 11.10 (76) | Won by 99 points | WACA Ground | 24,886 | John Gastev | West Coast |
| 3 | Sunday, 17 April 2:10pm | 29.18 (192) | Brisbane Bears | 10.14 (74) | Won by 118 points | WACA Ground | 16,354 | Chris Mainwaring | West Coast |
| 4 | Saturday, 23 April 2:10pm | 8.7 (55) | Collingwood | 13.16 (94) | Lost by 87 points | Victoria Park | 26,276 | James Manson | Collingwood |
| 5 | Friday, 29 April 7:40pm | 14.16 (100) | Footscray | 14.9 (93) | Won by 7 points | WACA Ground | 17,662 | Ross Glendinning | West Coast |
| 6 | Friday, 6 May 7:40pm | 17.8 (110) | North Melbourne | 17.23 (123) | Lost by 13 points | Melbourne Cricket Ground | 10,133 | Donald McDonald | North Melbourne |
| 7 | Friday, 13 May 7:40pm | 17.10 (112) | St Kilda | 3.18 (36) | Won by 76 points | WACA Ground | 12,803 | Alex Ishchenko | West Coast |
| 8 | Sunday, 22 May 2:10pm | 9.9 (63) | Hawthorn | 17.14 (116) | Lost by 53 points | Subiaco Oval | 27,344 | Chris Wittman | Hawthorn |
| 9 | Sunday, 29 May 2:10pm | 12.15 (87) | Carlton | 15.10 (100) | Lost by 13 points | Subiaco Oval | 27,663 | Ken Hunter | Carlton |
| 10 | Sunday, 5 June 2:10pm | 10.15 (75) | Richmond | 16.20 (116) | Lost by 41 points | Melbourne Cricket Ground | 7,157 | Peter Wilson | Richmond |
| 11 | Monday, 13 June 2:10pm | 10.13 (73) | Melbourne | 13.15 (93) | Lost by 20 points | Melbourne Cricket Ground | 28,045 | Alan Johnson | Melbourne |
| 12 | Sunday, 19 June 2:10pm | 8.13 (61) | Sydney | 14.20 (104) | Lost by 43 points | Sydney Cricket Ground | 12,664 | Michael Parsons | Sydney |
| 13 | Sunday, 26 June 2:10pm | 17.19 (121) | Fitzroy | 13.9 (87) | Won by 34 points | Subiaco Oval | 15,028 | Wally Matera | West Coast |
| 14 | Saturday, 2 July 2:10pm | 13.7 (85) | Essendon | 16.16 (112) | Lost by 27 points | Windy Hill | 10,298 | Simon Madden | Essendon |
| 15 | Sunday, 10 July 2:10pm | 18.18 (126) | Geelong | 16.10 (106) | Won by 20 points | Subiaco Oval | 18,537 | Chris Mainwaring | West Coast |
| 16 | Friday, 15 July 7:40pm | 14.14 (98) | Brisbane Bears | 12.17 (89) | Won by 9 points | WACA Ground | 16,074 | Mark Withers | Brisbane Bears |
| 17 | Friday, 22 July 7:40pm | 8.16 (64) | Fitzroy | 19.20 (134) | Lost by 70 points | Melbourne Cricket Ground | 7,611 | John Ironmonger | Fitzroy |
| 18 | Sunday, 31 July 2:10pm | 18.14 (122) | Melbourne | 11.12 (78) | Won by 44 points | Subiaco Oval | 16,266 | Murray Rance | West Coast |
| 19 | Sunday, 7 August 2:10pm | 16.9 (115) | North Melbourne | 12.12 (84) | Won by 31 points | Subiaco Oval | 18,193 | Guy McKenna | West Coast |
| 20 | Saturday, 13 August 2:10pm | 14.13 (97) | St Kilda | 13.10 (88) | Won by 9 points | Moorabbin Oval | 11,074 | Laurie Keene | West Coast |
| 21 | Sunday, 21 August 7:40pm | 16.15 (111) | Collingwood | 7.9 (51) | Won by 60 points | Subiaco Oval | 36,638 | Karl Langdon | West Coast |
| 22 | Sunday, 28 August 2:10pm | 7.11 (53) | Footscray | 3.11 (29) | Won by 24 points | Western Oval | 18,456 | Chris Mainwaring | West Coast |
| EF | Saturday, 3 September 2:10pm | 10.11 (71) | Melbourne | 11.7 (73) | Lost by 2 points | Waverley Park | 43,438 | – | – |
Source: AFLTables
| (P) | Premiers |
| Qualified for finals |
| # | Team | P | W | L | D | PF | PA | % | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hawthorn (P) | 22 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 2791 | 1962 | 142.3 | 76 |
| 2 | Collingwood | 22 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 1948 | 1728 | 112.7 | 62 |
| 3 | Carlton | 22 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 2342 | 1961 | 119.4 | 60 |
| 4 | West Coast | 22 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 2199 | 1966 | 111.9 | 52 |
| 5 | Melbourne | 22 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 2003 | 1961 | 102.1 | 52 |
| 6 | Essendon | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 2186 | 2017 | 108.4 | 48 |
| 7 | Sydney | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 2169 | 2176 | 99.7 | 48 |
| 8 | Footscray | 22 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 1880 | 1803 | 104.3 | 44 |
| 9 | Geelong | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 2356 | 2246 | 104.9 | 40 |
| 10 | Richmond | 22 | 8 | 14 | 0 | 2161 | 2540 | 85.1 | 32 |
| 11 | North Melbourne | 22 | 7 | 14 | 1 | 2361 | 2638 | 89.5 | 30 |
| 12 | Fitzroy | 22 | 7 | 15 | 0 | 2128 | 2538 | 83.8 | 28 |
| 13 | Brisbane Bears | 22 | 7 | 15 | 0 | 1806 | 2421 | 74.6 | 28 |
| 14 | St Kilda | 22 | 4 | 18 | 0 | 1708 | 2081 | 82.1 | 16 |
Rules for classification: 1. premiership points; 2. percentage; 3. points for
Average score: 97.5
Source: AFL Tables