1990 AFL season

For the 1990 season of the Arena Football League, see 1990 Arena Football League season.

1990 AFL premiership season
Teams	14
Premiers	Collingwood 14th premiership
Minor premiers	Essendon 13th minor premiership
Pre-season cup	Essendon 1st pre-season cup win
Brownlow Medallist	Tony Liberatore (Footscray)
Coleman Medallist	John Longmire (North Melbourne)
Attendance
Matches played	161
Total attendance	4,086,283 (25,381 per match)
Highest	98,944 (Grand final, Collingwood vs. Essendon)
←  1989 (VFL) 1991  →

The 1990 AFL season was the 94th season of the Australian Football League (AFL) and the first under this name, having been known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. It was the highest level senior Australian rules football competition and administrative body in Victoria; and, as it featured clubs from New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia, it was the de facto highest level senior competition in Australia. The season featured fourteen clubs, ran from 31 March until 6 October, and comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top five clubs.

The premiership was won by the Collingwood Football Club for the 14th time, after it defeated Essendon by 48 points in the 1990 AFL Grand Final.

Club leadership

Club	Coaches	Chairman/President	Executive Director/General Manager	Football Manager	Leadership group	Ref.
Brisbane Bears	Norm Dare (senior) Rodney Eade (reserves)	Noel Gordon	Andrew Ireland	Shane O'Sullivan	Roger Merrett (captain) Scott McIvor (v/captain) Martin Leslie (deputy v/c)	[1]
Carlton	Alex Jesaulenko (senior) Rod Ashman (reserves) Ross Henshaw (under 19s)	John Elliott	Ian Collins	Stephen Gough	Stephen Kernahan (captain) Craig Bradley (v/captain) David Rhys-Jones (deputy v/c)	[1]
Collingwood	Leigh Matthews (senior) Michael Taylor (reserves) Keith Burns (under 19s)	Allan McAlister	Rob Petrie	Graeme Allan	Tony Shaw (captain) Peter Daicos (v/captain) Brian Taylor, Gavin Crosisca, Darren Millane (deputy v/captains)	[1]
Essendon	Kevin Sheedy (senior) Mervyn Keane (reserves) Ray Jordon (under 19s)	Ron Evans	David Shaw (exec. director) Roger Hampson (gen. manager)	Kevin Egan	Tim Watson (captain) Simon Madden (v/captain) Mark Thompson (deputy v/c)	[1]
Fitzroy	Rod Austin (senior) Robert Shaw (reserves) Leigh Carlson (under 19s)	Leon Wiegard	Max Kelleher	Arthur Wilson	Paul Roos (captain) Gary Pert (v/captain)	[1]
Footscray	Terry Wheeler (senior) Trevor Fletcher (reserves) Neil Clarke (under 19s)	Peter Gordon	Dennis Galimberti	Gary Merrington	Doug Hawkins (captain) Stephen Wallis (v/captain) Tony McGuinness (deputy v/c)	[2]
Geelong	Malcolm Blight (senior) Dennis Davey (reserves) Brendan Tinkler (under 19s)	Ron Hovey	Ken Gannon	Garry Fletcher	Andrew Bews (captain) Steve Hocking (v/captain) Barry Stoneham (deputy v/c)	[2]
Hawthorn	Allan Jeans (senior) Des Meagher (reserves) Russell Greene (under 19s)	Trevor Coote	John Lauritz	John Hook (football manager) Alan Joyce (director of football)	Michael Tuck (captain) Gary Ayres (v/captain)	[2]
Melbourne	John Northey (senior) Mark Cross (reserves & under 19s)	Stuart Spencer	Tony King	John Sell	Greg Healy (captain) Garry Lyon (v/captain) Jim Stynes (deputy v/c)	[2]
North Melbourne	Wayne Schimmelbusch (senior) Laurie Dwyer (reserves) Denis Pagan (under 19s)	Bob Ansett	Ken Montgomery	Greg Miller	Matthew Larkin (captain) Ben Buckley (v/captain)	[2]
Richmond	Kevin Bartlett (senior) Emmett Dunne (reserves) Doug Searl (under 19s)	Neville Crowe	Cameron Schwab	John Wardrop	Dale Weightman (captain) Michael Pickering (v/captain)	[2]
St Kilda	Ken Sheldon (senior) Warren Jones (reserves) Gary Colling (under 19s)	Travis Payze	Rick Watt	Peter Hudson	Danny Frawley (captain)	[3]
Sydney	Colin Kinnear (senior) Mark Maclure (reserves) Greg Harris (under 19s)	Michael Willesee	Geoff Slade (exec. director) Barry Breen (gen. manager)	John Reid	Dennis Carroll (captain) Gerard Healy (v/captain) Greg Williams (deputy v/c)	[3]
West Coast	Michael Malthouse (senior)	Terry O'Connor	Brian Cook	Trevor Nisbett	Steve Malaxos (captain) John Worsfold (v/captain) Phil Scott (deputy v/c)	[3]

Foster's Cup

Main article: 1990 Foster's Cup

Essendon defeated North Melbourne 17.10 (112) to 10.16 (76) in the final.

Home-and-away season

Round 1

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date
Carlton	14.15 (99)	Sydney	15.14 (104)	Princes Park	22,427	Saturday 31, March
Essendon	20.21 (141)	Fitzroy	8.12 (60)	Windy Hill	18,960	Saturday 31, March
Geelong	11.11 (77)	Hawthorn	28.24 (192)	Waverley Park	41,694	Saturday, 31 March
North Melbourne	12.17 (89)	Melbourne	22.10 (142)	MCG	23,191	Saturday, 31 March
Brisbane Bears	19.19 (133)	Richmond	10.14 (74)	Carrara Stadium	11,814	Saturday, 31 March
West Coast	14.16 (100)	Collingwood	8.6 (54)	Subiaco Oval	25,342	Sunday, 1 April
Footscray	11.15 (81)	St Kilda	22.12 (144)	Whitten Oval	28,553	Sunday, 1 April

Round 2

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date
Richmond	9.14 (68)	North Melbourne	32.17 (209)	MCG	18,105	Friday, 6 April
Carlton	13.9 (87)	Collingwood	19.8 (122)	Waverley Park	44,906	Saturday, 7 April
Fitzroy	13.20 (98)	Brisbane Bears	8.11 (59)	Princes Park	6,838	Saturday, 7 April
Melbourne	18.20 (128)	Geelong	13.13 (91)	MCG	29,024	Saturday, 7 April
St Kilda	18.19 (127)	West Coast	10.9 (69)	Moorabbin Oval	23,161	Saturday, 7 April
Essendon	24.15 (159)	Hawthorn	14.13 (97)	MCG	55,311	Sunday, 8 April
Sydney	10.18 (78)	Footscray	20.20 (140)	SCG	11,051	Sunday, 8 April

Round 3

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date
St Kilda	11.10 (76)	Carlton	14.8 (92)	Waverley Park	53,065	Saturday 14, April
Footscray	7.17 (59)	West Coast	18.14 (122)	Whitten Oval	14,842	Saturday 14, April
Hawthorn	15.21 (111)	Richmond	10.21 (81)	Princes Park	11,698	Saturday 14, April
Brisbane Bears	14.11 (95)	North Melbourne	17.11 (113)	Carrara Stadium	8,683	Sunday 15, April
Collingwood	20.8 (128)	Sydney	12.21 (93)	Victoria Park	27,839	Monday 16, April
Melbourne	18.14 (122)	Essendon	14.11 (95)	MCG	59,894	Monday 16, April
Geelong	22.18 (150)	Fitzroy	11.11 (77)	Kardinia Park	23,031	Monday 16, April

Round 4

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date
West Coast	17.18 (120)	Carlton	10.10 (70)	WACA Ground	28,568	Friday 20, April
Collingwood	14.12 (96)	Footscray	11.12 (78)	Victoria Park	17,948	Saturday 21, April
Richmond	6.13 (49)	Essendon	18.19 (127)	MCG	17,975	Saturday 21, April
Fitzroy	9.10 (64)	Melbourne	13.11 (89)	Waverley Park	13,671	Saturday 21, April
Hawthorn	18.12 (120)	Brisbane Bears	5.8 (38)	Princes Park	8,649	Saturday 21, April
North Melbourne	15.22 (112)	Geelong	20.23 (143)	MCG	28,512	Sunday 22, April
Sydney	13.19 (97)	St Kilda	19.17 (131)	SCG	11,472	Sunday 22, April

Round 5

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date
Carlton	10.16 (76)	Footscray	15.13 (103)	Princes Park	24,960	Wednesday 25, April
Richmond	21.17 (143)	Fitzroy	9.10 (64)	MCG	23,078	Wednesday 25, April
St Kilda	13.13 (91)	Collingwood	12.20 (92)	MCG	67,893	Saturday 28, April
Essendon	11.15 (81)	Geelong	12.17 (89)	Waverley Park	42,097	Saturday 28, April
Hawthorn	16.12 (108)	North Melbourne	10.18 (78)	Princes Park	13,144	Saturday 28, April
Brisbane Bears	8.13 (61)	Melbourne	19.11 (125)	Carrara Stadium	9,381	Saturday 28, April
West Coast	19.14 (128)	Sydney	10.7 (67)	Subiaco Oval	25,683	Sunday 29, April

Round 6

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date
Richmond	9.14 (68)	West Coast	15.13 (103)	MCG	17,229	Friday 4, May
Carlton	20.13 (133)	North Melbourne	14.19 (103)	Princes Park	17,555	Saturday 5, May
Collingwood	10.15 (75)	Essendon	15.11 (101)	MCG	63,218	Saturday 5, May
Footscray	12.10 (82)	Fitzroy	5.20 (50)	Waverley Park	13,610	Saturday 5, May
Geelong	23.13 (151)	Brisbane Bears	12.8 (80)	Kardinia Park	18,426	Saturday 5, May
St Kilda	15.14 (104)	Hawthorn	14.17 (101)	Moorabbin Oval	30,895	Saturday 5, May
Sydney	14.14 (98)	Melbourne	12.21 (93)	SCG	10,155	Sunday 6, May

Round 7

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date
Melbourne	18.8 (116)	West Coast	9.7 (61)	MCG	32,269	Friday 11, May
Essendon	13.13 (91)	Carlton	17.9 (111)	Windy Hill	22,198	Saturday 12, May
Collingwood	13.14 (92)	Hawthorn	13.16 (94)	Waverley Park	48,099	Saturday 12, May
Fitzroy	18.13 (121)	St Kilda	15.13 (103)	Princes Park	14,524	Saturday 12, May
North Melbourne	12.13 (85)	Footscray	12.15 (87)	MCG	16,155	Saturday 12, May
Geelong	9.28 (82)	Richmond	13.18 (96)	Kardinia Park	21,181	Sunday 13, May
Brisbane Bears	14.12 (96)	Sydney	13.10 (88)	Carrara Stadium	7,226	Sunday 13, May

Round 8

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date
Sydney	15.17 (107)	Geelong	13.20 (98)	SCG	8,960	Friday 18, May
Carlton	18.18 (126)	Hawthorn	9.5 (59)	Waverley Park	36,370	Saturday 19, May
Fitzroy	9.21 (75)	Collingwood	17.18 (120)	Princes Park	16,530	Saturday 19, May
Melbourne	20.13 (133)	Richmond	11.14 (80)	MCG	26,376	Saturday 19, May
St Kilda	12.22 (94)	North Melbourne	11.12 (78)	Moorabbin Oval	22,351	Saturday 19, May
Footscray	11.12 (78)	Essendon	14.13 (97)	Whitten Oval	25,255	Sunday 20, May
West Coast	16.26 (122)	Brisbane Bears	9.9 (63)	Subiaco Oval	20,457	Sunday 20, May

Round 9

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date
Carlton	18.15 (123)	Fitzroy	11.16 (82)	Princes Park	19,052	Saturday 26, May
Collingwood	26.20 (176)	North Melbourne	14.12 (96)	Victoria Park	22,232	Saturday 26, May
Essendon	18.16 (124)	St Kilda	17.11 (113)	Windy Hill	21,251	Saturday 26, May
Hawthorn	14.8 (92)	Melbourne	7.6 (48)	Waverley Park	39,701	Saturday 26, May
Brisbane Bears	8.8 (56)	Footscray	19.11 (125)	Carrara Stadium	6,628	Saturday 26, May
West Coast	16.16 (112)	Geelong	13.15 (93)	Subiaco Oval	21,323	Sunday 27, May
Richmond	20.19 (139)	Sydney	9.6 (60)	MCG	19,465	Sunday 27, May

Round 10

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date
North Melbourne	17.16 (118)	West Coast	13.12 (90)	MCG	9,377	Friday 1, June
Richmond	15.18 (108)	Carlton	13.7 (85)	MCG	31,648	Saturday 2, June
Collingwood	16.14 (110)	Melbourne	9.4 (58)	Waverley Park	49,655	Saturday 2, June
Fitzroy	15.13 (103)	Hawthorn	13.11 (89)	Princes Park	11,329	Saturday 2, June
St Kilda	21.22 (148)	Brisbane Bears	10.11 (71)	Moorabbin Oval	14,099	Saturday 2, June
Sydney	11.8 (74)	Essendon	25.14 (164)	SCG	12,551	Sunday 3, June
Geelong	14.12 (96)	Footscray	13.16 (94)	Kardinia Park	26,073	Sunday 3, June

Round 11

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date
Essendon	15.9 (99)	West Coast	8.12 (60)	Windy Hill	19,427	Saturday 9, June
St Kilda	15.14 (104)	Geelong	16.16 (112)	Waverley Park	47,572	Saturday 9, June
Hawthorn	19.18 (132)	Sydney	11.17 (83)	Princes Park	11,848	Saturday 9, June
Brisbane Bears	10.13 (73)	Collingwood	15.17 (107)	Carrara Stadium	12,339	Sunday 10, June
Melbourne	15.9 (99)	Carlton	13.15 (93)	MCG	59,782	Monday 11, June
Fitzroy	11.12 (78)	North Melbourne	15.10 (100)	Princes Park	13,271	Monday 11, June
Footscray	15.6 (96)	Richmond	12.10 (82)	Whitten Oval	29,698	Monday 11, June

Round 12

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date
West Coast	16.9 (105)	Hawthorn	12.10 (82)	WACA	28,094	Friday 15, June
Carlton	24.14 (158)	Brisbane Bears	11.23 (89)	Princes Park	11,738	Saturday 16, June
Geelong	12.16 (88)	Collingwood	14.15 (99)	Waverley Park	53,917	Saturday 16, June
Essendon	18.16 (124)	North Melbourne	13.16 (94)	Windy Hill	16,311	Saturday 16, June
Richmond	18.20 (128)	St Kilda	16.12 (108)	MCG	31,180	Saturday 16, June
Sydney	10.11 (71)	Fitzroy	17.14 (116)	SCG	6,136	Sunday 17, June
Footscray	10.8 (68)	Melbourne	15.11 (101)	Whitten Oval	17,828	Sunday 17, June

Round 13

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date
Carlton	18.15 (123)	Geelong	13.26 (104)	Princes Park	29,571	Saturday 23, June
Melbourne	14.15 (99)	St Kilda	20.12 (132)	MCG	38,511	Saturday 23, June
Brisbane Bears	7.13 (55)	Essendon	15.19 (109)	Carrara Stadium	10,105	Saturday 23, June
Collingwood	14.17 (101)	Richmond	5.12 (42)	Victoria Park	31,447	Saturday 30, June
Hawthorn	10.13 (73)	Footscray	14.7 (91)	Waverley Park	22,388	Saturday 30, June
North Melbourne	18.23 (131)	Sydney	5.11 (41)	MCG	10,721	Saturday 30, June
West Coast	20.8 (128)	Fitzroy	13.13 (91)	Subiaco Oval	20,133	Sunday 1, July

Round 14

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date
Richmond	22.21 (153)	Brisbane Bears	10.11 (71)	MCG	11,438	Friday 6, July
Collingwood	15.12 (102)	West Coast	11.10 (76)	Victoria Park	23,596	Saturday 7, July
Fitzroy	9.7 (61)	Essendon	20.24 (144)	Princes Park	13,339	Saturday 7, July
St Kilda	11.12 (78)	Footscray	12.13 (85)	Moorabbin Oval	28,202	Saturday 7, July
Hawthorn	18.10 (118)	Geelong	7.8 (50)	Waverley Park	30,211	Saturday 7, July
Melbourne	10.13 (73)	North Melbourne	31.14 (200)	MCG	19,272	Saturday 7, July
Sydney	13.12 (90)	Carlton	25.12 (162)	SCG	10,555	Sunday 8, July

Round 15

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date
West Coast	16.12 (108)	St Kilda	14.6 (90)	WACA	20,474	Friday 13, July
Collingwood	17.11 (113)	Carlton	8.11 (59)	Waverley Park	76,390	Saturday 14, July
Hawthorn	10.7 (67)	Essendon	21.16 (142)	Princes Park	25,159	Saturday 14, July
Footscray	17.10 (112)	Sydney	13.18 (96)	Whitten Oval	13,184	Saturday 14, July
Geelong	17.11 (113)	Melbourne	15.13 (103)	Kardinia Park	18,265	Saturday 14, July
North Melbourne	22.12 (144)	Richmond	15.10 (100)	MCG	21,426	Saturday 14, July
Brisbane Bears	17.9 (111)	Fitzroy	9.8 (62)	Carrara Stadium	7,347	Sunday 15, July

Round 16

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date
West Coast	16.13 (109)	Footscray	9.12 (66)	WACA	20,296	Friday 20, July
Carlton	19.9 (123)	St Kilda	15.18 (108)	Princes Park	25,235	Saturday 21, July
Essendon	15.16 (106)	Melbourne	17.12 (114)	Windy Hill	19,945	Saturday 21, July
Fitzroy	17.6 (108)	Geelong	12.9 (81)	Waverley Park	13,335	Saturday 21, July
Richmond	10.8 (68)	Hawthorn	25.9 (159)	MCG	25,532	Saturday 21, July
Sydney	19.9 (123)	Collingwood	21.21 (147)	SCG	11,722	Sunday 22, July
North Melbourne	13.12 (90)	Brisbane Bears	7.12 (54)	MCG	8,310	Sunday 22, July

Round 17

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date
Carlton	15.11 (101)	West Coast	20.12 (132)	Princes Park	18,712	Saturday 28, July
Essendon	18.17 (125)	Richmond	6.10 (46)	Waverley Park	24,436	Saturday 28, July
Melbourne	15.19 (109)	Fitzroy	12.18 (90)	MCG	20,222	Saturday 28, July
Geelong	17.8 (110)	North Melbourne	20.11 (131)	Kardinia Park	18,018	Saturday 28, July
St Kilda	22.16 (148)	Sydney	10.13 (73)	Moorabbin Oval	19,108	Saturday 28, July
Footscray	14.12 (96)	Collingwood	12.21 (93)	MCG	52,724	Sunday 29, July
Brisbane Bears	14.11 (95)	Hawthorn	16.14 (110)	Carrara Stadium	8,768	Sunday 29, July

Round 18

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date
North Melbourne	14.14 (98)	Hawthorn	15.18 (108)	MCG	44,627	Friday 3, August
Collingwood	16.21 (117)	St Kilda	7.7 (49)	Victoria Park	28,301	Saturday 4, August
Geelong	14.8 (92)	Essendon	13.16 (94)	Kardinia Park	21,796	Saturday 4, August
Fitzroy	16.17 (113)	Richmond	10.15 (75)	Princes Park	8,949	Saturday 4, August
Melbourne	10.13 (73)	Brisbane Bears	9.6 (60)	Waverley Park	10,890	Saturday 4, August
Footscray	9.13 (67)	Carlton	15.6 (96)	Whitten Oval	22,142	Sunday 5, August
Sydney	10.8 (68)	West Coast	12.11 (83)	SCG	6,970	Sunday 5, August

Round 19

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date
Fitzroy	12.16 (88)	Footscray	17.21 (123)	Princes Park	10,482	Saturday 11, August
Hawthorn	17.17 (119)	St Kilda	13.5 (83)	Waverley Park	27,612	Saturday 11, August
Melbourne	27.11 (173)	Sydney	15.16 (106)	MCG	16,719	Saturday 11, August
Brisbane Bears	25.13 (163)	Geelong	14.13 (97)	Carrara Stadium	8,180	Saturday 11, August
North Melbourne	13.11 (89)	Carlton	7.13 (55)	MCG	21,094	Sunday 12, August
Essendon	13.6 (84)	Collingwood	11.12 (78)	Waverley Park	65,293	Sunday 12, August
West Coast	22.21 (153)	Richmond	16.9 (105)	Subiaco Oval	22,939	Sunday 12, August

Round 20

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date
Sydney	11.20 (86)	Brisbane Bears	7.13 (55)	SCG	5,272	Friday 17, August
Carlton	16.11 (107)	Essendon	12.15 (87)	Princes Park	25,455	Saturday 18, August
Hawthorn	26.7 (163)	Collingwood	12.8 (80)	Waverley Park	53,982	Saturday 18, August
St Kilda	17.15 (117)	Fitzroy	18.8 (116)	Moorabbin Oval	13,712	Saturday 18, August
Footscray	12.16 (88)	North Melbourne	17.13 (115)	Whitten Oval	16,087	Saturday 18, August
Richmond	14.10 (94)	Geelong	24.14 (158)	MCG	16,984	Saturday 18, August
West Coast	15.13 (103)	Melbourne	21.13 (139)	Subiaco Oval	35,623	Sunday 19, August

Round 21

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date
North Melbourne	27.17 (179)	St Kilda	12.15 (87)	MCG	18,079	Friday 24, August
Hawthorn	17.14 (116)	Carlton	12.13 (85)	Princes Park	23,200	Saturday 25, August
Collingwood	17.16 (118)	Fitzroy	4.8 (32)	Victoria Park	21,008	Saturday 25, August
Essendon	15.14 (104)	Footscray	11.14 (80)	Windy Hill	17,258	Saturday 25, August
Geelong	12.18 (90)	Sydney	14.8 (92)	Kardinia Park	13,109	Saturday 25, August
Richmond	7.8 (50)	Melbourne	12.14 (86)	Waverley Park	15,342	Saturday 25, August
Brisbane Bears	8.11 (59)	West Coast	14.16 (100)	Carrara Stadium	7,286	Sunday 26, August

Round 22

Home team	Home team score	Away team	Away team score	Ground	Crowd	Date
Fitzroy	18.17 (125)	Carlton	16.17 (113)	Princes Park	14,168	Saturday 1, September
North Melbourne	8.19 (67)	Collingwood	23.18 (156)	Waverley Park	43,044	Saturday 1, September
St Kilda	13.15 (93)	Essendon	19.14 (128)	Moorabbin Oval	26,661	Saturday 1, September
Footscray	16.21 (117)	Brisbane Bears	15.6 (96)	Whitten Oval	11,371	Saturday 1, September
Geelong	12.11 (83)	West Coast	14.6 (90)	Kardinia Park	16,312	Saturday 1, September
Melbourne	17.14 (116)	Hawthorn	15.14 (104)	MCG	57,247	Saturday 1, September
Sydney	15.19 (109)	Richmond	20.19 (139)	SCG	7,180	Sunday 2, September

• The St Kilda-Essendon game was the only one in which all 4 Daniher brothers (Anthony, Terry, Neale, and Chris) played in the same match.

Ladder

(P)	Premiers
	Qualified for finals

#	Team	P	W	L	D	PF	PA	%	Pts
1	Essendon	22	17	5	0	2526	1815	139.2	68
2	Collingwood (P)	22	16	6	0	2376	1825	130.2	64
3	West Coast	22	16	6	0	2274	1920	118.4	64
4	Melbourne	22	16	6	0	2339	2066	113.2	64
5	Hawthorn	22	14	8	0	2414	2002	120.6	56
6	North Melbourne	22	12	10	0	2519	2210	114.0	48
7	Footscray	22	12	10	0	2016	2031	99.3	48
8	Carlton	22	11	11	0	2277	2187	104.1	44
9	St Kilda	22	9	13	0	2328	2313	100.6	36
10	Geelong	22	8	14	0	2248	2398	93.7	32
11	Richmond	22	7	15	0	1988	2530	78.6	28
12	Fitzroy	22	7	15	0	1874	2389	78.4	28
13	Sydney	22	5	17	0	1904	2704	70.4	20
14	Brisbane Bears	22	4	18	0	1733	2426	71.4	16

Rules for classification: 1. premiership points; 2. percentage; 3. points for
Average score: 100.1
Source: AFL Tables

Finals series

Finals week 1

	Elimination Final
Sunday, 9 September 2:30pm	Melbourne	def.	Hawthorn	MCG (crowd: 74,954)
	1.2 (8) 3.6 (24) 9.10 (64) 10.13 (73)	Q1 Q2 Q3 Final	2.6 (18) 4.7 (31) 5.10 (40) 8.16 (64)	Umpires: Carey, Sawers Television broadcast: Seven Network
Bennett 4 Stretch 2 Eishold, Healy, Jackson, Spalding 1		Goals	2 Brereton, Dunstall, Hall 1 Platten, Pritchard
Eishold, Stynes, Campbell, Yeats, Rohde, Newport, Healy		Best	Hall, Tuck, Mew, Pritchard

	Qualifying Final
Saturday, 8 September 2:30pm	Collingwood	drew with	West Coast	Waverley Park (crowd: 57,546)
	3.6 (24) 7.11 (53) 10.12 (72) 13.12 (90)	Q1 Q2 Q3 Final	3.1 (19) 6.5 (41) 10.10 (70) 13.12 (90)	Umpires: Ball, Rich Television broadcast: Seven Network
Daicos 4 Barwick, Brown 3 Taylor 2 Manson 1		Goals	4 Sumich 2 Lewis, Heady, Langdon 1 Kemp, Keene, Waterman
Brown, Wright, Francis, Millane, A. Richardson, Gayfer, Daicos		Best	Lewis, Heady, Lamb, Mainwaring, Hart, Langdon, Watters

	Qualifying Final Replay
Saturday, 15 September 2:30pm	Collingwood	def.	West Coast	Waverley Park (crowd: 53,520)
	8.1 (49) 12.6 (78) 14.9 (93) 19.12 (126)	Q1 Q2 Q3 Final	2.1 (13) 4.5 (29) 9.9 (63) 9.13 (67)	Umpires: Mitchell, Sheehan Television broadcast: Seven Network
Brown, Daicos 4 Manson, Crosisca, Francis 2 Kelly, Russell, McGuane, Christian, Millane 1		Goals	4 Sumich 2 Keene 1 Langdon, Turley, Kemp
Christian, Francis, Wright, Morwood, Brown, Gayfer, McGuane		Best	Turley, Sumich, Lamb, Keene, Worsfold, Lewis

Finals week 2

	First Semi-final
Saturday, 22 September 2:30pm	West Coast	def.	Melbourne	Waverley Park (crowd: 43,458)
	4.2 (26) 10.5 (65) 16.10 (106) 19.16 (130)	Q1 Q2 Q3 Final	2.1 (13) 2.8 (20) 8.9 (57) 15.10 (100)	Umpires: Sawers, Rich Television broadcast: Seven Network
6 Waterman 4 Sumich 3 Jackson 2 Mainwaring 1 Lewis, Keene, Langdon, Kemp		Goals	Grinter 4 Bennett, Yeats, Jackson 2 Tingay, Campbell, Spalding, Healy, Eishold 1
Turley, Keene, Mainwaring, Waterman, McKenna, Jackson, Lewis		Best	B. Lovett, Spalding, Campbell, Eishold, Stynes, Grinter

	Second Semi-final
Sunday, 23 September 2:30pm	Collingwood	def.	Essendon	MCG (crowd: 91,555)
	4.5 (29) 7.7 (49) 12.8 (80) 17.15 (117)	Q1 Q2 Q3 Final	2.3 (15) 5.7 (37) 7.10 (52) 7.12 (54)	Umpires: Carey, Sheehan Television broadcast: Seven Network
Brown 5 Daicos, Barwick 3 Starcevich, Russell 2 Francis, Crosisca 1		Goals	3 Salmon 1 Harvey, Kickett, Vander Haar, Thompson
McGuane, Brown, Banks, Morwood, Russell, Francis, Christian		Best	Salmon, T. Daniher, Thompson, Bewick, Ezard

Preliminary final

	Preliminary Final
Saturday, 29 September 2:30pm	Essendon	def.	West Coast	Waverley Park (crowd: 55,813)
	4.1 (25) 11.3 (69) 13.10 (88) 18.13 (121)	Q1 Q2 Q3 Final	1.2 (8) 5.3 (33) 6.8 (44) 8.10 (58)	Umpires: Carey, Sheehan Television broadcast: Seven Network
Ezard, Harvey 3 Salmon, Madden, Vander Haar 2 Anderson, Bewick, Kickett, Long, Manning, Watson 1		Goals	3 Jackson 2 Sumich 1 Heady, Langdon, Mainwaring
Madden, T. Daniher, Anderson, Grenvold, Ezard, Hamilton, Bewick		Best	Mainwaring, Lewis, Scott, Hart, Heady, Brennan, McKenna

Grand final

	1990 AFL Grand Final
Saturday, 6 October 2:30pm	Collingwood	def.	Essendon	MCG (crowd: 98,944)
	2.5 (17) 8.9 (57) 11.10 (76) 13.11 (89)	Q1 Q2 Q3 Final	2.2 (14) 3.5 (23) 5.6 (36) 5.11 (41)	Umpires: Sawers, Rich Norm Smith Medal: Tony Shaw Television broadcast: Seven Network National anthem: Normie Rowe
Brown 2, Barwick 2, Crosisca 2, Russell 2, Daicos 2, Monkhorst, Starcevich, McGuane		Goals	Salmon 2, Kickett, Somerville, Grenvold
Shaw, Russell, Monkhorst, Millane, Francis, Kerrison, Starcevich, Crosisca, McGuane		Best	Watson, Sporn, T. Daniher, Kickett, Ezard, O'Donnell
Brown (concussion), Starcevich (concussion)		Injuries	Nil
See Tribunal		Reports	See Tribunal

Season notes

• The Victorian Football League (VFL) was renamed and re-badged, with a new logo, as the Australian Football League in 1990.
• VFL Park was re-designated as Waverley Park, although it took about two or three years for football commentators and sporting editors to stop using the old name for the ground. ^{[ citation needed ]}
• Prior to the season, it was announced that Fitzroy and Footscray – both in serious financial difficulty – would be merging to form a single club known as the Fitzroy Bulldogs, which was to have commenced in the AFL in 1990. Less than three weeks after the announcement, a successful grass-roots campaign by Footscray supporters restored their club to a position of financial viability, and the merger was cancelled. ^[4]
• Five minutes into the third quarter of the Round 1 game between Geelong and Hawthorn, the Cats led the Hawks 10.6 (66) to 9.11 (65): Hawthorn then outscored Geelong 19.13 (127) to 1.5 (11) in the rest of the game to win by 115 points. ^[5]
• Under the AFL rules at the time, the drawn qualifying final between Collingwood and West Coast was replayed on the following weekend. This meant that minor premier Essendon was given a second consecutive bye week, giving them three weeks between games: Essendon ultimately reached the grand final through the preliminary final, but they were soundly beaten in both the second semi-final and grand final, to which many laid partial blame upon the extended layoff. Additionally, the one-week delay caused scheduling issues for venues and hotels, as a large number of league and corporate events related to the finals, and particularly in the week of the grand final, had to be rescheduled: the extent of this was unprecedented, as the number and scale of such events had increased significantly since 1972, which was the last time an early weeks finals match had required a replay. ^[6] The AFL introduced the provision to play extra time in drawn finals matches, except the grand final, in future years to prevent any repeat of these logistical problems; extra time was implemented in the grand final from 2016.
• The Port Adelaide Football Club from the South Australian National Football League made a bid to join the AFL; the application was rejected, with a composite SANFL team, christened the "Adelaide Crows", being admitted to the AFL competition in the 1991 season. Port Adelaide ultimately entered the competition in 1997.
• The Brisbane-Melbourne game in round 5 was the 10,000th VFL/AFL match.
• North Melbourne won the Under 19's premiership. North Melbourne 16.12 (108) defeated Melbourne 5.14 (44) in the Grand Final, held as a curtain-raiser to the reserves grand final on 6 October at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
• Carlton won the reserves premiership. Carlton 14.14 (98) defeated Melbourne 11.15 (81) in the Grand Final, held as a curtain-raiser to the seniors grand final on 6 October at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. ^[7]

Awards

• The Brownlow Medal was awarded to Tony Liberatore of Footscray.
• The Coleman Medal was awarded to John Longmire of North Melbourne.
• The Norm Smith Medal was awarded to Tony Shaw of Collingwood
• The Leigh Matthews Trophy was awarded to Darren Millane of Collingwood
• The Wooden Spoon was "awarded" to Brisbane
• The Under 19's Grand Final was won by North Melbourne against Melbourne
• The Reserves Grand Final was won by Carlton against Melbourne
• The Seniors Grand Final was won by Collingwood against Essendon

References

1. "CLUB PERSONNEL". The Football Record . 1 April 1990. p. 18 – via State Library of Victoria.
2. "CLUB PERSONNEL". The Football Record . 1 April 1990. p. 19 – via State Library of Victoria.
3. "CLUB PERSONNEL". The Football Record . 1 April 1990. p. 20 – via State Library of Victoria.
4. Tony de Bolfo (24 October 1989). "Dogs alive". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne, VIC. pp. 79–80.
5. "Geelong v Hawthorn, Round 1, 1990". afltables.com. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
6. Bruce Matthews (11 September 1990). "Commission rules out grand final change". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne, VIC. p. 66.
7. Russell Holmesby (7 October 1990). "Blues turn on grand display". The Sunday Sun. Melbourne, VIC. p. 37.

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

Sources

• 1990 AFL season at AFL Tables
• 1990 AFL season at Australian Football