1987 VFL season
Encyclopedia
Results and statistics for the Victorian Football League
season of 1987.
Abbreviation guide: Gms=Games played in the season, Gls/Bhds=Goals and behinds kicked, Acc%=Accuracy percentage (Goals divided by Goals + Behinds multiplied by 100), GpM=Average goals per match
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
season of 1987.
Night Series
defeated 8.10 (58) to 8.6 (54) in the Final at Waverley Park.Leading goalkickers
| Name | Club | Gms | Gls/Bhds | Acc% | GpM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tony Lockett Tony Lockett Anthony Howard "Tony" Lockett is a former Australian rules football player. Lockett is the highest goal scorer in the history of the VFL/AFL with 1,360 goals in a career of 281 games, that commenced in 1983 with the St Kilda Football Club, and finished in 2002 with the Sydney Swans... |
St. Kilda St. Kilda Football Club The St Kilda Football Club, nicknamed The Saints, is an Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The club plays in the Australian Football League, the sport's premier league.... |
22 | 117 / 52 | 69 | 5.32 |
| 2 | Warwick Capper Warwick Capper Warwick Capper is a retired high profile professional Australian rules football full-forward who played with the Sydney Swans with a short stint at the Brisbane Bears in the VFL .... |
Sydney Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney... |
23 | 103 / 57 | 64 | 4.48 |
| 3 | Jason Dunstall Jason Dunstall Jason Hadfield Dunstall is a former Australian rules football player for the Hawthorn Football Club of the AFL. He is the third greatest goalkicker in the history of the VFL/AFL. Dunstall is regarded as one of the greatest full-forwards to have ever played, kicking 1254 goals, a feat only... |
Hawthorn Hawthorn Football Club The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League . The club, founded in 1902, is the youngest of the Victorian-based teams in the AFL. The team play in Brown & Gold vertically striped guernseys... |
24 | 94 / 58 | 62 | 3.92 |
| 4 | Stephen Kernahan Stephen Kernahan Stephen Scott Kernahan is a former Australian rules footballer best known for his career with the Carlton Football Club of the Australian Football League and the Glenelg Football Club of the SANFL from 1981 until 1997... |
Carlton Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897... |
24 | 73 / 50 | 59 | 3.04 |
| - | Simon Beasley Simon Beasley Simon Beasley is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Footscray in the Victorian Football League .Recruited from Swan Districts in the WAFL, Beasley moved to Melbourne in 1982 to pursue his career as a stockbroker, and signed with Footscray in the VFL... |
Footscray Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based at the Whitten Oval in West Footscray, an inner-western suburb of Melbourne... |
21 | 73 / 47 | 61 | 3.48 |
Abbreviation guide: Gms=Games played in the season, Gls/Bhds=Goals and behinds kicked, Acc%=Accuracy percentage (Goals divided by Goals + Behinds multiplied by 100), GpM=Average goals per match
Brownlow Medal count
| Name | Club | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tony Lockett Tony Lockett Anthony Howard "Tony" Lockett is a former Australian rules football player. Lockett is the highest goal scorer in the history of the VFL/AFL with 1,360 goals in a career of 281 games, that commenced in 1983 with the St Kilda Football Club, and finished in 2002 with the Sydney Swans... |
St Kilda | 20 |
| - | John Platten John Platten John Patrick "The Rat" Platten is a former Australian rules footballer. With his unruly tangle of curls he was a distinctive figure on the field with tremendous tenacity and the ability to accumulate possessions week after week.-Career:Platten began his career with the Central District Bulldogs... |
Hawthorn Hawthorn Football Club The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League . The club, founded in 1902, is the youngest of the Victorian-based teams in the AFL. The team play in Brown & Gold vertically striped guernseys... |
20 |
| 2 | Paul Meldrum Paul Meldrum Paul Meldrum is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Carlton in the VFL during the 1980s.Meldrum was a versatile footballer could play anywhere on the ground, making his debut for Carlton in 1982. He went on to play 158 games for the club, including playing in their winning 1987 AFL... |
Carlton Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897... |
15 |
| - | Tony McGuinness | Footscray Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based at the Whitten Oval in West Footscray, an inner-western suburb of Melbourne... |
15 |
| - | Brian Royal Brian Royal Brian Royal is a former Australian rules footballer, who played for the Western Bulldogs and is currently an assistant coach for the Melbourne Football Club.... |
Footscray | 15 |
- The Leigh Matthews TrophyLeigh Matthews TrophyThe Leigh Matthews Trophy is an annual award given by the AFL Players Association to the Most Valuable Player in the Australian Football League. It is named in honour of Leigh Matthews, who won the first MVP award in 1982, when the league was still known as the Victorian Football League...
was awarded to Tony LockettTony LockettAnthony Howard "Tony" Lockett is a former Australian rules football player. Lockett is the highest goal scorer in the history of the VFL/AFL with 1,360 goals in a career of 281 games, that commenced in 1983 with the St Kilda Football Club, and finished in 2002 with the Sydney Swans...
of St Kilda. - The Norm Smith MedalNorm Smith MedalThe Norm Smith Medal is the award given in the AFL Grand Final to the player adjudged by an independent panel of experts to have been the best player in the match.-History:The Norm Smith Medal is named after former Melbourne player and coach, Norm Smith...
was awarded to David Rhys-JonesDavid Rhys-JonesDavid Rhys-Jones is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Carlton Football Club and the Sydney Swans in the VFL/AFL. The highlight of his 182 game career was winning the Norm Smith Medal as best on ground in Carlton's 1987 Grand Final victory...
of CarltonCarlton Football ClubThe Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
.
Notable events
- This season saw the introduction of two new interstate sides, the Perth based West Coast Eagles, and the Brisbane Bears.
- In Round 4, St. Kilda full forward Tony Lockett set a record by kicking twelve of his team’s fourteen goals. This is the most goals by a player who kicks all but two of his team’s goals.
- The Round 10 match between West Coast and Collingwood was played on the Foundation Day public holiday, which was not observed in Victoria.
- In awful conditions in Round 13, Collingwood kicks the lowest score since 1968. Brian Taylor kicks their only goals in the first few minutes of the second quarter.
- In three home games from Round 16 to Round 18, the Sydney SwansSydney SwansThe Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
amassed the most prolific string of high scores in VFL history, scoring 97.53 (635). Their individual scores were: 30.21 (201) against West Coast, winning by 130 points; 36.20 (236) against Essendon, winning by 163 points; and 31.12 (198) against Richmond, winning by 91 points. In the Essendon game they become the only side to kick 200 points in three quarters. - Melbourne ended the third longest finals drought in league history (twenty-two seasons) by finishing fifth, making the finals for the first time since 19641964 VFL seasonResults and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1964.-Premiership season:In 1964, the VFL competition consisted of twelve teams of 18 on-the-field players each, plus two substitute players, known as the 19th man and the 20th man...
.
See also
- Early VFL Final systemsEarly VFL Final systemsThroughout its history, the Victorian Football League has used a system of finals after playing a regular season to determine the winner of the premiership....
- Page-McIntyre "Final Four" system
- McIntyre "Final Five" system