The 1987 VFL season was the 91st season of the Victorian Football League (VFL). The season ran from 27 March until 26 September, and comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top five clubs.
The season saw the beginning of a decade-long period of expansion of the Victorian league to the rest of Australia, with the admission of two newly established clubs: the West Coast Eagles, based in Perth, Western Australia, and the Brisbane Bears, based in South East Queensland. While the league remained the highest level senior Australian rules football competition and administrative body in Victoria, it also became the de facto highest level senior competition in Australia, with representation across four states. In the pre-season, the first modern VFL draft was held.
Rounds 16 and 17 were played concurrently over three weekends: five matches were played on the weekends of 11 and 18 July, and four matches were played on the weekend of 25 July. This fixturing effectively gave each team one bye during the three-week period. However, the matches are still grouped into two complete rounds rather than three partial rounds, which results in a chronological anomaly in which six teams played their Round 17 matches before their Round 16 matches.
At the SCG, Sydney recorded the club's highest score in a match. It marked the third time they had kicked 30 goals in a game, the previous time being in Round 13 of the 1982 VFL season against St Kilda. Swans rover Stephen Wright kicked a career-best eight goals in his first game back after missing five weeks due to a hamstring strain.[1]
The final round of the 1987 VFL home-and-away season turned out to be one of the most dramatic and significant in VFL/AFL history. The composition of the Final Five would be determined by a number of scenarios:
If Carlton defeated North Melbourne, they would secure the minor premiership and advance straight to the Second Semi-final
Hawthorn would win the minor premiership if they beat Geelong and Carlton lost to North
North could grab third place - and hence the "double chance" - if it beat Carlton and Sydney lost to Fitzroy
Going into the final round, Geelong held fifth spot, ahead of Footscray on percentage, with Melbourne two premiership points behind both teams. Hence, if the Cats could beat Hawthorn, they would secure a finals berth, but if they lost, then the winner out of Melbourne and Footscray would advance to the finals.
The round began on the Friday night with Richmond and the fledgling Brisbane Bears playing for the wooden spoon; the Bears won easily to ensure they didn't come last in their first season. The significant matches to determine the Final Five were all played on Saturday afternoon, and they were all thrillers.
In an epic, see-sawing clash at VFL Park, Carlton captain Stephen Kernahan kicked a goal after the final siren to snatch a thrilling win over North Melbourne and secure the minor premiership for 1987, their 16th in VFL competition.[3]
Sydney's win over Fitzroy marked the club's first win at Princes Park in 22 years. The Swans trailed at one stage by 41 points in the third quarter, but thereafter began to play more direct football and held off the Lions to secure third spot and the double chance. [4]
Tom Hafey coached his 500th League game, becoming the third to reach the milestone after Jock McHale and his opponent Allan Jeans.
Warwick Capper kicked four goals to become the second player after Tony Lockett to reach 100 goals for the season. He also took a spectacular mark over his opponent Chris Langford.
Melbourne was leading by 4 points at the final siren, though Hawthorn's Gary Buckenara had a free kick 55 metres out. But Melbourne's Jim Stynes ran across the mark and incurred a 15-metre penalty, bringing Buckenara close enough to kick the winning goal after the siren.[5][6]
Carlton won the reserves premiership. Carlton 18.17 (125) defeated St Kilda 15.15 (105) in the Grand Final, held as a curtain-raiser to the seniors Grand Final on 26 September at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.[7]
Notable events
This season saw the introduction of two new interstate sides: the West Coast Eagles, based in Perth, Western Australia, and the Brisbane Bears, based in Gold Coast, Queensland. They were the first new clubs to join the league since the expansion of 1925, and the first time the league changed from twelve teams since 1943. The clubs were admitted to the league in a meeting on 1 October 1986, with West Coast admitted by an 8–4 majority of the twelve clubs, and Brisbane admitted unanimously. The two new clubs each paid a $A4 million licence fee which was divided equally amongst the existing twelve clubs, many of whom were in desperate need of such a cash injection.[8]
When the Seven Network refused to offer a significant increase on its previous deal – which the VFL thought was warranted, given the broader audience that interstate expansion would bring – the VFL sold the television rights to on-seller Broadcom, who sold them to the ABC and satellite network Sportsplay. The deals lasted one year, and Seven purchased the exclusive rights back from Broadcom in 1988 at almost double the 1986 rate.[9] Free-to-air broadcasts, alongside the nationally aired games on ABC (and all locally broadcast games via ABV in Victoria), were split on state lines with Seven retaining broadcasts for Western Australia via TVW-7, the games were broadcast as well on SBS Television and The Prime Network (New South Wales) and on Network 10 (Queensland and South Australia).
The Round 10 match between West Coast and Collingwood was played on the Foundation Day public holiday, which is not observed in Victoria.
In awful conditions in Round 13, Collingwood kicked only 2.6 (18), the lowest score by any team since 1968. Brian Taylor kicked their only goals in the first few minutes of the second quarter.
In three home games from Round 16 to Round 18, the Sydney Swans amassed the most prolific string of high scores in VFL history, scoring a total of 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.
The VFL made a loss on the Round 17 match between Fitzroy and Brisbane Bears, which drew a meagre crowd of only 5,824 to Princes Park, despite being one of only three matches in Melbourne that weekend. The league had considered rescheduling the match as the first half of a double-header with one of the other two senior matches that weekend to reduce overall operating expenses, but contracts already in place precluded double-headers from being staged.[10]
Melbourne ended the third-longest finals drought in league history (twenty-two seasons) by finishing fifth, making the finals for the first time since 1964.
The Under-19s Grand Final, in which North Melbourne 13.16 (94) defeated Richmond 13.11 (89), ended in controversy when the final siren was alleged to have been blown early. The timekeeper, who was independent of the clubs, was alleged to have blown the siren after only two minutes of time on; but there had been five goals kicked in the final quarter, which would usually have been expected to result in four or five minutes of time on. Richmond lodged a complaint against the timekeeper, but did not protest the result or seek a replay of the match.[11][12]
^Cockerill, Michael (20 July 1987). "Dazzling, determined Sydney shows three into two will go". The Age. p. 34. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
^Blake, Martin (20 July 1987). "Collingwood shrugs off another defeat". The Age. p. 34. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
^Blake, Martin (31 August 1987). "Kernahan's goal gives Blues a dream finish". The Age. p. 30. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
^Kelly, Hugo (31 August 1987). "A 'couple of individuals' leave Parkin marooned". The Age. p. 30. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
^Stevens, Mark (22 September 2012). . news.com.au. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021.
^Morris, Tom (25 November 2015). "Fox Footy viewers vote for Hawthorn vs. Melbourne from 1987 on Viewers Choice". foxsports.com.au.
^"Reserves, under 19s". The Age. Melbourne. 28 September 1987. p. 80.
^Ron Carter (2 October 1986). "Perth, Brisbane join League". The Age. Melbourne. p. 38.
^"VFL 1987 VFL TV Rights Saga". Footyindustry. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
^Daryl Timms (27 July 1987). "A costly game for league". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne. p. 89.
^Greg Baum (28 September 1987). "All quiet on Tiger appeal". The Age. Melbourne, VIC. p. 85.
^"No action on young Roos' win". The Age. Melbourne, VIC. 29 September 1987. p. 84.
Stephen Rodgers: Every Game Ever Played VFL/AFL Results 1897–1991 3rd Edition 1992. Penguin Books Australia ISBN0-670-90526-7.
1987 Season - AFL Tables
January 20, 2023
1987, season, 91st, season, victorian, football, league, season, from, march, until, september, comprised, game, home, away, season, followed, finals, series, featuring, five, clubs, 1987, premiership, seasonteams14premierscarlton15th, premiershipminor, premie. The 1987 VFL season was the 91st season of the Victorian Football League VFL The season ran from 27 March until 26 September and comprised a 22 game home and away season followed by a finals series featuring the top five clubs 1987 VFL premiership seasonTeams14PremiersCarlton15th premiershipMinor premiersCarlton16th minor premiershipNight seriesMelbourne1st Night series winBrownlow MedallistTony Lockett St Kilda John Platten Hawthorn Coleman MedallistTony Lockett St Kilda AttendanceMatches played160Total attendance3 411 846 21 324 per match Highest92 754 Grand Final Carlton vs Hawthorn 19861988 The season saw the beginning of a decade long period of expansion of the Victorian league to the rest of Australia with the admission of two newly established clubs the West Coast Eagles based in Perth Western Australia and the Brisbane Bears based in South East Queensland While the league remained the highest level senior Australian rules football competition and administrative body in Victoria it also became the de facto highest level senior competition in Australia with representation across four states In the pre season the first modern VFL draft was held The premiership was won by the Carlton Football Club for the 15th time after it defeated Hawthorn by 33 points in the 1987 VFL Grand Final Contents 1 Night Series 2 Premiership season 2 1 Round 1 2 2 Round 2 2 3 Round 3 2 4 Round 4 2 5 Round 5 2 6 Round 6 2 7 Round 7 2 8 Round 8 2 9 Round 9 2 10 Round 10 2 11 Round 11 2 12 Round 12 2 13 Round 13 2 14 Round 14 2 15 Round 15 2 16 Rounds 16 and 17 2 17 Round 18 2 18 Round 19 2 19 Round 20 2 20 Round 21 2 21 Round 22 3 Ladder 4 Finals series 4 1 Week one 4 2 Week two 4 3 Week three 4 4 Week four 5 Player Statistics and Awards 5 1 Coleman Medal 5 2 Brownlow Medal count 6 Notable events 7 See also 8 ReferencesNight Series EditMelbourne defeated Essendon 8 10 58 to 8 6 54 to win the Night Series Grand Final at VFL Park Premiership season EditRound 1 Edit Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateNorth Melbourne 15 14 104 Brisbane Bears 19 23 137 MCG 14 096 Friday 27 March 1987Collingwood 11 8 74 Sydney 25 15 165 Victoria Park 17 129 Saturday 28 March 1987Carlton 15 14 104 Hawthorn 22 17 149 Princes Park 20 192 Saturday 28 March 1987St Kilda 15 11 101 Geelong 14 18 102 Moorabbin Oval 15 867 Saturday 28 March 1987Melbourne 19 14 128 Fitzroy 12 17 89 MCG 18 012 Saturday 28 March 1987Footscray 9 8 62 Essendon 19 7 121 VFL Park 22 550 Saturday 28 March 1987West Coast 20 13 133 Richmond 16 23 119 Subiaco Oval 23 897 Sunday 29 March 1987Round 2 Edit Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateNorth Melbourne 13 14 92 Melbourne 7 17 59 MCG 19 035 Friday 3 April 1987Fitzroy 23 21 159 St Kilda 17 13 115 Princes Park 11 584 Saturday 4 April 1987Essendon 17 17 119 West Coast 17 12 114 Windy Hill 19 959 Saturday 4 April 1987Richmond 13 15 93 Hawthorn 23 17 155 MCG 17 824 Saturday 4 April 1987Geelong 19 17 131 Brisbane Bears 23 12 150 Kardinia Park 14 480 Saturday 4 April 1987Collingwood 17 5 107 Carlton 16 18 114 VFL Park 29 481 Saturday 4 April 1987Sydney 27 25 187 Footscray 11 13 79 SCG 15 268 Sunday 5 April 1987Round 3 Edit Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateFitzroy 20 9 129 North Melbourne 7 13 55 VFL Park 10 043 Friday 10 April 1987Geelong 18 20 128 Melbourne 13 16 94 Kardinia Park 15 391 Saturday 11 April 1987Richmond 19 16 130 Essendon 12 12 84 MCG 27 528 Saturday 11 April 1987Hawthorn 20 25 145 Collingwood 10 8 68 Princes Park 14 267 Saturday 11 April 1987Footscray 5 10 40 Carlton 18 19 127 Western Oval 14 492 Saturday 11 April 1987St Kilda 21 7 133 Brisbane Bears 11 17 83 Moorabbin Oval 12 717 Saturday 11 April 1987West Coast 14 13 97 Sydney 18 16 124 Subiaco Oval 35 719 Sunday 12 April 1987Round 4 Edit Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateMelbourne 21 13 139 St Kilda 14 8 92 MCG 25 465 18 April 1987Geelong 18 19 127 North Melbourne 19 22 136 Kardinia Park 18 614 18 April 1987Carlton 29 17 191 West Coast 15 14 104 Princes Park 21 746 18 April 1987Brisbane Bears 16 18 114 Fitzroy 20 9 129 Carrara Stadium 17 795 19 April 1987Footscray 14 12 96 Hawthorn 7 13 55 Western Oval 10 425 20 April 1987Essendon 17 11 113 Sydney 9 12 66 Windy Hill 24 264 20 April 1987Collingwood 16 14 110 Richmond 15 10 100 VFL Park 36 749 20 April 1987Round 5 Edit Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateNorth Melbourne 18 19 127 St Kilda 16 14 110 MCG 16 078 24 April 1987Richmond 19 12 126 Sydney 21 20 146 MCG 22 154 25 April 1987Hawthorn 13 14 92 West Coast 15 14 104 Princes Park 11 068 25 April 1987Collingwood 14 5 89 Footscray 12 13 85 Victoria Park 22 039 25 April 1987Geelong 29 10 184 Fitzroy 17 7 109 Kardinia Park 18 220 25 April 1987Carlton 17 14 116 Essendon 9 8 62 VFL Park 56 124 25 April 1987Brisbane Bears 12 14 86 Melbourne 12 9 81 Carrara Stadium 7 451 26 April 1987Round 6 Edit Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateSydney 13 16 94 Carlton 12 15 87 SCG 33 659 1 May 1987Melbourne 16 14 110 Richmond 9 15 69 MCG 18 482 2 May 1987Essendon 14 12 96 Geelong 13 18 96 Windy Hill 15 395 2 May 1987Collingwood 16 9 105 Brisbane Bears 8 10 58 Victoria Park 14 689 2 May 1987Footscray 11 12 78 St Kilda 4 10 34 VFL Park 12 834 2 May 1987West Coast 24 18 162 North Melbourne 13 10 88 Subiaco Oval 28 330 3 May 1987Hawthorn 16 17 113 Fitzroy 15 14 104 MCG 18 694 3 May 1987Round 7 Edit Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateWest Coast 10 21 81 Brisbane Bears 8 14 62 WACA Ground 25 799 8 May 1987Footscray 13 10 88 North Melbourne 19 8 122 Western Oval 13 395 9 May 1987St Kilda 21 11 137 Richmond 17 12 114 Moorabbin Oval 14 909 9 May 1987Fitzroy 25 9 159 Essendon 21 8 134 Princes Park 14 564 9 May 1987Melbourne 18 18 126 Collingwood 12 8 80 MCG 49 215 9 May 1987Carlton 22 18 150 Geelong 14 10 94 VFL Park 31 000 9 May 1987Sydney 18 14 122 Hawthorn 17 12 114 SCG 22 273 10 May 1987Round 8 Edit Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateSydney 13 9 87 Fitzroy 16 20 116 SCG 24 858 15 May 1987St Kilda 14 13 97 West Coast 6 13 49 Moorabbin Oval 11 537 16 May 1987Hawthorn 17 10 112 Geelong 10 5 65 Princes Park 9 532 16 May 1987Melbourne 11 15 81 Footscray 15 15 105 MCG 16 325 16 May 1987Collingwood 10 8 68 Essendon 14 10 94 VFL Park 28 085 16 May 1987Brisbane Bears 22 12 144 Richmond 15 19 109 Carrara Stadium 7 944 17 May 1987North Melbourne 10 11 71 Carlton 15 15 105 MCG 26 684 17 May 1987Round 9 Edit Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateRichmond 13 16 94 North Melbourne 17 26 128 MCG 14 220 22 May 1987Collingwood 15 15 105 St Kilda 15 9 99 Victoria Park 18 173 23 May 1987Carlton 12 20 92 Fitzroy 9 16 70 Princes Park 28 422 23 May 1987Footscray 14 19 103 Brisbane Bears 10 11 71 Western Oval 10 673 23 May 1987Hawthorn 25 15 165 Essendon 7 9 51 VFL Park 32 634 23 May 1987Geelong 15 14 104 Sydney 11 13 79 Kardinia Park 24 476 24 May 1987West Coast 20 15 135 Melbourne 18 11 119 Subiaco Oval 23 366 24 May 1987Round 10 Edit Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateEssendon 11 14 80 Melbourne 15 12 102 Windy Hill 13 862 30 May 1987Richmond 14 13 97 Geelong 18 10 118 MCG 16 854 30 May 1987Footscray 10 19 79 Fitzroy 7 4 46 Western Oval 12 722 30 May 1987Carlton 27 22 184 Brisbane Bears 12 9 81 Princes Park 13 790 30 May 1987Hawthorn 23 16 154 St Kilda 15 8 98 VFL Park 15 535 30 May 1987Sydney 20 16 136 North Melbourne 23 7 145 SCG 20 084 31 May 1987West Coast 19 23 137 Collingwood 11 14 80 Subiaco Oval 38 274 1 June 1987Round 11 Edit Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateFootscray 18 13 121 West Coast 15 9 99 Western Oval 15 089 6 June 1987St Kilda 16 10 106 Essendon 18 13 121 Moorabbin Oval 23 725 6 June 1987North Melbourne 14 7 91 Hawthorn 17 11 113 VFL Park 23 606 6 June 1987Brisbane Bears 9 10 64 Sydney 19 23 137 Carrara Stadium 11 840 7 June 1987Fitzroy 18 15 123 Richmond 22 17 149 Princes Park 12 580 8 June 1987Melbourne 13 12 90 Carlton 21 9 135 MCG 49 812 8 June 1987Geelong 17 13 115 Collingwood 17 8 110 VFL Park 33 150 8 June 1987Round 12 Edit Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateNorth Melbourne 15 10 100 Essendon 9 10 64 MCG 23 944 12 June 1987Melbourne 11 10 76 Sydney 17 10 112 MCG 21 696 13 June 1987Geelong 13 13 91 West Coast 12 13 85 Kardinia Park 17 483 13 June 1987Collingwood 15 16 106 Fitzroy 11 14 80 Victoria Park 17 840 13 June 1987Carlton 12 25 97 St Kilda 14 12 96 Princes Park 16 511 13 June 1987Richmond 11 8 74 Footscray 21 16 142 VFL Park 16 279 13 June 1987Brisbane Bears 11 4 70 Hawthorn 24 21 165 Carrara Stadium 7 284 14 June 1987Round 13 Edit Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateWest Coast 16 18 114 Fitzroy 5 12 42 WACA Ground 13 540 19 June 1987Hawthorn 6 8 44 Melbourne 8 9 57 Princes Park 7 596 20 June 1987Footscray 13 11 89 Geelong 8 2 50 Western Oval 15 749 20 June 1987Richmond 4 3 27 Carlton 6 7 43 MCG 15 916 20 June 1987Essendon 9 10 64 Brisbane Bears 3 9 27 Windy Hill 8 832 20 June 1987Collingwood 2 6 18 North Melbourne 10 12 72 VFL Park 17 613 20 June 1987Sydney 20 14 134 St Kilda 11 9 75 SCG 17 760 21 June 1987Round 14 Edit Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateSydney 14 17 101 Collingwood 10 14 74 SCG 20 133 26 June 1987Richmond 9 19 73 West Coast 9 15 69 MCG 8 926 27 June 1987Geelong 13 20 98 St Kilda 3 9 27 Kardinia Park 13 661 27 June 1987Fitzroy 11 16 82 Melbourne 4 10 34 Princes Park 7 643 27 June 1987Essendon 7 10 52 Footscray 9 10 64 Windy Hill 17 401 27 June 1987Hawthorn 12 8 80 Carlton 12 7 79 VFL Park 44 385 27 June 1987Brisbane Bears 17 11 113 North Melbourne 23 13 151 Carrara Stadium 7 716 28 June 1987Round 15 Edit Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateWest Coast 18 10 118 Essendon 21 20 146 WACA Ground 15 740 3 July 1987Melbourne 15 20 110 North Melbourne 16 16 112 MCG 17 108 4 July 1987Hawthorn 19 20 134 Richmond 11 11 77 Princes Park 10 150 4 July 1987St Kilda 20 14 134 Fitzroy 15 10 100 Moorabbin Oval 15 201 4 July 1987Footscray 10 13 73 Sydney 16 10 106 VFL Park 27 075 4 July 1987Brisbane Bears 18 11 119 Geelong 10 18 78 Carrara Stadium 9 380 5 July 1987Carlton 20 16 136 Collingwood 15 22 112 MCG 47 813 5 July 1987Rounds 16 and 17 Edit Rounds 16 and 17 were played concurrently over three weekends five matches were played on the weekends of 11 and 18 July and four matches were played on the weekend of 25 July This fixturing effectively gave each team one bye during the three week period However the matches are still grouped into two complete rounds rather than three partial rounds which results in a chronological anomaly in which six teams played their Round 17 matches before their Round 16 matches Round 16Saturday 11 July 2 10 pm Essendon 21 11 137 def Richmond 12 11 83 Windy Hill crowd 13593 ReportSaturday 11 July 2 10 pm North Melbourne 23 18 156 def Fitzroy 19 9 123 MCG crowd 15244 ReportSunday 12 July 2 10 pm Brisbane Bears 14 9 93 def by St Kilda 18 13 121 Carrara crowd 9106 ReportSaturday 18 July 2 10 pm Carlton 20 13 133 def Footscray 12 6 78 Princes Park crowd 21388 ReportSaturday 18 July 2 10 pm Collingwood 5 13 43 def by Hawthorn 25 18 168 Victoria Park crowd 17370 ReportSunday 19 July 2 10 pm Sydney 30 21 201 def West Coast 10 11 71 SCG crowd 24199 ReportSaturday 25 July 2 10 pm Melbourne 18 9 117 def Geelong 11 11 77 VFL Park crowd 15253 ReportAt the SCG Sydney recorded the club s highest score in a match It marked the third time they had kicked 30 goals in a game the previous time being in Round 13 of the 1982 VFL season against St Kilda Swans rover Stephen Wright kicked a career best eight goals in his first game back after missing five weeks due to a hamstring strain 1 Hawthorn recorded their biggest ever win against Collingwood and it was also the Magpies heaviest ever defeat at Victoria Park 2 Round 17Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateWest Coast 15 17 107 Carlton 15 14 104 WACA Ground 21 780 10 July 1987Hawthorn 25 12 162 Footscray 9 11 65 Princes Park 14 429 11 July 1987North Melbourne 11 13 79 Geelong 27 14 176 MCG 20 880 18 July 1987St Kilda 18 6 114 Melbourne 9 14 68 VFL Park 20 354 18 July 1987Richmond 18 20 128 Collingwood 14 5 89 MCG 24 793 25 July 1987Fitzroy 17 29 131 Brisbane Bears 16 10 106 Princes Park 5 824 25 July 1987Sydney 36 20 236 Essendon 11 7 73 SCG 24 199 26 July 1987Round 18 Edit Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateSydney 31 12 198 Richmond 15 17 107 SCG 17 157 31 July 1987Fitzroy 20 9 129 Geelong 12 15 87 Princes Park 8 678 1 August 1987St Kilda 15 16 106 North Melbourne 11 15 81 Moorabbin Oval 18 968 1 August 1987Footscray 9 11 65 Collingwood 8 6 54 Western Oval 14 514 1 August 1987Melbourne 22 21 153 Brisbane Bears 14 15 99 MCG 10 307 1 August 1987Essendon 10 9 69 Carlton 10 10 70 VFL Park 29 761 1 August 1987West Coast 17 13 115 Hawthorn 17 12 114 Subiaco Oval 24 502 2 August 1987Round 19 Edit Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateWest Coast 15 19 109 North Melbourne 18 12 120 WACA Ground 22 540 7 August 1987Carlton 17 21 123 Sydney 8 7 55 Princes Park 32 058 8 August 1987Richmond 15 10 100 Melbourne 17 17 119 MCG 15 899 8 August 1987St Kilda 15 14 104 Footscray 15 11 101 Moorabbin Oval 23 080 8 August 1987Geelong 12 20 92 Essendon 9 11 65 Kardinia Park 18 316 8 August 1987Hawthorn 26 9 165 Fitzroy 16 9 105 VFL Park 14 692 8 August 1987Brisbane Bears 11 11 77 Collingwood 14 16 100 Carrara Stadium 9 166 9 August 1987Round 20 Edit Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateHawthorn 20 22 142 Sydney 15 7 97 Princes Park 20 551 15 August 1987Essendon 20 7 127 Fitzroy 11 20 86 Windy Hill 12 510 15 August 1987Collingwood 8 11 59 Melbourne 15 24 114 Victoria Park 16 285 15 August 1987North Melbourne 18 17 125 Footscray 18 17 125 MCG 18 921 15 August 1987Geelong 13 10 88 Carlton 24 12 156 Kardinia Park 22 219 15 August 1987Richmond 19 19 133 St Kilda 8 9 57 VFL Park 27 589 15 August 1987Brisbane Bears 18 11 119 West Coast 21 14 140 Carrara Stadium 4 859 16 August 1987Round 21 Edit Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd DateMelbourne 18 21 129 West Coast 10 8 68 MCG 21 048 21 August 1987North Melbourne 18 14 122 Richmond 11 18 84 MCG 15 073 22 August 1987St Kilda 15 17 107 Collingwood 8 10 58 Moorabbin Oval 24 335 22 August 1987Fitzroy 12 12 84 Carlton 17 22 124 Princes Park 16 126 22 August 1987Essendon 9 10 64 Hawthorn 17 12 114 VFL Park 27 046 22 August 1987Brisbane Bears 10 11 71 Footscray 22 21 153 Carrara Stadium 6 754 23 August 1987Sydney 18 14 122 Geelong 18 23 131 SCG 23 953 23 August 1987Round 22 Edit The final round of the 1987 VFL home and away season turned out to be one of the most dramatic and significant in VFL AFL history The composition of the Final Five would be determined by a number of scenarios If Carlton defeated North Melbourne they would secure the minor premiership and advance straight to the Second Semi final Hawthorn would win the minor premiership if they beat Geelong and Carlton lost to North North could grab third place and hence the double chance if it beat Carlton and Sydney lost to Fitzroy Going into the final round Geelong held fifth spot ahead of Footscray on percentage with Melbourne two premiership points behind both teams Hence if the Cats could beat Hawthorn they would secure a finals berth but if they lost then the winner out of Melbourne and Footscray would advance to the finals The round began on the Friday night with Richmond and the fledgling Brisbane Bears playing for the wooden spoon the Bears won easily to ensure they didn t come last in their first season The significant matches to determine the Final Five were all played on Saturday afternoon and they were all thrillers Round 22Friday 28 August 7 40 pm Richmond 17 11 113 def by Brisbane Bears 26 13 169 MCG crowd 12079 ReportSaturday 29 August 2 10 pm Carlton 20 9 129 def North Melbourne 19 11 125 VFL Park crowd 30444 ReportSaturday 29 August 2 10 pm Fitzroy 20 13 133 def by Sydney 20 21 141 Princes Park crowd 11170 ReportSaturday 29 August 2 10 pm Footscray 10 8 68 def by Melbourne 12 11 83 Western Oval crowd 31249 ReportSaturday 29 August 2 10 pm Geelong 17 21 123 def by Hawthorn 19 12 126 Kardinia Park crowd 27030 ReportSunday 30 August 12 10 pm West Coast 26 19 175 def St Kilda 13 9 87 Subiaco Oval crowd 17617 ReportSunday 30 August 2 10 pm Essendon 21 13 139 def by Collingwood 23 6 144 MCG crowd 28887 ReportIn an epic see sawing clash at VFL Park Carlton captain Stephen Kernahan kicked a goal after the final siren to snatch a thrilling win over North Melbourne and secure the minor premiership for 1987 their 16th in VFL competition 3 Sydney s win over Fitzroy marked the club s first win at Princes Park in 22 years The Swans trailed at one stage by 41 points in the third quarter but thereafter began to play more direct football and held off the Lions to secure third spot and the double chance 4 Ladder Edit1987 VFL ladder Pos Team Pld W L D PF PA PP Pts1 Carlton P 22 18 4 0 2599 1883 138 0 72 Finals2 Hawthorn 22 17 5 0 2781 1891 147 1 683 Sydney 22 15 7 0 2846 2197 129 5 604 North Melbourne 22 13 8 1 2402 2417 99 4 545 Melbourne 22 12 10 0 2189 2026 108 0 486 Geelong 22 11 10 1 2355 2348 100 3 467 Footscray 22 11 10 1 1959 2046 95 7 468 West Coast 22 11 11 0 2386 2438 97 9 449 Essendon 22 9 12 1 2075 2318 89 5 3810 St Kilda 22 9 13 0 2150 2369 90 8 3611 Fitzroy 22 8 14 0 2328 2544 91 5 3212 Collingwood 22 7 15 0 1853 2425 76 4 2813 Brisbane Bears 22 6 16 0 2113 2666 79 3 2414 Richmond 22 5 17 0 2199 2667 82 5 20Source VFL ladderRules for classification 1 points 2 percentage 3 number of points for P PremiersFinals series EditMain article 1987 VFL finals series Week one Edit Qualifying FinalSaturday 5 September 2 30 pm Hawthorn 23 18 156 def Sydney 8 9 57 VFL Park crowd 47752 ReportTom Hafey coached his 500th League game becoming the third to reach the milestone after Jock McHale and his opponent Allan Jeans Warwick Capper kicked four goals to become the second player after Tony Lockett to reach 100 goals for the season He also took a spectacular mark over his opponent Chris Langford Elimination FinalSunday 6 September 2 30 pm North Melbourne 5 10 40 def by Melbourne 22 26 158 MCG crowd 72628 ReportMelbourne s 118 point win is the largest winning margin in an Elimination Final Week two Edit Semi finalsSF1 Sunday 13 September 2 30 pm Sydney 10 13 73 def by Melbourne 21 23 149 MCG crowd 80292 ReportSF2 Saturday 12 September 2 30 pm Carlton 11 14 80 def Hawthorn 10 5 65 VFL Park crowd 64333 ReportWeek three Edit Preliminary FinalSaturday 19 September 2 30 pm Hawthorn 11 14 80 def Melbourne 10 18 78 VFL Park crowd 71298 ReportMelbourne was leading by 4 points at the final siren though Hawthorn s Gary Buckenara had a free kick 55 metres out But Melbourne s Jim Stynes ran across the mark and incurred a 15 metre penalty bringing Buckenara close enough to kick the winning goal after the siren 5 6 Week four Edit Main article 1987 VFL Grand Final Grand FinalSaturday 26 September 2 50 pm Carlton 15 14 104 def Hawthorn 9 17 71 MCG crowd 92754 ReportPlayer Statistics and Awards EditColeman Medal Edit Larger numbers indicate number of goals scored in each round Subscript numbers indicate total cumulative goals scored through that round Numbers highlighted in blue indicates the player led the Coleman Medal at the end of that round Numbers underlined indicates the player did not play in that round Player 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Total1 Tony Lockett 22 57 310 1222 527 027 633 740 242 547 956 359 362 163 568 876 985 893 8101 3104 8112 5117 1172 Warwick Capper 99 312 517 320 727 229 332 638 442 749 453 558 664 266 268 573 679 584 185 489 695 499 993 Jason Dunstall 66 39 312 214 519 322 022 729 130 636 541 1152 153 255 358 361 667 572 476 379 382 587 874 Simon Beasley 22 24 37 310 212 012 517 522 325 126 430 838 240 343 346 349 352 153 659 362 1072 173 735 Stephen Kernahan 44 26 17 613 619 524 327 128 028 230 232 234 135 439 342 446 248 149 251 859 261 667 676 Richard Osborne 00 55 27 714 014 317 421 425 631 031 536 238 038 240 343 245 247 552 355 257 360 262 62Bruce Lindner 00 00 77 613 720 121 324 327 532 537 340 444 145 348 250 050 050 353 255 357 260 2628 Brian Taylor 22 57 310 616 420 424 327 027 027 027 633 740 242 143 447 249 453 255 257 259 160 060 609 Dermott Brereton 11 01 01 01 12 13 36 612 618 624 327 532 133 336 238 139 443 346 349 453 255 156 5610 Gary Ablett 22 810 313 316 117 219 120 424 226 531 435 540 343 245 247 047 653 053 053 053 053 053 53Brownlow Medal count Edit Main article 1987 Brownlow Medal Name Club Votes1 Tony Lockett St Kilda 20 John Platten Hawthorn 203 Paul Meldrum Carlton 15 Tony McGuinness Footscray 15 Brian Royal Footscray 15The Victorian Football League Players Association Most Valuable Player Award was won by Tony Lockett of St Kilda The Norm Smith Medal was awarded to David Rhys Jones of Carlton Carlton won the reserves premiership Carlton 18 17 125 defeated St Kilda 15 15 105 in the Grand Final held as a curtain raiser to the seniors Grand Final on 26 September at the Melbourne Cricket Ground 7 Notable events EditThis season saw the introduction of two new interstate sides the West Coast Eagles based in Perth Western Australia and the Brisbane Bears based in Gold Coast Queensland They were the first new clubs to join the league since the expansion of 1925 and the first time the league changed from twelve teams since 1943 The clubs were admitted to the league in a meeting on 1 October 1986 with West Coast admitted by an 8 4 majority of the twelve clubs and Brisbane admitted unanimously The two new clubs each paid a A4 million licence fee which was divided equally amongst the existing twelve clubs many of whom were in desperate need of such a cash injection 8 When the Seven Network refused to offer a significant increase on its previous deal which the VFL thought was warranted given the broader audience that interstate expansion would bring the VFL sold the television rights to on seller Broadcom who sold them to the ABC and satellite network Sportsplay The deals lasted one year and Seven purchased the exclusive rights back from Broadcom in 1988 at almost double the 1986 rate 9 Free to air broadcasts alongside the nationally aired games on ABC and all locally broadcast games via ABV in Victoria were split on state lines with Seven retaining broadcasts for Western Australia via TVW 7 the games were broadcast as well on SBS Television and The Prime Network New South Wales and on Network 10 Queensland and South Australia The Round 10 match between West Coast and Collingwood was played on the Foundation Day public holiday which is not observed in Victoria In awful conditions in Round 13 Collingwood kicked only 2 6 18 the lowest score by any team since 1968 Brian Taylor kicked their only goals in the first few minutes of the second quarter In three home games from Round 16 to Round 18 the Sydney Swans amassed the most prolific string of high scores in VFL history scoring a total of 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 The VFL made a loss on the Round 17 match between Fitzroy and Brisbane Bears which drew a meagre crowd of only 5 824 to Princes Park despite being one of only three matches in Melbourne that weekend The league had considered rescheduling the match as the first half of a double header with one of the other two senior matches that weekend to reduce overall operating expenses but contracts already in place precluded double headers from being staged 10 Melbourne ended the third longest finals drought in league history twenty two seasons by finishing fifth making the finals for the first time since 1964 The Under 19s Grand Final in which North Melbourne 13 16 94 defeated Richmond 13 11 89 ended in controversy when the final siren was alleged to have been blown early The timekeeper who was independent of the clubs was alleged to have blown the siren after only two minutes of time on but there had been five goals kicked in the final quarter which would usually have been expected to result in four or five minutes of time on Richmond lodged a complaint against the timekeeper but did not protest the result or seek a replay of the match 11 12 See also EditMcIntyre Final Five systemReferences Edit Cockerill Michael 20 July 1987 Dazzling determined Sydney shows three into two will go The Age p 34 Retrieved 5 May 2021 Blake Martin 20 July 1987 Collingwood shrugs off another defeat The Age p 34 Retrieved 5 May 2021 Blake Martin 31 August 1987 Kernahan s goal gives Blues a dream finish The Age p 30 Retrieved 14 April 2021 Kelly Hugo 31 August 1987 A couple of individuals leave Parkin marooned The Age p 30 Retrieved 14 April 2021 Stevens Mark 22 September 2012 Saved from embarrassment by Jim Stynes Simon Eishold the unsung villain of 87 prelim news com au Archived from the original on 16 April 2021 Morris Tom 25 November 2015 Fox Footy viewers vote for Hawthorn vs Melbourne from 1987 on Viewers Choice foxsports com au Reserves under 19s The Age Melbourne 28 September 1987 p 80 Ron Carter 2 October 1986 Perth Brisbane join League The Age Melbourne p 38 VFL 1987 VFL TV Rights Saga Footyindustry Retrieved 9 October 2020 Daryl Timms 27 July 1987 A costly game for league The Sun News Pictorial Melbourne p 89 Greg Baum 28 September 1987 All quiet on Tiger appeal The Age Melbourne VIC p 85 No action on young Roos win The Age Melbourne VIC 29 September 1987 p 84 Stephen Rodgers Every Game Ever Played VFL AFL Results 1897 1991 3rd Edition 1992 Penguin Books Australia ISBN 0 670 90526 7 1987 Season AFL Tables Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1987 VFL season amp oldid 1134094511, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
