1977 VFL Night Series

1977 VFL Night Series
VFL Amco-Herald Cup
Tournament details
Dates3 May – 2 August 1977
Teams12
Venue(s)2 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
ChampionsHawthorn (3rd title)
Runners-upCarlton
Tournament statistics
Matches played13
Attendance99,819 (7,678 per match)
← 1971
1978 →

The 1977 Victorian Football League Night Series was the 17th edition of the VFL Night Series, a VFL-organised national club Australian rules football tournament between the clubs from the VFL.[1]

The 1977 Series would be the first night series to be played since 1971 but unlike the previous version that had been run between 1956 and 1971 as a consolation tournament that featuring the eight teams that missed the VFL finals and was played in September & October. This version was to feature all 12 VFL clubs and was played mid-week throughout the VFL premiership season between May and August.

Qualified Teams

Team Nickname League Qualification Participation (bold indicates winners)
Hawthorn Hawks VFL Winners of the 1976 Victorian Football League 14th (Previous: 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970)
North Melbourne Kangaroos VFL Runners-Up in the 1976 Victorian Football League 16th (Previous: 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971)
Carlton Blues VFL Third Place in the 1976 Victorian Football League 11th (Previous: 1956, 1957, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1971)
Geelong Cats VFL Fourth Place in the 1976 Victorian Football League 8th (Previous: 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1970, 1971)
Footscray Bulldogs VFL Fifth Place in the 1976 Victorian Football League 15th (Previous: 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971)
Melbourne Demons VFL Sixth Place in the 1976 Victorian Football League 9th (Previous: 1957, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971)
Richmond Tigers VFL Seventh Place in the 1976 Victorian Football League 14th (Previous: 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1970)
South Melbourne Swans VFL Eighth Place in the 1976 Victorian Football League 16th (Previous: 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971)
St Kilda Saints VFL Ninth Place in the 1976 Victorian Football League 10th (Previous: 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1967, 1969)
Essendon Bombers VFL Tenth Place in the 1976 Victorian Football League 10th (Previous: 1956, 1957, 1958, 1961, 1963, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971)
Fitzroy Lions VFL Eleventh Place in the 1976 Victorian Football League 15th (Previous: 1956, 1957, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971)
Collingwood Magpies VFL Twelfth Place in the 1976 Victorian Football League 6th (Previous: 1957, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1968)

Venues

Melbourne
Waverley Park Lake Oval
Capacity: 72,000 Capacity: 20,000

Knockout stage

Round 1

3 May 1977 Richmond 128–72 Collingwood Lake Oval, Melbourne  
19.14 (128) 9.18 (72) Attendance: 4,805


10 May 1977 Carlton 89–79 St Kilda Lake Oval, Melbourne  
12.17 (89) 10.19 (79) Attendance: 4,118


17 May 1977 Fitzroy 108–74 North Melbourne Waverley Park, Melbourne  
16.12 (108) 11.8 (74) Attendance: 8,468


24 May 1977 South Melbourne 104–57 Footscray Waverley Park, Melbourne  
15.14 (104) 8.9 (57) Attendance: 3,475


31 May 1977 Hawthorn 84–42 Geelong Waverley Park, Melbourne  
13.6 (84) 6.6 (42) Attendance: 2,743


7 June 1977 Melbourne 71–30 Essendon Waverley Park, Melbourne  
10.11 (71) 5.9 (39) Attendance: 10,036


Quarter-finals

QF #1 21 June 1977 St Kilda 128–86 South Melbourne Waverley Park, Melbourne  
19.14 (128) 12.14 (86) Attendance: 5,123


QF #2 28 June 1977 Hawthorn 52–41 North Melbourne Waverley Park, Melbourne  
7.10 (52) 5.11 (41) Attendance: 3,346


QF #3 5 July 1977 Carlton 103–81 Melbourne Waverley Park, Melbourne  
15.13 (103) 11.15 (81) Attendance: 6,841


QF #4 12 July 1977 Richmond 101–71 Fitzroy Waverley Park, Melbourne  
15.11 (101) 10.11 (71) Attendance: 8,169


Semi-finals

SF #1 19 July 1977 Hawthorn 99–75 St Kilda Waverley Park, Melbourne  
14.15 (99) 10.15 (75) Attendance: 9,232


SF #2 26 July 1977 Carlton 49–30 Richmond Waverley Park, Melbourne  
6.13 (49) 4.6 (30) Attendance: 6,056


Victorian Football League Night Series final

Final 2 August 1977 Hawthorn 95–71 Carlton Waverley Park, Melbourne  
3.7 (25)
6.8 (44)
10.11 (71)
14.11 (95) 		5.1 (31)
7.3 (45)
9.3 (57)
11.5 (71) 		Attendance: 27,407
Umpires: Deller, Robinson
    Goals  
Hudson 5
Rowlings, Martello 2
G.Ablett, Hendrie, Bennett, Tuck, Matthews 1 		  Ashman 3
Sheldon, Walls 2
Buckley, Keogh, McKenna, Armstrong 1

References

  1. ^ David Eastman. "1977 VFL Amco-Herald Cup".