1987 VAFA season

1987 VAFA season
Date	4 April − 27 September 1987
Teams	86

The 1987 VAFA season was the 87th season of the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA). The season began on 4 April and ended on 27 September, with a total of 86 teams participating across eight divisions under a promotion and relegation system.[1][2]

Association membership

Four new − Aquinas, Bloods, Port Colts and Richmond Central − joined the VAFA prior to the start of the season.[3] This resulted in the VAFA being expanded to eight divisions, with H Section created.[4]

Notable events

• Three-time Ivanhoe premiership player John "Plumber" Miles was awarded VAFA life membership.[5]

A Section

1987 VAFA A Section season
Premiers	Ormond 6th A Section premiership
Minor premiers	Ormond
Wooden spooners	Bulleen Templestowe
Best and fairest	Frank Gleeson (Old Paradians)
Leading goalkicker	Paul Schuhkraft (Ormond − 77 goals)

Ormond won their sixth A Section premiership, defeating Old Xaverians by 17 points.[6] Ormond's premiership came exactly 50 years after their first A Section season.[7]

Until 2021, this was the last time Caulfield Grammarians had won a senior game in A Section/Premier Division.[8]

Ladder

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	D	PF	PA	PP	Pts	Qualification
1	Ormond (P)	18	16	2	0	1887	1133	165.7	64	Finals series
2	Old Xaverians	18	14	3	1	1631	1235	132.1	58
3	De La Salle	18	11	6	1	1558	1340	116.3	46
4	Old Paradians	18	11	7	0	1597	1274	125.4	44
5	Old Scotch	18	8	10	0	1614	1566	103.1	32
6	University Blues	18	7	11	0	1440	1504	95.7	28
7	Collegians	18	7	11	0	1484	1642	90.4	28
8	North Old Boys	18	7	11	0	1493	1710	87.3	28
9	Caulfield Grammarians	18	6	12	0	1493	2037	73.3	24	Relegation
10	Bulleen Templestowe	18	2	16	0	1251	1997	62.6	8

Source: [1]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for.
(P) Premiers

Finals

	Semi-finals
Saturday, 31 October	De La Salle 10.13 (73)	def. by	Old Paradians 14.10 (94)		[9]
Saturday, 6 September (2:15pm)	Ormond 8.13 (61)	def. by	Old Xaverians 15.11 (101)	Elsternwick Park	[10]

	Preliminary final
Saturday, 13 September	Ormond 18.13 (121)	def. by	Old Paradians 15.14 (104)		[1]

	Grand Final
Sunday, 20 September	Ormond	def.	Old Xaverians	Elsternwick Park	[7][11]
	2.2 (14) 9.6 (60) 12.10 (82) 15.11 (101)	Q1 Q2 Q3 Final	4.4 (28) 7.5 (47) 9.9 (63) 12.12 (84)
3: Schuhkraft 2: Suthrland, M. McDonald, Young, Cox 1: Kingston, Nash, Tobin, McCooke		Goals	2: S. Curtain, Carlin, Burne 1: Tiernan, Beatie, Meagher, Atkins, Callil, Bourke
P. Mehrten, Taylor, Cox, Hille, Nankervis, Young		Best	Ryan, J. Curtain, Beatie, P. Curtain, Varcoe, Greetham

B Section

1987 VAFA B Section season
Premiers	St Bernard's
Minor premiers	St Bernard's
Wooden spooners	St Kilda
Best and fairest	Gary Williams (Parkside)
Leading goalkicker	Chris Freeman (Parkside − 66 goals)

St Bernard's won their second B Second premiership, defeating Marcellin by 32 points.[12] The finals series was extended by a week after St Bernard's drew with Therry in the second semi-final on 5 September, which led to a replay being held on 13 September.[1]

Ladder

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	D	PF	PA	PP	Pts	Qualification
1	St Bernard's (P)	18	14	4	0	1618	1252	129.2	56	Finals series
2	Therry	18	13	5	0	1820	1422	128.0	52
3	Marcellin	18	13	5	0	1673	1366	122.5	52
4	Parkside	18	12	6	0	1692	1558	108.6	48
5	University Blacks	18	10	8	0	1788	1542	116.0	40
6	Ivanhoe	18	7	11	0	1448	1637	88.5	28
7	Old Trinity	18	6	12	0	1372	1672	82.0	24
8	Fawkner	18	6	12	0	1409	1754	80.3	24
9	Banyule	18	5	13	0	1527	1922	79.5	20	Relegation
10	St Kilda	18	4	14	0	1423	1645	86.5	16

Source: [1]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for.
(P) Premiers

Finals

	Semi-finals
Saturday, 31 October	Marcellin 15.21 (111)	def.	Parkside 10.13 (73)
Saturday, 5 September (2:15pm)	St Bernard's 15.7 (97)	drew with	Therry 14.13 (97)	Northcote Park	[10]
Saturday, 13 September (replay)	St Bernard's 13.19 (97)	def.	Therry 7.12 (54)		[1]

	Preliminary final
Saturday, 19 September	Marcellin 21.21 (147)	def.	Therry 7.12 (54)		[7]

	Grand Final
Sunday, 27 September (2:00pm)	St Bernard's 19.10 (124)	def.	Marcellin 12.20 (92)	Elsternwick Park	[1][13]
Both teams promoted to A Section

C Section

1987 VAFA C Section season
Premiers	Monash Blues
Minor premiers	Kew
Wooden spooners	AJAX
Best and fairest	Tony Fellow (Thomastown)
Leading goalkicker	Matthew Cavanagh (Kew − 72 goals)

The Monash Blues won their second senior premiership, defeating Kew by 25 points in the graind final.

Ladder

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	D	PF	PA	PP	Pts	Qualification
1	Kew	18	17	1	0	2347	1309	179.3	68	Finals series
2	Monash Blues (P)	18	14	4	0	1841	1447	127.2	56
3	Old Melburnians	18	12	6	0	2231	1446	154.3	48
4	Thomastown	18	11	7	0	1830	1564	117.0	44
5	Old Brighton	18	11	7	0	1620	1422	113.9	44
6	Balaclava	18	9	9	0	1891	1936	97.7	36
7	Old Haileybury	18	6	12	0	1463	1629	89.8	24
8	MHSOB	18	5	13	0	1542	2053	75.1	20
9	Hampton Rovers	18	3	15	0	1256	2121	59.2	12	Relegation
10	AJAX	18	2	16	0	1304	2398	54.4	8

Source: [1]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for.
(P) Premiers

Finals

	Grand Final
Saturday, 5 September (2:15pm)	Kew	def. by	Monash Blues	Elsternwick Park	[9][10][14][15]
	4.2 (26) 8.5 (53) 8.11 (59) 10.11 (71)	Q1 Q2 Q3 Final	1.4 (10) 4.7 (31) 6.13 (49) 13.18 (96)	Umpires: Kevin Segota, Greg Hardiman
3: C. Charalambopoulos 2: Cavanagh 1: Burden, Kalac, Schober, Busuttil, McLean		Goals	3: Alexander 2: Connelly, Hildebrand, P. Forbes, Sturgess 1: Gale, J. Quin
Griffiths, Busuttil. Kalac, Burden, Schober, Bria		Best	Sturgess, Hipwell, Gill, Carman, Culvenor, McGregor
Both teams promoted to B Section

Monash Blues team

Monash Blues 1987 grand final team[16]

B:	Michael Hay	Chris Roberts	Richard Culvenor
HB:	Adrian Barker	Dan Carman	John Quin
C:	Greg Hipwell	Jamie Sturgess	Anthony Kiers
HF:	Peter Forbes	Ian Hildebrand	Brad Cornwell
F:	Justin Alexander	Peter Little	Stevie Connelly
Foll:	Tim Gill	Andrew McGregor	Graham Gale
Int:	Ian Kohler	John Johnstone
Coach:	Brian Ford

D Section

1987 VAFA D Section season
Premiers	Old Ivanhoe
Minor premiers	St Kevin's
Wooden spooners	Coburg
Best and fairest	Gary Norton (Old Mentonians) Mark Dyson (Old Ivanhoe)
Leading goalkicker	Rod Collins (Old Camberwell − 63 goals)

Following the conclusion of the season, Coburg went into recess prior to the start of the 1988 season, and folded shortly after.[17]

Ladder

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	D	PF	PA	PP	Pts	Qualification
1	St Kevin's	18	13	5	0	1713	1338	128.0	52	Finals series
2	Old Ivanhoe (P)	18	12	5	1	1849	1474	125.4	50
3	Bulleen United	18	12	6	0	1763	1359	129.7	48
4	Old Mentonians	18	12	6	0	1670	1295	129.0	48
5	Old Camberwell	18	11	6	1	1702	1434	118.7	46
6	Preston MBOB	18	10	8	0	1574	1272	123.7	40
7	North Brunswick	18	8	10	0	1418	1606	88.3	32
8	Elsternwick	18	7	11	0	1592	1730	92.0	28
9	Heatherton	18	3	15	0	1135	2102	54.0	12	Relegation
10	Coburg	18	1	17	0	1223	2020	60.5	4

Source: [1]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for.
(P) Premiers

Finals

	Grand Final
Saturday, 5 September (2:15pm)	Old Ivanhoe	def.	St Kevin's	Bentleigh	[9][10][18][19]
	6.2 (38) 9.6 (60) 15.8 (98) 21.10 (136)	Q1 Q2 Q3 Final	6.2 (38) 8.5 (53) 10.9 (69) 19.12 (126)	Umpires: Paul Cherry, Justin Toohey
5: Cockerill 4: King 3: Hockins, Davies 1: Ball, N. Skalberg, Purcell, Howard, Colledge, Karakaltsas		Goals	6: Stone 5: S. Kerr 4: Watkin 2: Callanan 1: Sammartmo, P. Smith
Ball, Karakaltsas, P. Skalberg, Dyson, Davies, Cockerill		Best	Stone, Watkin, S. Kerr, Cross, G. Kerr, P. Joyce
Both teams promoted to C Section

E Section

1987 VAFA E Section season
Premiers	State Bank
Minor premiers	Old Essendon
Wooden spooners	Clayton
Best and fairest	Vic Zanin (UHSOB)
Leading goalkicker	David Jenkins (State Bank − 82 goals)

Ladder

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	D	PF	PA	PP	Pts	Qualification
1	Old Essendon	18	14	2	2	1654	1091	151.6	60	Finals series
2	State Bank (P)	18	14	4	0	2230	1365	163.7	56
3	St Bedes	18	13	5	0	1718	1216	141.3	52
4	West Brunswick	18	13	5	0	1802	1359	132.6	52
5	Brunswick	18	12	5	1	1852	1408	131.5	50
6	Old Geelong	18	6	11	1	1457	1811	80.5	26
7	UHSOB	18	6	12	0	1499	1806	83.0	24
8	Power House	18	6	12	0	1304	1690	77.2	24
9	Peninsula Old Boys	18	4	14	0	1166	1999	58.3	16	Relegation
10	Clayton	18	0	18	0	1078	2194	49.1	0

Source: [1]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for.
(P) Premiers

Finals

	Grand Final
Saturday, 5 September (2:15pm)	State Bank	def.	West Brunswick	Monash University	[9][10][20]
	4.3 (27) 12.5 (77) 15.9 (99) 21.12 (138)	Q1 Q2 Q3 Final	2.3 (15) 2.4 (16) 2.6 (18) 6.8 (44)	Umpires: Mark Huntington, Andrew McRae
6: A. Rolfs 4: Colbert 2: Carboon, Beare 1: Connolly, Hargreaves, Goldsmith, Jenkins, Twycross, Matherson, Dervan		Goals	3: Capron 1: Rodgers, P. Magafas, McNeice
Bremner, Bukll, Wright, Wabbis, Matherson, Cloke		Best	Casley, Jackson, D. Lampard, S. Lampard, P. Magafas, Capron
Both teams promoted to D Section

F Section

1987 VAFA F Section season
Premiers	Aquinas
Minor premiers	Aquinas
Wooden spooners	Footscray TSOB
Best and fairest	Bernard Tierny (Whitefriars)
Leading goalkicker	Terry Wilson (St Andrew's − 127 goals)

Aquinas won their first F Section premiership in their first VAFA season, defeating Whitefriars by one point.[3][21]

Ladder

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	D	PF	PA	PP	Pts	Qualification
1	Aquinas (P)	18	17	1	0	2244	874	256.8	68	Finals series
2	Whitefriars	18	15	3	0	2324	1156	201.0	60
3	St Andrew's	18	14	4	0	2471	1522	162.4	56
4	Doveton	18	13	5	0	1933	1200	161.0	52
5	Williamstown CYMS	18	11	7	0	1689	1620	104.3	44
6	Old Carey	18	10	8	0	1597	1453	109.9	40
7	La Trobe University	18	8	10	0	1454	1672	870	32
8	Commonwealth Bank	18	7	11	0	1463	1858	78.7	28
9	University Reds	18	6	12	0	1249	1890	66.1	24
10	St Leonard's	18	3	15	0	1038	2100	49.4	12
11	ANZ Bank	18	2	16	0	1227	2200	55.8	8	Relegation
12	Footscray TSOB	18	2	16	0	1084	2323	44.7	8

Source: [1]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for.
(P) Premiers

Finals

	Semi-finals
Saturday, 22 August (2:15pm)	St Andrew's 16.13 (109)	def.	Doveton 4.13 (37)	Old Camberwell	[22][23]
Saturday, 22 August (2:15pm)	Aquinas 14.10 (94)	def. by	Whitefriars 20.22 (142)	Harry Trott Oval, Albert Park	[22][23]

	Preliminary final
Saturday, 29 August (2:15pm)	St Andrew's 15.7 (97)	def. by	Aquinas 19.15 (129)	Harry Trott Oval, Albert Park	[9][23]

	Grand Final
Saturday, 5 September (2:15pm)	Whitefriars	def. by	Aquinas		[9][10][24]
	2.5 (17) 6.8 (44) 6.9 (45) 12.12 (84)	Q1 Q2 Q3 Final	3.1 (19) 6.4 (40) 8.10 (58) 12.13 (85)	Umpires: Andrew Mullaly, Mark Bushfield
3: Sutton 2: Barclay, Bonnyman 1: Tierney, Bunn, McLelland, Reidy, Lee		Goals	4: Ryan 3: Clarke 2: Bell, D. Wright 1: Wilkinson
McLelland, Bunn, Crowe, Coghlan, Borrack, Tierney		Best	Ryan, Phyland, Grierson, Wilkinson, Phelan, Fleiter
Both teams promoted to E Section

G Section

1987 VAFA G Section season
Premiers	Bloods
Minor premiers	Bloods
Wooden spooners	Old Melburnians
Best and fairest	Gary Sweet (Port Colts)
Leading goalkicker	Drew Robinson (Bloods − 75 goals)

Bloods, in their first VAFA season, defeated Port Colts by 40 points in the Grand Final. Heavy wind at Elsternwick Park meant no scores were recorded against the wind for the entire match.[23]

Ladder

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	D	PF	PA	PP	Pts	Qualification
1	Bloods (P)	16	14	2	0	1349	586	230.2	56	Finals series
2	Monash Whites	16	13	3	0	1120	687	163.0	52
3	Port Colts	16	11	5	0	1126	947	118.9	44
4	Kew	16	10	5	1	889	739	120.3	42
5	De La Salle	16	10	6	0	863	813	106.2	40
6	St Bernard's	16	7	9	0	684	892	69.8	28
7	Collegians	16	6	10	0	748	1049	71.3	24
8	Old Haileybury	16	5	10	1	668	991	67.4	22
9	Old Scotch	16	5	11	0	949	1153	82.3	20
10	Marcellin	16	4	12	0	618	1144	54.0	16
11	GTV 9	16	3	13	0	548	1124	48.8	12	Relegation
12	Old Melburnians	16	3	13	0	450	1102	40.8	12

Source: [1]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for.
(P) Premiers

Finals

	Grand Final
Sunday, 23 August	Bloods	def.	Port Colts	Elsternwick Park	[9][10][25]
	5.6 (36) 5.6 (36) 12.8 (80) 12.8 (80)	Q1 Q2 Q3 Final	0.0 (0) 5.0 (30) 5.0 (30) 6.4 (40)
3: D. Robinson 2: McAsey, Cadman 2, Watkins 1: Bainbridge, Gardiner, Todd		Goals	2: McNamara 1: Turner, Davidson, Pasquill, Tinsley
Todd, Bainbridge, Jarick, Legge, Cadman, Johnson		Best	Keltie, Wale, O'Neill, Tinsley, Bailey, Finegan
Both teams promoted to F Section

H Section

1987 VAFA H Section season
Premiers	Eltham
Minor premiers	Eltham
Wooden spooners	Power House/Balaclava
Best and fairest	Peter Hooper (St Kevin's)
Leading goalkicker	Sebastian Fitzpatrick (Eltham − 43 goals)

At the end of the season, Old Brighton's H Section side disbanded.[26][27]

Ladder

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	D	PF	PA	PP	Pts	Qualification
1	Eltham (P)	16	14	2	0	1256	471	266.7	56	Finals series
2	Old Brighton	16	13	3	0	1056	376	280.9	52
3	St Kevin's	16	13	3	0	986	575	171.5	52
4	Bulleen Templestowe	16	12	2	0	1275	419	304.3	48
5	Richmond Central	16	9	7	0	785	676	116.7	36
6	Old Xaverians	16	9	7	0	747	689	108.4	36
7	State Bank	16	9	7	0	732	886	82.6	36
8	Old Geelong	16	5	11	0	548	1050	52.2	20
9	St Kilda	16	4	12	0	679	1171	58.0	16
10	North Old Boys	16	4	12	0	233	731	31.9	16
11	Therry	16	2	13	1	602	942	63.9	10
12	Power House/Balaclava	16	1	14	1	185	1676	11.0	6

Source: [1]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for.
(P) Premiers

Finals

	Grand Final
Sunday, 23 August	Eltham	def.	Bulleen Templestowe		[9][10]
	0.1 (1) 3.6 (24) 3.8 (26) 6.9 (45)	Q1 Q2 Q3 Final	3.4 (22) 4.5 (29) 4.9 (33) 4.9 (33)
Sager, Chesser, Adams, S. Fitzpatrick, Shaw, McPhail		Goals	Pollard, Viney, Goddrn, Stagg,
Baxter, Gardiner, Hall, New, Dawson, Weathertill		Best	Murphy, Sheridan, Skurnik, Stagg, Chaplin
Both teams promoted to G Section

References

1. "The Amateur Footballer Week 23 1987" (PDF). Victorian Amateur Football Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 June 2024.
2. Rollings, Barry (11 June 1987). "Memories foggy of a footy weekend away". Trove. The Canberra Times. p. 24. Retrieved 22 September 2024.
3. "Aquinas OC Football Club". Victorian Amateur Football Association. Archived from the original on 8 June 2024.
4. "The Amateur Footballer Week 2 1987" (PDF). Victorian Amateur Football Association. 11 April 1987. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 October 2023.
5. Skeggs, Phil (19 July 2016). "Ivanhoe loses popular club legend John 'Plumber' Miles". Herald Sun. Heidelberg Leader. Archived from the original on 8 September 2024. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
6. "Ormond Amateur Football Club – A Short History". Ormond Amateur Football Club. Archived from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
7. "The Amateur Footballer Week 24 1987" (PDF). Victorian Amateur Football Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 February 2024.
8. "VAFA Premier: Caulfield Grammarians rout Old Trinity". Herald Sun. Leader. 3 May 2021. Archived from the original on 8 September 2024. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
9. "The Amateur Footballer Week 21 1987" (PDF). Victorian Amateur Football Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 October 2023.
10. "The Amateur Footballer Week 22 1987" (PDF). Victorian Amateur Football Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 June 2024.
11. "Premier Section Finals Series". Victorian Amateur Football Association. Archived from the original on 2024-05-25. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
12. "The History of St Bernards FC". St Bernard's FC. 22 January 2023. Archived from the original on 24 March 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
13. "Premier B Section Grand Finals". Victorian Amateur Football Association. Archived from the original on 2023-03-15. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
14. "CLUB HISTORY". Kew Football Club. Archived from the original on 2 December 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
15. "Premier C Section Grand Finals". Victorian Amateur Football Association. Archived from the original on 2023-03-15. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
16. "PREMIERSHIPS". Monash Blues. Archived from the original on 28 October 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
17. "The Amateur Footballer, Week 1, 1988". Issuu. VAFA Media. 17 January 2017. Archived from the original on 6 June 2024.
18. "Club History". Old Ivanhoe Grammarians Football Club. Archived from the original on 15 March 2024.
19. "Division 1 Grand Finals". Victorian Amateur Football Association. Archived from the original on 2023-03-15. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
20. "Division 2 Section Grand Finals". Victorian Amateur Football Association. Archived from the original on 2023-03-15. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
21. Armistead, Nick (12 October 2020). "Bloods bounce back in '87 thriller". Victorian Amateur Football Association. Archived from the original on 8 June 2024. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
22. "The Amateur Footballer Week 19 1987" (PDF). Victorian Amateur Football Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 October 2023.
23. "The Amateur Footballer Week 20 1987" (PDF). Victorian Amateur Football Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 October 2023.
24. "Division 3 Section Grand Finals". Victorian Amateur Football Association. Archived from the original on 2023-11-30. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
25. "Division 4 Section Grand Finals". Victorian Amateur Football Association. Archived from the original on 2023-03-15. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
26. McLellan, Bob. "OBGFC: A Tribute" (PDF). Old Brighton Grammarians Football Club. pp. 298–500. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2024. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
27. "A Tribute: Roger 'Doggy' Brown". Old Brighton Grammarians Football Club. 11 October 2023. Archived from the original on 17 March 2024. Retrieved 28 September 2024.