1987 VFL season

The 1987 Victorian Football League season was the 91st season of the elite Australian rules football competition. Two new clubs joined the competition in 1987, West Coast Eagles and the Brisbane Bears.

1987 VFL Premiership season
Teams14
PremiersCarlton
(15th premiership)
Minor premiersCarlton
(16th minor premiership)
night seriesMelbourne
(1st night series win)
Matches played160
Attendance3,411,846 (21,324 per match)
Highest attendance92,754 (Grand Final, Carlton vs. Hawthorn)
Coleman MedallistTony Lockett (St Kilda)
Brownlow MedallistTony Lockett (St Kilda)
John Platten (Hawthorn)

Night Series

Melbourne defeated Essendon 8.10 (58) to 8.6 (54) in the final at Waverley Park.

Premiership season

Round 1

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
North Melbourne 15.14 (104) Brisbane Bears 19.23 (137) MCG 14,096 Friday 27 March 1987
Collingwood 11.8 (74) Sydney 25.15 (165) Victoria Park 17,129 Saturday 28 March 1987
Carlton 15.14 (104) Hawthorn 22.17 (149) Princes Park 20,192 Saturday 28 March 1987
St Kilda 15.11 (101) Geelong 14.18 (102) Moorabbin Oval 15,867 Saturday 28 March 1987
Melbourne 19.14 (128) Fitzroy 12.17 (89) MCG 18,012 Saturday 28 March 1987
Essendon 19.7 (121) Footscray 9.8 (62) VFL Park 22,550 Saturday 28 March 1987
West Coast 20.13 (133) Richmond 16.23 (119) Subiaco Oval 23,897 Sunday 29 March 1987

Round 2

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
North Melbourne 13.14 (92) Melbourne 7.17 (59) MCG 19,035 Friday 3 April 1987
Fitzroy 23.21 (159) St Kilda 17.13 (115) Princes Park 11,584 Saturday 4 April 1987
Essendon 17.17 (119) West Coast 17.12 (114) Windy Hill 19,959 Saturday 4 April 1987
Richmond 13.15 (93) Hawthorn 23.17 (155) MCG 17,824 Saturday 4 April 1987
Geelong 19.17 (131) Brisbane Bears 23.12 (150) Kardinia Park 14,480 Saturday 4 April 1987
Carlton 16.18 (114) Collingwood 17.5 (107) VFL Park 29,481 Saturday 4 April 1987
Sydney 27.25 (187) Footscray 11.13 (79) SCG 15,268 Sunday 5 April 1987

Round 3

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Fitzroy 20.9 (129) North Melbourne 7.13 (55) VFL Park 10,043 Friday 10 April 1987
Geelong 18.20 (128) Melbourne 13.16 (94) Kardinia Park 15,391 Saturday 11 April 1987
Richmond 19.16 (130) Essendon 12.12 (84) MCG 27,528 Saturday 11 April 1987
Hawthorn 20.25 (145) Collingwood 10.8 (68) Princes Park 14,267 Saturday 11 April 1987
Footscray 5.10 (40) Carlton 18.19 (127) Western Oval 14,492 Saturday 11 April 1987
St Kilda 21.7 (133) Brisbane Bears 11.17 (83) Moorabbin Oval 12,717 Saturday 11 April 1987
West Coast 14.13 (97) Sydney 18.16 (124) Subiaco Oval 35,719 Sunday 12 April 1987

Round 4

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Melbourne 21.13 (139) St Kilda 14.8 (92) MCG 25,465 18 April 1987
Geelong 18.19 (127) North Melbourne 19.22 (136) Kardinia Park 18,614 18 April 1987
Carlton 29.17 (191) West Coast 15.14 (104) Princes Park 21,746 18 April 1987
Brisbane Bears 16.18 (114) Fitzroy 20.9 (129) Carrara Stadium 17,795 19 April 1987
Footscray 14.12 (96) Hawthorn 7.13 (55) Western Oval 10,425 20 April 1987
Essendon 17.11 (113) Sydney 9.12 (66) Windy Hill 24,264 20 April 1987
Collingwood 16.14 (110) Richmond 15.10 (100) VFL Park 36,749 20 April 1987

Round 5

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
North Melbourne 18.19 (127) St Kilda 16.14 (110) MCG 16,078 24 April 1987
Richmond 19.12 (126) Sydney 21.20 (146) MCG 22,154 25 April 1987
Hawthorn 13.14 (92) West Coast 15.14 (104) Princes Park 11,068 25 April 1987
Collingwood 14.5 (89) Footscray 12.13 (85) Victoria Park 22,039 25 April 1987
Geelong 29.10 (184) Fitzroy 17.7 (109) Kardinia Park 18,220 25 April 1987
Carlton 17.14 (116) Essendon 9.8 (62) VFL Park 56,124 25 April 1987
Brisbane Bears 12.14 (86) Melbourne 12.9 (81) Carrara Stadium 7,451 26 April 1987

Round 6

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Sydney 13.16 (94) Carlton 12.15 (87) SCG 33,659 1 May 1987
Melbourne 16.14 (110) Richmond 9.15 (69) MCG 18,482 2 May 1987
Essendon 14.12 (96) Geelong 13.18 (96) Windy Hill 15,395 2 May 1987
Collingwood 16.9 (105) Brisbane Bears 8.10 (58) Victoria Park 14,689 2 May 1987
Footscray 11.12 (78) St Kilda 4.10 (34) VFL Park 12,834 2 May 1987
West Coast 24.18 (162) North Melbourne 13.10 (88) Subiaco Oval 28,330 3 May 1987
Hawthorn 16.17 (113) Fitzroy 15.14 (104) MCG 18,694 3 May 1987

Round 7

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
West Coast 10.21 (81) Brisbane Bears 8.14 (62) WACA Ground 25,799 8 May 1987
Footscray 13.10 (88) North Melbourne 19.8 (122) Western Oval 13,395 9 May 1987
St Kilda 21.11 (137) Richmond 17.12 (114) Moorabbin Oval 14,909 9 May 1987
Fitzroy 25.9 (159) Essendon 21.8 (134) Princes Park 14,564 9 May 1987
Melbourne 18.18 (126) Collingwood 12.8 (80) MCG 49,215 9 May 1987
Carlton 22.18 (150) Geelong 14.10 (94) VFL Park 31,000 9 May 1987
Sydney 18.14 (122) Hawthorn 17.12 (114) SCG 22,273 10 May 1987

Round 8

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Sydney 13.9 (87) Fitzroy 16.20 (116) SCG 24,858 15 May 1987
St Kilda 14.13 (97) West Coast 6.13 (49) Moorabbin Oval 11,537 16 May 1987
Hawthorn 17.10 (112) Geelong 10.5 (65) Princes Park 9,532 16 May 1987
Melbourne 11.15 (81) Footscray 15.15 (105) MCG 16,325 16 May 1987
Essendon 14.10 (94) Collingwood 10.8 (68) VFL Park 28,085 16 May 1987
Brisbane Bears 22.12 (144) Richmond 15.19 (109) Carrara Stadium 7,944 17 May 1987
North Melbourne 10.11 (71) Carlton 15.15 (105) MCG 26,684 17 May 1987

Round 9

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Richmond 13.16 (94) North Melbourne 17.26 (128) MCG 14,220 22 May 1987
Collingwood 15.15 (105) St Kilda 15.9 (99) Victoria Park 18,173 23 May 1987
Carlton 12.20 (92) Fitzroy 9.16 (70) Princes Park 28,422 23 May 1987
Footscray 14.19 (103) Brisbane Bears 10.11 (71) Western Oval 10,673 23 May 1987
Hawthorn 25.15 (165) Essendon 7.9 (51) VFL Park 32,634 23 May 1987
Geelong 15.14 (104) Sydney 11.13 (79) Kardinia Park 24,476 24 May 1987
West Coast 20.15 (135) Melbourne 18.11 (119) Subiaco Oval 23,366 24 May 1987

Round 10

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Essendon 11.14 (80) Melbourne 15.12 (102) Windy Hill 13,862 30 May 1987
Richmond 14.13 (97) Geelong 18.10 (118) MCG 16,854 30 May 1987
Footscray 10.19 (79) Fitzroy 7.4 (46) Western Oval 12,722 30 May 1987
Carlton 27.22 (184) Brisbane Bears 12.9 (81) Princes Park 13,790 30 May 1987
Hawthorn 23.16 (154) St Kilda 15.8 (98) VFL Park 15,535 30 May 1987
Sydney 20.16 (136) North Melbourne 23.7 (145) SCG 20,084 31 May 1987
West Coast 19.23 (137) Collingwood 11.14 (80) Subiaco Oval 38,274 1 June 1987

Round 11

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Footscray 18.13 (121) West Coast 15.9 (99) Western Oval 15,089 6 June 1987
St Kilda 16.10 (106) Essendon 18.13 (121) Moorabbin Oval 23,725 6 June 1987
Hawthorn 17.11 (113) North Melbourne 14.7 (91) VFL Park 23,606 6 June 1987
Brisbane Bears 9.10 (64) Sydney 19.23 (137) Carrara Stadium 11,840 7 June 1987
Fitzroy 18.15 (123) Richmond 22.17 (149) Princes Park 12,580 8 June 1987
Melbourne 13.12 (90) Carlton 21.9 (135) MCG 49,812 8 June 1987
Geelong 17.13 (115) Collingwood 17.8 (110) VFL Park 33,150 8 June 1987

Round 12

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
North Melbourne 15.10 (100) Essendon 9.10 (64) MCG 23,944 12 June 1987
Melbourne 11.10 (76) Sydney 17.10 (112) MCG 21,696 13 June 1987
Geelong 13.13 (91) West Coast 12.13 (85) Kardinia Park 17,483 13 June 1987
Collingwood 15.16 (106) Fitzroy 11.14 (80) Victoria Park 17,840 13 June 1987
Carlton 12.25 (97) St Kilda 14.12 (96) Princes Park 16,511 13 June 1987
Footscray 21.16 (142) Richmond 11.8 (74) VFL Park 16,279 13 June 1987
Brisbane Bears 11.4 (70) Hawthorn 24.21 (165) Carrara Stadium 7,284 14 June 1987

Round 13

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
West Coast 16.18 (114) Fitzroy 5.12 (42) WACA Ground 13,540 19 June 1987
Hawthorn 6.8 (44) Melbourne 8.9 (57) Princes Park 7,596 20 June 1987
Footscray 13.11 (89) Geelong 8.2 (50) Western Oval 15,749 20 June 1987
Richmond 4.3 (27) Carlton 6.7 (43) MCG 15,916 20 June 1987
Essendon 9.10 (64) Brisbane Bears 3.9 (27) Windy Hill 8,832 20 June 1987
North Melbourne 10.12 (72) Collingwood 2.6 (18) VFL Park 17,613 20 June 1987
Sydney 20.14 (134) St Kilda 11.9 (75) SCG 17,760 21 June 1987

Round 14

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Sydney 14.17 (101) Collingwood 10.14 (74) SCG 20,133 26 June 1987
Richmond 9.19 (73) West Coast 9.15 (69) MCG 8,926 27 June 1987
Geelong 13.20 (98) St Kilda 3.9 (27) Kardinia Park 13,661 27 June 1987
Fitzroy 11.16 (82) Melbourne 4.10 (34) Princes Park 7,643 27 June 1987
Essendon 7.10 (52) Footscray 9.10 (64) Windy Hill 17,401 27 June 1987
Hawthorn 12.8 (80) Carlton 12.7 (79) VFL Park 44,385 27 June 1987
Brisbane Bears 17.11 (113) North Melbourne 23.13 (151) Carrara Stadium 7,716 28 June 1987

Round 15

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
West Coast 18.10 (118) Essendon 21.20 (146) WACA Ground 15,740 3 July 1987
Melbourne 15.20 (110) North Melbourne 16.16 (112) MCG 17,108 4 July 1987
Hawthorn 19.20 (134) Richmond 11.11 (77) Princes Park 10,150 4 July 1987
St Kilda 20.14 (134) Fitzroy 15.10 (100) Moorabbin Oval 15,201 4 July 1987
Sydney 16.10 (106) Footscray 10.13 (73) VFL Park 27,075 4 July 1987
Brisbane Bears 18.11 (119) Geelong 10.18 (78) Carrara Stadium 9,380 5 July 1987
Carlton 20.16 (136) Collingwood 15.22 (112) MCG 47,813 5 July 1987

Rounds 16 and 17

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 16
Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Essendon 21.11 (137) Richmond 12.11 (83) Windy Hill 13,590 11 July 1987
North Melbourne 23.18 (156) Fitzroy 19.9 (123) MCG 15,244 11 July 1987
Brisbane Bears 14.9 (93) St Kilda 18.13 (121) Carrara Stadium 9,106 12 July 1987
Collingwood 5.13 (43) Hawthorn 25.18 (168) Victoria Park 17,329 18 July 1987
Carlton 20.13 (133) Footscray 12.6 (78) Princes Park 19,259 18 July 1987
Sydney 30.21 (201) West Coast 10.11 (71) SCG 23,009 19 July 1987
Melbourne 18.9 (117) Geelong 11.11 (77) VFL Park 15,253 25 July 1987
Round 17
Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
West Coast 15.17 (107) Carlton 15.14 (104) WACA Ground 21,780 10 July 1987
Hawthorn 25.12 (162) Footscray 9.11 (65) Princes Park 14,429 11 July 1987
North Melbourne 11.13 (79) Geelong 27.14 (176) MCG 20,880 18 July 1987
St Kilda 18.6 (114) Melbourne 9.14 (68) VFL Park 20,354 18 July 1987
Richmond 18.20 (128) Collingwood 14.5 (89) MCG 24,793 25 July 1987
Fitzroy 17.29 (131) Brisbane Bears 16.10 (106) Princes Park 5,824 25 July 1987
Sydney 36.20 (236) Essendon 11.7 (73) SCG 24,199 26 July 1987

Round 18

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Sydney 31.12 (198) Richmond 15.17 (107) SCG 17,157 31 July 1987
Fitzroy 20.9 (129) Geelong 12.15 (87) Princes Park 8,678 1 August 1987
St Kilda 15.16 (106) North Melbourne 11.15 (81) Moorabbin Oval 18,968 1 August 1987
Footscray 9.11 (65) Collingwood 8.6 (54) Western Oval 14,514 1 August 1987
Melbourne 22.21 (153) Brisbane Bears 14.15 (99) MCG 10,307 1 August 1987
Carlton 10.10 (70) Essendon 10.9 (69) VFL Park 29,761 1 August 1987
West Coast 17.13 (115) Hawthorn 17.12 (114) Subiaco Oval 24,502 2 August 1987

Round 19

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
West Coast 15.19 (109) North Melbourne 18.12 (120) WACA Ground 22,540 7 August 1987
Carlton 17.21 (123) Sydney 8.7 (55) Princes Park 32,058 8 August 1987
Richmond 15.10 (100) Melbourne 17.17 (119) MCG 15,899 8 August 1987
St Kilda 15.14 (104) Footscray 15.11 (101) Moorabbin Oval 23,080 8 August 1987
Geelong 12.20 (92) Essendon 9.11 (65) Kardinia Park 18,316 8 August 1987
Hawthorn 26.9 (165) Fitzroy 16.9 (105) VFL Park 14,692 8 August 1987
Brisbane Bears 11.11 (77) Collingwood 14.16 (100) Carrara Stadium 9,166 9 August 1987

Round 20

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Hawthorn 20.22 (142) Sydney 15.7 (97) Princes Park 20,551 15 August 1987
Essendon 20.7 (127) Fitzroy 11.20 (86) Windy Hill 12,510 15 August 1987
Collingwood 8.11 (59) Melbourne 15.24 (114) Victoria Park 16,285 15 August 1987
North Melbourne 18.17 (125) Footscray 18.17 (125) MCG 18,921 15 August 1987
Geelong 13.10 (88) Carlton 24.12 (156) Kardinia Park 22,219 15 August 1987
Richmond 19.19 (133) St Kilda 8.9 (57) VFL Park 27,589 15 August 1987
Brisbane Bears 18.11 (119) West Coast 21.14 (140) Carrara Stadium 4,859 16 August 1987

Round 21

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Melbourne 18.21 (129) West Coast 10.8 (68) MCG 21,048 21 August 1987
North Melbourne 18.14 (122) Richmond 11.18 (84) MCG 15,073 22 August 1987
St Kilda 15.17 (107) Collingwood 8.10 (58) Moorabbin Oval 24,335 22 August 1987
Fitzroy 12.12 (84) Carlton 17.22 (124) Princes Park 16,126 22 August 1987
Hawthorn 17.12 (114) Essendon 9.10 (64) VFL Park 27,046 22 August 1987
Brisbane Bears 10.11 (71) Footscray 22.21 (153) Carrara Stadium 6,754 23 August 1987
Sydney 18.14 (122) Geelong 18.23 (131) SCG 23,953 23 August 1987

Round 22

Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Venue Crowd Date
Richmond 17.11 (113) Brisbane Bears 26.13 (169) MCG 12,079 28 August 1987
Geelong 17.21 (123) Hawthorn 19.12 (126) Kardinia Park 26,888 29 August 1987
Footscray 10.8 (68) Melbourne 12.11 (83) Western Oval 31,249 29 August 1987
Fitzroy 20.13 (133) Sydney 20.21 (141) Princes Park 11,636 29 August 1987
Carlton 20.9 (129) North Melbourne 19.11 (125) VFL Park 30,444 29 August 1987
West Coast 26.19 (175) St Kilda 13.9 (87) Subiaco Oval 17,617 30 August 1987
Collingwood 23.6 (144) Essendon 21.13 (139) MCG 28,887 30 August 1987

Ladder

1987 VFL ladder
Pos Team Pld W L D PF PA PP Pts
1 Carlton (P) 22 18 4 0 2599 1883 138.0 72 Finals
2 Hawthorn 22 17 5 0 2781 1891 147.1 68
3 Sydney 22 15 7 0 2846 2197 129.5 60
4 North Melbourne 22 13 8 1 2402 2417 99.4 54
5 Melbourne 22 12 10 0 2189 2026 108.0 48
6 Geelong 22 11 10 1 2355 2348 100.3 46
7 Footscray 22 11 10 1 1959 2046 95.7 46
8 West Coast 22 11 11 0 2386 2438 97.9 44
9 Essendon 22 9 12 1 2075 2318 89.5 38
10 St Kilda 22 9 13 0 2150 2369 90.8 36
11 Fitzroy 22 8 14 0 2328 2544 91.5 32
12 Collingwood 22 7 15 0 1853 2425 76.4 28
13 Brisbane Bears 22 6 16 0 2113 2666 79.3 24
14 Richmond 22 5 17 0 2199 2667 82.5 20
Source: VFL ladder
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for.
(P) Premiers.

Finals

Elimination Finals

Home team Score Away team Score Venue Attendance Date
Melbourne 22.26 (158) North Melbourne 5.10 (40) MCG 72,628 Sunday, 6 September

Qualifying Final

Home team Score Away team Score Venue Attendance Date
Hawthorn 23.18 (156) Sydney 8.9 (57) Waverley Park 47,752 Saturday, 5 September

Semi finals

Home team Score Away team Score Venue Attendance Date
Carlton 11.14 (80) Hawthorn 10.5 (65) Waverley Park 64,333 Saturday, 12 September
Sydney 10.13 (73) Melbourne 21.23 (149) MCG 80,292 Sunday, 13 September

Preliminary Final

Home team Score Away team Score Venue Attendance Date
Hawthorn 11.14 (80) Melbourne 10.18 (78) Waverley Park 71,298 Saturday, 19 September

Grand final

Home team Score Away team Score Venue Attendance Date
Carlton 15.14 (104) Hawthorn 9.17.(71) MCG 92,754 Saturday, 26 September

Player Statistics and Awards

Leading goalkickers

Name Club Gms Gls/Bhds Acc% GpM
1 Tony Lockett St Kilda 22 117 / 52 69 5.32
2 Warwick Capper Sydney 23 103 / 57 64 4.48
3 Jason Dunstall Hawthorn 24 94 / 58 62 3.92
4 Stephen Kernahan Carlton 24 73 / 50 59 3.04
- Simon Beasley Footscray 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 St Kilda 20
- John Platten Hawthorn 20
3 Paul Meldrum Carlton 15
- Tony McGuinness Footscray 15
- Brian Royal Footscray 15

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 would change 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.[2]
  • 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.[3] FTA 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.[4]
  • Melbourne ended the third longest finals drought in league history (twenty-three years or twenty-two seasons actual seasons) by finishing fifth, making the finals for the first time since 1964.
  • The final round, Round 22, was one of the most dramatic and significant in VFL/AFL history. At the start of the round:
    • Carlton could secure top spot and a week's rest by winning
    • Hawthorn could finish on top if they beat Geelong and Carton lost to North
    • North could grab the double chance (third spot) from Sydney by beating Carlton if Sydney lost to Fitzroy
    • Any of Geelong, Footscray or Melbourne could finish fifth and make the finals.
As a warm-up for the round on the Friday night Richmond played the Brisbane Bears for the wooden spoon; the Bears won easily to ensure they didn't come last in their first season. The significant matches were all played on Saturday afternoon, and were all close. Geelong led by 35 points at one stage but were worn down by Hawthorn in the end, who won by 3 points; the Cats therefore missed the finals.
That meant the winner of Melbourne and Footscray would finish 5th. The Demons won by 15 points to make the finals for the first time since 1964.
Sydney beat Fitzroy by 8 points to ensure the double chance.
Carlton's new captain Stephen Kernahan kicked a goal after the siren against North to secure top spot. The week's rest may have made a difference to the eventual result of the Grand Final, which was played on a 33-degree day.
  • In the Preliminary Final, 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]
  • 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.[7][8]

See also

References

  1. "Reserves, under 19s". The Age. Melbourne, VIC. 28 September 1987. p. 80.
  2. Ron Carter (2 October 1986). "Perth, Brisbane join League". The Age. Melbourne, VIC. p. 38.
  3. "VFL 1987 VFL TV Rights Saga". Footyindustry. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  4. Daryl Timms (27 July 1987). "A costly game for league". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne, VIC. p. 89.
  5. Saved from embarrassment by Jim Stynes, Simon Eishold the unsung villain of '87 prelim, news.com.au, September 22, 2012
  6. Fox Footy viewers vote for Hawthorn vs. Melbourne from 1987 on Viewers Choice, Fox Sports, 2015
  7. Greg Baum (28 September 1987). "All quiet on Tiger appeal". The Age. Melbourne, VIC. p. 85.
  8. "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
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