1988 Adelaide Bicentennial Carnival
The 1988 Adelaide Bicentennial Carnival was the 22nd edition of the Australian National Football Carnival, an Australian rules football State of Origin competition. Australia was celebrating its Bicentenary in 1988 so the carnival was known as the 'Bicentennial Carnival'. It took place over four days from 2 March until 5 March, and the matches were played at Football Park and Norwood Oval.
Ten teams were involved, including all the states and territories, making it the most heavily contested competition. They were divided into two sections. South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia and New South Wales were in Section One. Although traditionally the Tasmanians had enjoyed more success in the interstate arena than New South Wales, the latter had 22 VFL players in its squad compared to the island state's 15 which helped them obtain the final Section One spot.
Section Two was occupied by the Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory, Queensland, Tasmania and two non regional teams. The Australian Amateurs was one of those, a squad of amateur players from across the country's leagues. Finally, the Victorian Association representative team made up the group but selection was not restricted to Victorian Football Association players. If a footballer, now competing elsewhere, had started his career in the Victorian Football Association, such as Terry Wallace for example, then he was eligible to join the squad. The same rules applied to the other teams, so if a Tasmanian born player had started his career at West Perth then he could be selected for either Tasmania or Western Australia.
Attendances at the tournament were lower than expected, and overall the tournament ran at a $30,000 loss. The winning state was originally to have received a $40,000 prize, with incrementally lower prizes for all other states; but these prizes were abandoned due to the operating loss.[1]
Results
| Section | Winning team | Winning team score | Losing team | Losing team score | Ground | Crowd | Date |
| Section Two – Preliminary Stage | Northern Territory | 19.20 (134) | Tasmania | 10.8 (68) | Football Park | – | 2 March 1988 [2] |
| Section Two – Preliminary Stage | Australian Amateurs | 14.12 (96) | Australian Capital Territory | 12.11 (83) | Football Park | – | 2 March 1988 [2] |
| Section One – Semi Final | Victoria | 20.13 (133) | Western Australia | 10.13 (73) | Football Park | 5,195 | 2 March 1988 |
| Section Two – Preliminary Stage | Victorian Association | 17.10 (112) | Queensland | 4.11 (35) | Football Park | – | 3 March 1988 [3] |
| Section Two – Preliminary Stage | Northern Territory | 11.19 (85) | Australian Amateurs | 8.9 (57) | Football Park | – | 3 March 1988 [3] |
| Section One – Semi Final | South Australia | 12.8 (80) | New South Wales | 8.11 (59) | Football Park | 5,755 | 3 March 1988 [3] |
| Section Two – Semi Final | Victorian Association | 18.20 (128) | Australian Capital Territory | 9.16 (70) | Norwood Oval | – | 4 March 1988 [4] |
| Section Two – Wooden Spoon Play Off | Tasmania | 11.16 (82) | Queensland | 10.10 (70) | Norwood Oval | – | 4 March 1988 |
| Section Two – Final | Northern Territory | 17.10 (112) | Victorian Association | 9.13 (63) | Football Park | – | 5 March 1988 [5] |
| Section One – 3rd Place Play Off | New South Wales | 10.8 (68) | Western Australia | 9.12 (66) | Football Park | – | 5 March 1988 [5] |
| Section One – Final | South Australia | 15.12 (102) | Victoria | 6.6 (42) | Football Park | 19,387 | 5 March 1988 [6] |
Squads
Team captains:
Aust. Capital Territory:
Amateurs: Dave Perry
New South Wales: Terry Daniher
Northern Territory: Maurice Rioli
Queensland:
South Australia: Chris McDermott
Tasmania:
Victoria Association: Barry Round
Victoria:
West Australia: Ross Glendinning
| Aust. Capital Territory [7] | Amateurs [7][8] | New South Wales | Northern Territory [9] | Queensland |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Coach: Brian Quade
|
Coach: Bernie Sheehy
|
|
Coach: John Taylor
|
Coach: Peter Knights
|
| South Australia | Tasmania | Victoria Association | Victoria | West Australia[10] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Coach: Graham Cornes
|
Coach: Robert Shaw
|
Coach: Terry Wheeler
|
Coach: Bill Goggin
|
|
Honours
All-Australians
Leading goal-kickers
- Dennis Dunn (NT) – 16 goals
- Michael Long (NT) – 9 goals
- Stephen Kernahan (SA) – 8 goals
- Stephen Nichols (TAS) – 8 goals
- Paul Salmon (VIC) – 8 goals
- Bruce Lindner (SA) – 6 goals
Medalists
Fos Williams Medals
- Stephen Kernahan (SA)
- Mark Mickan (SA)
Simpson Medal
- Dwayne Lamb (WA)
Tassie Medal
- Paul Salmon (VIC)
Dolphin Medal
- Terry Wallace (VFA)[11]
References
- Peter Simunovich (7 March 1988). "Poor crowd stops prizes". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne, VIC. p. 92.
- "Amateurs hold out ACT rally". The Canberra Times. 3 March 1988. p. 20. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
- "South Australia struggles". The Canberra Times. 4 March 1988. p. 24. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
- "VFA stars hammer the ACT". The Canberra Times. 5 March 1988. p. 24. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
- "Sports Results and Details". The Canberra Times. 6 March 1988. p. Sport-12. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
- "Sports results and details". The Canberra Times. 7 March 1988. p. 23. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
- "Footballers' 'biggest gathering' for bicentennial title – Amateur council favoured". The Canberra Times. 2 March 1988. p. 40. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
- Poat, Peter (ed.). 1988 West Australian Football Register. p. 138.
- Barfoot, Michael; Lee, David (December 1995). History of the NTFL (Online). Darwin: Northern Territory Football League. p. 1. ISBN 0-646-26754-X. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
- "WA State Match Results". pp. 103–104.
- Daryl Timms (7 March 1988). "It's VFL or goodbye, says Wallace". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne, VIC. p. 92.
- "Full Points Footy: 1988 Adelaide Bicentennial State of Origin Carnival". Archived from the original on 5 January 2009.