1980 Escort Championships

The 1980 Escort Championships was an Australian rules football knock out tournament held between March and July 1980. The tournament was organised by Australian Football Championships, and was contested by teams from the Victorian Football League, South Australian National Football League and West Australian Football League, and the representative teams from New South Wales, Tasmania, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory. The tournament was won by North Melbourne, who defeated Collingwood in the Grand Final.

1980 AFC Night Series
AFC Escort Championships
Tournament details
Dates2 March - 15 July 1980
Teams34
Venue(s)10 (in 7 host cities)
Final positions
ChampionsNorth Melbourne (1st title)
Runners-upCollingwood
Tournament statistics
Matches played33
Attendance223,562 (6,775 per match)

Background

The 1980 Escort Championships was the fourth season of the national night premiership competition. The size of the competition consisted 34 teams. The competing teams were all VFL, SANFL and WAFL teams, and the representative teams from New South Wales, Tasmania, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory.[1]

The format for the competition was a simple knock-out tournament. Round one featured the VFL teams that finished 7th to 12th in 1979; the SANFL teams that finished 3rd to 10th in 1979; the WAFL teams that finished 3rd to 8th in 1979; plus a playoff between the four minor states.

Round two involved the teams that survived round one.

In round three, the winners of round two were joined by the VFL's top six of 1979, the SANFL's top two of 1979, and the WAFL's top two of 1979.

Matches in Rounds 1 and 2 were played in various venues across Australia. With the exception of one Round 3 match, all matches from Round 3 onwards were played at VFL Park on Tuesday nights. Matches were televised directly to Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.[1] The tournament was mostly played concurrently with the premiership season, although some matches in the first three rounds were played during the pre-season.

Qualified Teams
Team Nickname League Qualification Participation (bold indicates winners)1
Enter in Round 3
Carlton Blues VFL Winners of the 1979 Victorian Football League 9th (Previous: 1907, 1908, 1914, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1976, 1979)
Collingwood Magpies VFL Runners-Up in the 1979 Victorian Football League 4th (Previous: 1896, 1910, 1979)
North Melbourne Kangaroos VFL Third Place in the 1979 Victorian Football League 4th (Previous: 1975, 1976, 1979)
Fitzroy Lions VFL Fourth Place in the 1979 Victorian Football League 3rd (Previous: 1913, 1979)
Essendon Bombers VFL Fifth Place in the 1979 Victorian Football League 4th (Previous: 1893, 1911, 1979)
Geelong Cats VFL Sixth Place in the 1979 Victorian Football League 2nd (Previous: 1979)
Port Adelaide Magpies SANFL Winners of the 1979 South Australian National Football League 9th (Previous: 1890, 1910, 1913, 1914, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979)
South Adelaide Panthers SANFL Runners-Up in the 1979 South Australian National Football League 6th (Previous: 1893, 1896, 1977, 1978, 1979)
East Fremantle Sharks WAFL Winners of the 1979 West Australian Football League 5th (Previous: 1974, 1977, 1978, 1979)
South Fremantle Bulldogs WAFL Runners-Up in the 1979 West Australian Football League 4th (Previous: 1976, 1977, 1979)
Enter in Round 1
Hawthorn Hawks VFL Seventh Place in the 1979 Victorian Football League 4th (Previous: 1971, 1976, 1979)
Richmond Tigers VFL Eighth Place in the 1979 Victorian Football League 6th (Previous: 1969, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1979)
Footscray Bulldogs VFL Ninth Place in the 1979 Victorian Football League 3rd (Previous: 1976, 1979)
South Melbourne Swans VFL Tenth Place in the 1979 Victorian Football League 5th (Previous: 1888, 1890, 1909, 1979)
Melbourne Demons VFL Eleventh Place in the 1979 Victorian Football League 2nd (Previous: 1979)
St Kilda Saints VFL Twelfth Place in the 1979 Victorian Football League 2nd (Previous: 1979)
Central District Bulldogs SANFL Third Place in the 1979 South Australian National Football League 3rd (Previous: 1977, 1979)
Norwood Redlegs SANFL Fourth Place in the 1979 South Australian National Football League 8th (Previous: 1888, 1907, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979)
Woodville Woodpeckers SANFL Fifth Place in the 1979 South Australian National Football League 2nd (Previous: 1979)
North Adelaide Roosters SANFL Sixth Place in the 1979 South Australian National Football League 5th (Previous: 1971, 1972, 1977, 1979)
Glenelg Tigers SANFL Seventh Place in the 1979 South Australian National Football League 6th (Previous: 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979)
West Torrens Eagles SANFL Eighth Place in the 1979 South Australian National Football League 2nd (Previous: 1979)
Sturt Double Blues SANFL Ninth Place in the 1979 South Australian National Football League 8th (Previous: 1968, 1969, 1970, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1979)
West Adelaide Bloods SANFL Tenth Place in the 1979 South Australian National Football League 7th (Previous: 1908, 1909, 1911, 1977, 1978, 1979)
Claremont Tigers WAFL Third Place in the 1979 West Australian Football League 3rd (Previous: 1977, 1979)
East Perth Royals WAFL Fourth Place in the 1979 West Australian Football League 4th (Previous: 1972, 1977, 1978, 1979)
Swan Districts Swans WAFL Fifth Place in the 1979 West Australian Football League 3rd (Previous: 1976, 1979)
Perth Demons WAFL Sixth Place in the 1979 West Australian Football League 4th (Previous: 1977, 1978, 1979)
West Perth Falcons WAFL Seventh Place in the 1979 West Australian Football League 6th (Previous: 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979)
Subiaco Lions WAFL Eighth Place in the 1979 West Australian Football League 3rd (Previous: 1973, 1979)
Australian Capital Territory Rams ACTAFL State Representative Team 4th (Previous: 1977, 1978, 1979)
New South Wales Blues NSWAFL State Representative Team 4th (Previous: 1977, 1978, 1979)
Queensland Maroons QAFL State Representative Team 3rd (Previous: 1977, 1978)
Tasmania Devils TANFL State Representative Team 5th (Previous: 1974, 1977, 1978, 1979)
1 Includes previous appearances in the Championship of Australia and NFL Night Series.

Venues
Melbourne Adelaide Perth
Waverley Park Norwood Oval Richmond Oval Perth Oval East Fremantle Oval Leederville Oval
Capacity: 72,000 Capacity: 22,000 Capacity: 16,500 Capacity: 27,000 Capacity: 22,000 Capacity: 25,000
Sydney Wagga Wagga Ulverstone Brisbane
Sydney Cricket Ground McPherson Oval Ulverstone Recreation Ground Windsor Park
Capacity: 45,000 Capacity: 10,000 Capacity: 15,000 Capacity: 10,000

Games

Round 1
Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Ground Crowd Date
West Perth 11.15 (81) Hawthorn 18.13 (121) Perth Oval Sunday, 2 March
Claremont 22.10 (142) East Perth 4.16 (40) Leederville Oval, Perth Monday, 3 March
Subiaco 15.9 (99) Perth 11.14 (80) Perth Oval Monday, 3 March
Melbourne 22.16 (148) Swan Districts 8.18 (66) VFL Park 3,040 Tuesday, 4 March
St Kilda 19.6 (120) Sturt 8.11 (59) VFL Park 6,436 Saturday, 8 March
South Melbourne 10.16 (76) West Adelaide 7.18 (60) Richmond Oval, Adelaide Saturday, 8 March
West Torrens 12.3 (75) Footscray 17.10 (112) VFL Park 2,108 Tuesday, 11 March
North Adelaide 14.11 (95) Norwood 13.13 (91) Football Park Tuesday, 11 March
Glenelg 11.13 (79) Central District 6.8 (44) Football Park Friday, 14 March
Richmond 20.17 (137) Woodville 9.3 (57) VFL Park 5,031 Saturday, 15 March
Tasmania 9.15 (69) Queensland 15.17 (107) Ulverstone, Tasmania Sunday, 16 March
New South Wales 17.10 (112) Australian Capital Territory 10.11 (71) Robertson Oval Wagga Wagga Sunday, 16 March

Round 2
Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Ground Crowd Date
Claremont 16.20 (116) Subiaco 12.9 (81) Leederville Oval, Perth Saturday, 15 March
Hawthorn 17.17 (119) Melbourne 14.4 (88) VFL Park 6,005 Tuesday, 18 March
North Adelaide 13.12 (90) Glenelg 22.11 (143) Adelaide Friday, 21 March
St Kilda 17.15 (117) South Melbourne 10.6 (66) VFL Park 10,308 Saturday, 22 March
Footscray 18.14 (122) Queensland 10.8 (68) Mayne Oval, Queensland Sunday, 23 March
Richmond 17.19 (121) New South Wales 14.16 (100) Sydney Cricket Ground Sunday, 23 March

Round 3
Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Ground Crowd Date
Port Adelaide 12.14 (86) Essendon 18.10 (118) VFL Park 5,261 Friday, 14 March
South Fremantle 23.19 (157) Carlton 9.12 (66) East Fremantle Oval, Perth 6,000 Sunday, 16 March
Claremont 10.13 (73) Geelong 9.14 (68) VFL Park 3,783 Tuesday, 25 March
Hawthorn 20.20 (140) East Fremantle 4.11 (35) VFL Park 2,919 Tuesday, 1 April
Glenelg 9.11 (65) North Melbourne 9.16 (70) VFL Park 4,419 Tuesday, 15 April
St Kilda 16.11 (107) South Adelaide 13.11 (89) VFL Park 3,594 Tuesday, 29 April
Footscray 11.9 (75) Collingwood 18.13 (121) VFL Park 9,995 Tuesday, 6 May
Richmond 16.13 (109) Fitzroy 13.12 (90) VFL Park 10,626 Tuesday, 13 May

Quarter-Finals
Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Ground Crowd Date
Claremont 12.12 (84) Hawthorn 7.10 (52) VFL Park 5,326 Tuesday, 20 May
North Melbourne 18.11 (119) St Kilda 13.11 (89) VFL Park 6,223 Tuesday, 27 May
Collingwood 10.14 (74) Richmond 5.13 (43) VFL Park 17,950 Tuesday, 3 June
Essendon 12.14 (86) South Fremantle 6.11 (47) VFL Park 4,060 Tuesday, 10 June

Semi-Finals
Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Ground Crowd Date
North Melbourne 15.10 (100) Claremont 9.9 (63) VFL Park 4,299 Tuesday, 24 June
Collingwood 15.10 (100) Essendon 12.9 (81) VFL Park 16,527 Tuesday, 1 July

Grand Final
Home team Home team score Away team Away team score Ground Crowd Date
Collingwood 7.12 (54) North Melbourne 8.9 (57) VFL Park 50,478[1] Tuesday, 15 July

Notable events
  • The competition sponsor at the time was the cigarette manufacturer W.D. & H.O. Wills – "Escort" was a brand name used by the company at the time.[1]
  • The total prizemoney was $400,000, with the winners North Melbourne winning $64,000.[1]
  • The Grand Final ended in controversy. Collingwood led by three points when the final siren sounded, but field umpire Ian Robinson was unable to hear it, and allowed play to continue for several seconds; indeed, many players were unable to hear the siren, although many could and some Collingwood players were already celebrating the victory. In the ensuing play, North Melbourne's Malcolm Blight passed the ball forward to Kerry Good, who marked and then kicked a goal after the final siren to secure victory for North Melbourne.[1] To minimize the risk of a repeated incident, VFL umpires wore portable electronic beepers during the finals of the premiership season.[2]
gollark: Does it appear as a USB device whatsoever?
gollark: Why does Wikipedia not just have an option to intersect arbitrary lists?
gollark: > Some may argue that the CDC originally claimed that masks were ineffective as a way to retain the already-small supply of masks for healthcare providers and medical officials. Others may argue that the CDC made this claim due to ever-developing research around the virus. I am arguing, however, that the CDC made the claim that masks are ineffective because the CDC’s sole purpose is to provide scientific legitimation of the U.S. as a eugenicist project through medical genocide. As outlined in this essay, the CDC has a history of releasing deadly information and later backtracking on it when the damage has already been done.
gollark: > Choosing to tell the public that supplies that could benefit everyone is ineffective, rather than calling for more supplies to be created—in the midst of a global pandemic, no less—is eugenics. Making the conscious decision to tell the general public that something is ineffective when you have not done all of the necessary research, especially when medical officials are using the very same equipment, is medical and scientific genocide.
gollark: It seems like they seem to claim they're genociding *everyone*, actually?

See also

References
  1. Main, Jim (1981), "A national series - at last", Hutton's 1981 Footy Book, Melbourne, VIC: The Market Place Marketing Group, pp. 1, 2, 3
  2. Trevor Grant (14 August 1980). "Beepers". The Age. Melbourne, VIC. p. 26.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.