The 1978 Victorian Football League Night Series was the 18th edition of the VFL Night Series, a VFL-organised national club Australian rules football tournament between the clubs from the VFL and Tasmania.[1]

1978 VFL Night Series
VFL Amco-Herald Cup
Tournament details
Dates3 March – 20 June 1978
Teams13
Venue(s)1 (in 1 host city)
Final positions
ChampionsFitzroy (2nd title)
Runners-upNorth Melbourne
Tournament statistics
Matches played13
Attendance156,714 (12,055 per match)
1977

Qualified Teams

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Team Nickname League Qualification Participation (bold indicates winners)
North Melbourne Kangaroos VFL Winner of the 1977 Victorian Football League 17th (Previous: 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1977)
Collingwood Magpies VFL Runners-Up in the 1977 Victorian Football League 7th (Previous: 1957, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1977)
Hawthorn Hawks VFL Third Place in the 1977 Victorian Football League 15th (Previous: 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1977)
Richmond Tigers VFL Fourth Place in the 1977 Victorian Football League 15th (Previous: 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1970, 1977)
South Melbourne Swans VFL Fifth Place in the 1977 Victorian Football League 17th (Previous: 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1977)
Carlton Blues VFL Sixth Place in the 1977 Victorian Football League 12th (Previous: 1956, 1957, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1971, 1977)
Footscray Bulldogs VFL Seventh Place in the 1977 Victorian Football League 16th (Previous: 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1977)
Geelong Cats VFL Eighth Place in the 1977 Victorian Football League 9th (Previous: 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1970, 1971, 1977)
Essendon Bombers VFL Ninth Place in the 1977 Victorian Football League 11th (Previous: 1956, 1957, 1958, 1961, 1963, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1977)
Fitzroy Lions VFL Tenth Place in the 1977 Victorian Football League 16th (Previous: 1956, 1957, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1977)
Melbourne Demons VFL Eleventh Place in the 1977 Victorian Football League 10th (Previous: 1957, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1977)
St Kilda Saints VFL Twelfth Place in the 1977 Victorian Football League 11th (Previous: 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1967, 1969, 1977)
Tasmania Devils TANFL State Representative Team 1st

Venues

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Melbourne
Waverley Park
Capacity: 72,000
 

Knockout stage

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Round 1

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3 March 1978 South Melbourne 126–68 Collingwood Waverley Park, Melbourne  
19.12 (126) 10.8 (68) Attendance: 18,585


10 March 1978 North Melbourne 80–63 Footscray Waverley Park, Melbourne  
11.14 (80) 9.9 (63) Attendance: 10,136


17 March 1978 Carlton 63–62 Geelong Waverley Park, Melbourne  
8.15 (63) 8.14 (62) Attendance: 10,321


23 March 1978 Fitzroy 88–70 Tasmania Waverley Park, Melbourne  
13.10 (88) 10.10 (70) Attendance: 5,136


4 April 1978 Richmond 88–37 Essendon Waverley Park, Melbourne  
13.10 (88) 5.7 (37) Attendance: 15,764


11 April 1978 St Kilda 96–57 Melbourne Waverley Park, Melbourne  
14.12 (96) 8.9 (57) Attendance: 8,867


Quarter-finals

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QF #1 18 April 1978 Fitzroy 92–68 South Melbourne Waverley Park, Melbourne  
14.8 (92) 9.14 (68) Attendance: 5,822


QF #2 2 May 1978 Richmond 100–83 Carlton Waverley Park, Melbourne  
15.10 (100) 11.17 (83) Attendance: 12,061


QF #3 9 May 1978 Geelong 67–36 Hawthorn Waverley Park, Melbourne  
10.7 (67) 5.6 (36) Attendance: 8,146


QF #4 16 May 1978 North Melbourne 60–56 St Kilda Waverley Park, Melbourne  
8.12 (60) 8.8 (56) Attendance: 20,694


Semi-finals

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SF #1 23 May 1978 Fitzroy 74–58 Richmond Waverley Park, Melbourne  
10.14 (74) 8.10 (58) Attendance: 8,172


SF #2 30 May 1978 North Melbourne 98–59 Geelong Waverley Park, Melbourne  
15.8 (98) 9.5 (59) Attendance: 6,590


Victorian Football League Night Series final

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Final 20 June 1978 Fitzroy 96–20 North Melbourne Waverley Park, Melbourne  
2.3 (15)
3.5 (23)
10.13 (73)
13.18 (96)
2.1 (13)
2.5 (17)
2.6 (18)
2.8 (20)
Attendance: 26,420
Umpires: Deller, K.Smith
    Goals  
Beecroft 3
McCarthy, McMahon 2
Quinlan, Irwin, Walls, Conlan, Padley, Thompson 1
  Blight, Schimmelbusch 1


References

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  1. ^ David Eastman. "1978 VFL Amco-Herald Cup".