| 1979 Perth State of Origin Carnival | |
| Sport: | Australian football |
| Location: | Perth, Australia |
| Start Date: | 4 October 1979 |
| End Date: | 8 October 1979 |
| Teams: | 5 |
| Commissioner: | Australian National Football Council |
| Format: | Knockout |
| Final Champion: | SECTION A: Western Australia SECTION B: Queensland |
| Previous: | 1975 |
| Next: | 1980 |
The 1979 Perth State of Origin Carnival was the 20th Australian National Football Carnival, an Australian football competition. It was the first carnival to take place under the State of Origin format.
All of the Section One finals were played on Subiaco Oval, in October. Western Australia won the final, defeating Victoria. WA's captain, Brian Peake won the Tassie Medal as the tournament's best player.[1]
| Game | Winning team | Winning team score | Losing team | Losing team score | Ground | Crowd | Date | |
| Qualification Play Off | Tasmania | 17.20 (122) | Queensland | 13.12 (90) | Perth Oval | - | 4 October 1979 | |
| Semi Final 1 | Western Australia | 23.23 (161) | Tasmania | 9.10 (64) | Subiaco Oval | - | 6 October 1979 | |
| Semi Final 2 | Victoria | 25.30 (180) | South Australia | 20.15 (135) | Subiaco Oval | 15,186 | 6 October 1979 | |
| 3rd Place Playoff | South Australia | 22.20 (152) | Tasmania | 17.11 (113) | Subiaco Oval | - | 8 October 1979 | |
| Final | Western Australia | 17.21 (123) | Victoria | 16.12 (108) | Subiaco Oval | 30,876 | 8 October 1979 |
The ACT, coached by Kevin Delmenico, had only two players with VFL experience in their team - captain Kevin Neale and Fitzroy's Michael Conlan. Their only match was against Warren Roper's Queensland, who had failed to qualify for Section One. The Australian Capital Territorians themselves had qualified for the Section Two Final by winning a play-off against the Australian Amateurs, New South Wales and Northern Territory earlier in the year.
| Round | Winning team | Winning team score | Losing team | Losing team score | Ground | Crowd | Date | |
| Final | Queensland | 23.13 (151) | ACT | 18.12 (120) | Leederville Oval | - | 7 October 1979 [2] |
| Round | Winning team | Winning team score | Losing team | Losing team score | Ground | Crowd | Date | |
| Qualifying Semi-Final | Australian Amateurs | 27.17 (179) | Northern Territory | 13.15 (93) | VFL Park | - | 28 July 1979 [3] | |
| Qualifying Semi-Final | Australian Capital Territory | 22.12 (144) | New South Wales | 19.21 (135) | Manuka Oval | - | 29 July 1979 [4] | |
| Qualifying Final | Australian Capital Territory | 16.21 (117) | Australian Amateurs | 16.15 (111) | Manuka Oval | - | 5 August 1979 [5] |
At the conclusion of the tournament, the best players were selected in the All-Australian team. It was the first All-Australian team named since 1972. Victoria had the most representatives chosen, with seven, with Western Australia and South Australia each having five players selected.[15]
