1980 Escort Championships Explained

Tourney Name:	AFC Night Series
Year:	1980
Other Titles:	AFC Escort Championships
Dates:	2 March – 15 July 1980
Num Teams:	34
Venues:	10
Cities:	7
Champion Other:	North Melbourne
Count:	1
Second Other:	Collingwood
Matches:	33
Prevseason:	1979
Nextseason:	1981

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.^[1]

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.

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. 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
Collingwood	Magpies	VFL	Runners-up in the 1979 Victorian Football League	4th
North Melbourne	Kangaroos	VFL	Third Place in the 1979 Victorian Football League	4th
Fitzroy	Lions	VFL	Fourth Place in the 1979 Victorian Football League	3rd
Essendon	Bombers	VFL	Fifth Place in the 1979 Victorian Football League	4th
Geelong	Cats	VFL	Sixth Place in the 1979 Victorian Football League	2nd
Port Adelaide	Magpies	SANFL	Winners of the 1979 South Australian National Football League	9th
South Adelaide	Panthers	SANFL	Runners-up in the 1979 South Australian National Football League	6th
East Fremantle	Sharks	WAFL	Winners of the 1979 West Australian Football League	5th
South Fremantle	Bulldogs	WAFL	Runners-up in the 1979 West Australian Football League	4th
Enter in Round 1
Hawthorn	Hawks	VFL	Seventh Place in the 1979 Victorian Football League	4th
Richmond	Tigers	VFL	Eighth Place in the 1979 Victorian Football League	6th
Footscray	Bulldogs	VFL	Ninth Place in the 1979 Victorian Football League	3rd
South Melbourne	Swans	VFL	Tenth Place in the 1979 Victorian Football League	5th
Melbourne	Demons	VFL	Eleventh Place in the 1979 Victorian Football League	2nd
St Kilda	Saints	VFL	Twelfth Place in the 1979 Victorian Football League	2nd
Central District	Bulldogs	SANFL	Third Place in the 1979 South Australian National Football League	3rd
Norwood	Redlegs	SANFL	Fourth Place in the 1979 South Australian National Football League	8th
Woodville	Woodpeckers	SANFL	Fifth Place in the 1979 South Australian National Football League	2nd
North Adelaide	Roosters	SANFL	Sixth Place in the 1979 South Australian National Football League	5th
Glenelg	Tigers	SANFL	Seventh Place in the 1979 South Australian National Football League	6th
West Torrens	Eagles	SANFL	Eighth Place in the 1979 South Australian National Football League	2nd
Sturt	Double Blues	SANFL	Ninth Place in the 1979 South Australian National Football League	8th
West Adelaide	Bloods	SANFL	Tenth Place in the 1979 South Australian National Football League	7th
Claremont	Tigers	WAFL	Third Place in the 1979 West Australian Football League	3rd
East Perth	Royals	WAFL	Fourth Place in the 1979 West Australian Football League	4th
Swan Districts	Swans	WAFL	Fifth Place in the 1979 West Australian Football League	3rd
Perth	Demons	WAFL	Sixth Place in the 1979 West Australian Football League	4th
West Perth	Falcons	WAFL	Seventh Place in the 1979 West Australian Football League	6th
Subiaco	Lions	WAFL	Eighth Place in the 1979 West Australian Football League	3rd
Australian Capital Territory	Rams		State Representative Team	4th
New South Wales	Blues	NSWAFL	State Representative Team	4th
Queensland	Maroons	QAFL	State Representative Team	3rd
Tasmania	Devils	TANFL	State Representative Team	5th

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

|- bgcolor="#CCCCFF"| Home team| Home team score| Away team| Away team score| Ground| Crowd| Date|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"

| West Perth| 11.15 (81)| Hawthorn| 18.13 (121)| Perth Oval| | Sunday, 2 March|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| Claremont| 22.10 (142)| East Perth| 4.16 (40)| Leederville Oval, Perth| | Monday, 3 March|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| Subiaco| 15.9 (99)| Perth| 11.14 (80)| Perth Oval|| Monday, 3 March|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| Melbourne| 22.16 (148)| Swan Districts| 8.18 (66)| VFL Park| 3,040| Tuesday, 4 March|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| St Kilda| 19.6 (120)| Sturt| 8.11 (59)| VFL Park| 6,436| Saturday, 8 March|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| South Melbourne| 10.16 (76)| West Adelaide| 7.18 (60)| Richmond Oval, Adelaide| | Saturday, 8 March|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| West Torrens| 12.3 (75)| Footscray| 17.10 (112)| VFL Park| 2,108| Tuesday, 11 March|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| North Adelaide| 14.11 (95)| Norwood| 13.13 (91)| Norwood Oval| | Tuesday, 11 March|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| Glenelg| 11.13 (79)| Central District| 6.8 (44)| Norwood Oval| | Friday, 14 March|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| Richmond| 20.17 (137)| Woodville| 9.3 (57)| VFL Park| 5,031| Saturday, 15 March|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| Tasmania| 9.15 (69)| Queensland| 15.17 (107)| Ulverstone, Tasmania| 2,174| Sunday, 16 March|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| New South Wales| 17.10 (112)| Australian Capital Territory| 10.11 (71)| McPherson Oval, North Wagga Wagga| 3,500| Sunday, 16 March

Round 2

|- bgcolor="#CCCCFF"| Home team| Home team score| Away team| Away team score| Ground| Crowd| Date|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"

| Claremont| 16.20 (116)| Subiaco| 12.9 (81)| Leederville Oval, Perth| | Saturday, 15 March|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| Hawthorn| 17.17 (119)| Melbourne| 14.4 (88)| VFL Park| 6,005| Tuesday, 18 March|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| North Adelaide| 13.12 (90)| Glenelg| 22.11 (143)| Norwood Oval|| Friday, 21 March|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| St Kilda| 17.15 (117)| South Melbourne| 10.6 (66)| VFL Park| 10,308| Saturday, 22 March|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| Footscray| 18.14 (122)| Queensland| 10.8 (68)| Windsor Park, Mayne| | Sunday, 23 March|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| Richmond| 17.19 (121)| New South Wales| 14.16 (100)| Sydney Cricket Ground|| Sunday, 23 March

Round 3

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

Quarter-finals

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

Semi-finals

|- bgcolor="#CCCCFF"| Home team| Home team score| Away team| Away team score| Ground| Crowd| Date|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| North Melbourne| 15.10 (100)| Claremont| 9.9 (63)| VFL Park| 4,299| Tuesday, 24 June|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| Collingwood| 15.10 (100)| Essendon| 12.9 (81)| VFL Park| 16,527| Tuesday, 1 July

Grand final

|- bgcolor="#CCCCFF"| Home team| Home team score| Away team| Away team score| Ground| Crowd| Date|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| North Melbourne| 8.9 (57)| Collingwood| 7.12 (54)| VFL Park| 50,478| 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.
• The total prizemoney was $400,000, with the winners North Melbourne winning $64,000.
• 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. To minimize the risk of a repeated incident, VFL umpires wore portable electronic beepers during the finals of the premiership season.^[2]

See also

• List of Australian Football League night premiers
• 1980 VFL season

External links

• 1980 AFC Escort Championships - detailed review including quarter-by-quarter scores, best players and goalkickers for each match

Notes and References

1. Web site: 1980 AFC ESCORT CHAMPIONSHIPS. live. Hard Ball Get. https://web.archive.org/web/20181114141459/https://www.hardballget.net/afl-npm-1980-afc-escort-championships.html . 14 November 2018 .
2. News: The Age. Melbourne, VIC. Trevor Grant. 14 August 1980. Beepers. 26.