1977 WANFL season
| 1977 WAFL season | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 8 |
| Premiers |
Perth (7th premiership) |
| Minor premiers |
Perth (6th minor premiership) |
| Matches played | 88 |
| Bernie Naylor Medallist | Ray Bauskis (South Fremantle) |
| Sandover Medallist | Brian Peake (East Fremantle) |
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← 1976
1978 →
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The 1977 WANFL season was the 93rd season of the Western Australian National Football League in its various incarnations. It followed on from the previous season’s high scoring to set another record for the highest average score in WANFL history at 109.57 points per team per game, which was to be broken substantially in the following few years due to the introduction of the interchange rule allowing for a faster game with less exhausted players. 1977 was in fact that last WA(N)FL season with no score of over 200 points until 1988.
The season saw Perth win their second consecutive premiership with a resounding win and record WA(N)FL Grand Final score over East Fremantle who were in the finals for the first time since their last premiership in 1974. It was the fifth premiership in twelve seasons for the Demons, and their last as of 2016: Perth have not played in a Grand Final since 1978, and have even not qualified for the finals since 1997.
To counter the uneven quality of inter-league matches between the WANFL and the VFL due to recruiting of top interstate players by Victoria, a State of Origin match was held in Perth the week following the Grand Final. Western Australia showed its quality as a developer of Australian Rules talent with a crushing 94-point win over the best players bred in Victoria, and until the advent of the national competition and the West Coast Eagles State of Origin football proved very popular with Western Australian and South Australian crowds and television in Victoria; however after that it declined to the point of being abandoned after 1999.
A record third quarter of 15.3 (93) sees Perth kick their highest-ever WA(N)FL score, beating their previous record from 1968 against Swan Districts. The Demon rovers create a “shuttle service” to nine-goal full-forward Couper. South were without Campbell and Mal Brown.
Subiaco, after being wooden spooners in 1976 and losing their first five by large margins, has coach Brian Douge allow the players to select their own side and let them off training – this unorthodox move wins the Lions their first game and sets them on their best run between 1975 and 1984.
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