1978 VFL Grand Final

Hawthorn	North Melbourne
18.13 (121)	15.13 (103)

	1	2	3	4
HAW	5.3 (33)	7.4 (46)	14.10 (94)	18.13 (121)
NM	2.2 (14)	7.8 (50)	10.12 (72)	15.13 (103)

Date

30 September 1978

Stadium

Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, Australia

Broadcast in Australia

Network

Seven Network

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The 1978 VFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Hawthorn Football Club and North Melbourne Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on 30 September 1978. It was the 82nd annual Grand Final of the Victorian Football League, staged to determine the premiers for the 1978 VFL season. The match, attended by 101,704 spectators, was won by Hawthorn by a margin of 18 points, marking that club's fourth premiership victory.

It was the third time in four seasons that these two sides met in a Grand Final while North Melbourne was competing in its fifth successive Grand Final. They were the reigning premiers, having defeated Collingwood in the 1977 VFL Grand Final.

At the conclusion of the regular home-and-away season, North Melbourne had finished on top of the VFL ladder with 16 wins and 6 losses. Hawthorn had finished second, also with 16 wins but with an inferior percentage.

In the finals series leading up to the Grand Final, Hawthorn comfortably defeated Collingwood in the Qualifying Final by 56 points before beating North Melbourne by 10 points in the Second Semi-Final to progress to the Grand Final. North Melbourne, after their Second Semi-Final loss, defeated Collingwood by 12 points in the Preliminary Final to progress to the Grand Final.

In the week leading up to the Grand Final, North Melbourne's Malcolm Blight was awarded the Brownlow Medal.

Hawthorn had the better of the first quarter, with forward Michael Moncrieff kicking three goals (including two goals in the first two minutes of the game), and they led by nineteen points at quarter time. However, North Melbourne hit their stride in the second quarter, with Phil Baker became the focal point of the North attack and taking the mark of the year over Ian Paton. He helped North kick five goals to two to lead by four points at half time.

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