1982 VFA season
| 1982 VFA Premiership Season | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 22 |
| Division 1 | |
| Teams | 12 |
| Premiers |
Port Melbourne (15th premiership) |
| Minor premiers |
Preston (4th minor premiership) |
| Division 2 | |
| Teams | 10 |
| Premiers |
Northcote (2nd D2 premiership) |
| Minor premiers |
Oakleigh (2nd D2 minor premiership) |
|
← 1981
1983 →
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The 1982 Victorian Football Association season was the 101st season of the top division of the Australian rules football competition, and the 22nd season of second division competition. It was the first season of a restructured two-division competition, in which automatic promotion and relegation between the divisions was abandoned.
The Division 1 premiership was won by the Port Melbourne Football Club, after it defeated Preston in the Grand Final on 19 September by seven points; it was Port Melbourne's 15th Division 1 premiership, the third of three premierships won in a row between 1980 and 1982, and the last of six premierships won in nine seasons from 1974 until 1982. The Division 2 premiership was won by Northcote; it was the club's second Division 2 premiership, and it was the last premiership ever won by the club.
In the late 1970s, the popularity and financial viability of the Association was in decline. One factor contributing to this came about as a result of the promotion and relegation system which existed between the two divisions: this system, which had been in place since 1961, saw promotion for the Division 2 premiers and relegation for the Division 1 wooden-spooners at the end of each season, giving a fair opportunity for promotion and relegation based on on-field performance; but, the automatic nature of this promotion and relegation meant that no consideration was given to the off-field strength of the club, which was the most critical factor in determining a club's viability. By the late 1970s, there was a growing off-field gap between the strongest and weakest clubs, and the fickle correlation between off-field strength and on-field finishing positions meant that some strong clubs were stuck in Division 2 and some weak clubs were holding their places in Division 1. This had a wide range of consequences detrimental to the Association as a whole.
The conclusion was that the Association would be more viable if the clubs which made up Division 1 were selected based on off-field merit and viability, rather than on-field results. A new structure, which was first proposed in September 1980 under Alex Gillon's presidency, was ratified in May 1981 under Alan Wickes' presidency by a margin of 19–4, well in excess of the three-quarters majority required. Under the new structure:
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