1978 WANFL season
The 1978 WANFL season was the 94th season of Western Australian football and the second-last under the WANFL name. Eight teams competed. East Perth won their 14th premiership, while Perth were the minor premiers for the seventh time. Phil Kelly of East Perth won the Sandover Medal, and Ray Bauskis of South Fremantle was the leading goalkicker.
A major change that year was the introduction of the interchange bench from Round 8, initially called “switch-play.” This allowed players to be rotated and then return to the game, making matches faster. The average score rose to 113.92 points per team per game, about four points higher than in 1977.
Claremont finished strongly after a lean period and just missed a finals spot by a slim margin. West Perth started poorly but then won ten straight to challenge for finals, while East Perth, after a slow start, surged late to make the finals. Subiaco and Swan Districts were near the bottom, with Subiaco avoiding the wooden spoon thanks to a late win. West Perth and East Perth competed with Claremont and South Fremantle for the remaining finals places.
In the finals, East Perth again showed their power, winning a big preliminary final and then upsetting frontrunners Perth in a weather-affected grand final to claim the premiership. Subiaco’s late-season win over West Perth helped them avoid the wooden spoon. The season featured memorable moments, including Swan Districts’ dramatic upset in a thunderstorm led by coach John Todd, and young players Phil Narkle and Simon Beasley beginning the rise that would take them to VFL stardom. Perth made a late push with a strong defensive reorganization from Mal Brown, despite losing key forward Murray Couper after a suspension for throwing the ball at an umpire.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 04:13 (CET).