1988 Adelaide Bicentennial Carnival
The 1988 Adelaide Bicentennial Carnival was the 22nd edition of the Australian National Football Carnival, an Australian rules football State of Origin competition. Australia was celebrating its Bicentenary in 1988 so the carnival was known as the 'Bicentennial Carnival'. It took place in March and the matches were played at Football Park and Norwood Oval.
Ten teams were involved, including all the states and territories, making in the most heavily contested competition. They were divided into two sections. South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia and New South Wales were in Section One. Although traditionally the Tasmanians had enjoyed more success in the interstate arena than New South Wales, the latter had 22 VFL players in their squad compared to the island state's 15 which helped them obtain the final Section One spot.
Section Two was occupied by the Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory, Queensland, Tasmania and two non regional teams. The Australian Amateurs was one of those, a squad of amateur players from across the country's leagues. Finally, the Victorian Football Association representative team made up the group but selection was not restricted to VFA players. If a footballer, now competing elsewhere, had started their career in the VFA, such as Terry Wallace for example, then they were eligible to join the squad. The same rules applied to the other teams, so if a Tasmanian born player had started their career at West Perth then they could be selected for either Tasmania or Western Australia.
Results
| Section | Winning team | Winning team score | Losing team | Losing team score | Ground | Crowd | Date |
| Section Two – Preliminary Stage | Northern Territory | 19.20 (134) | Tasmania | 10.8 (68) | Football Park | – | 2 March 1988 |
| Section Two – Preliminary Stage | Australian Amateurs | 14.12 (96) | ACT | 12.11 (83) | Football Park | – | 2 March 1988 |
| Section One – Semi Final | Victoria | 20.13 (133) | Western Australia | 10.13 (73) | Football Park | 5,195 | 2 March 1988 |
| Section Two – Preliminary Stage | VFA | 17.10 (112) | Queensland | 4.11 (35) | Football Park | – | 3 March 1988 |
| Section Two – Preliminary Stage | Northern Territory | 11.19 (85) | Australian Amateurs | 8.9 (57) | Football Park | – | 3 March 1988 |
| Section One – Semi Final | South Australia | 12.8 (80) | New South Wales | 8.11 (59) | Football Park | 5,755 | 3 March 1988 |
| Section Two – Semi Final | VFA | 18.20 (128) | ACT | 9.16 (70) | Norwood Oval | – | 4 March 1988 |
| Section Two – Wooden Spoon Play Off | Tasmania | 11.16 (82) | Queensland | 10.10 (70) | Norwood Oval | – | 4 March 1988 |
| Section Two – Final | Northern Territory | 17.10 (112) | VFA | 9.13 (63) | Football Park | – | 5 March 1988 |
| Section One – 3rd Place Play Off | New South Wales | 10.8 (68) | Western Australia | 9.12 (66) | Football Park | – | 5 March 1988 |
| Section One – Final | South Australia | 15.12 (102) | Victoria | 6.6 (42) | Football Park | 19,387 | 5 March 1988 |
Squads
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| ACT | AA[1] | NSW | NT | QLD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Honours
All-Australians
Leading goal-kickers
- Dennis Dunn (NT) – 16 goals
- Michael Long (NT) – 9 goals
- Stephen Kernahan (SA) – 8 goals
- Stephen Nichols (TAS) – 8 goals
- Paul Salmon (VIC) – 8 goals
- Bruce Lindner (SA) – 6 goals
Medalists
Fos Williams Medals
- Stephen Kernahan (SA)
- Mark Mickan (SA)
Simpson Medal
- Dwayne Lamb (WA)
Tassie Medal
- Paul Salmon (VIC)
Dolphin Medal
- Terry Wallace (VFA)[3]
References
- ^ Poat, Peter (ed.). 1988 West Australian Football Register. p. 138.
- ^ "WA State Match Results". pp. 103–104.
- ^ Daryl Timms (7 March 1988). "It's VFL or goodbye, says Wallace". The Sun News-Pictorial. Melbourne, VIC.
- "Full Points Footy: 1988 Adelaide Bicentennial State of Origin Carnival". Archived from the original on 5 January 2009.