The 1979 Perth State of Origin Carnival was the 20th Australian National Football Carnival, an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

competition. It was the first carnival to take place under the

State of Origin A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Oval ...

format. All of the Section One finals were played on

Subiaco Oval Subiaco Oval (; nicknamed Subi) was a sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia, located in the suburb of Subiaco. It was opened in 1908 and closed in 2017 after the completion of the new Perth Stadium in Burswood. Subiaco Oval was the high ...

, in October. Western Australia won the final, defeating Victoria. WA's captain,

Brian Peake Brian Francis Peake OAM (born 4 December 1953) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for and in the West Australian Football League (WAFL), and in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He also played State of Origin football fo ...

won the

Tassie Medal The Tassie Medal was awarded to the outstanding player at each Australian rules football Interstate Carnival or Australian interstate championship series held between 1937 and 1988 with the exception of the 1975 knock-out series. The medal is ...

as the tournament's best player.

Results

Section One

Section Two

The ACT, coached by

Kevin Delmenico Kevin Delmenico (born 18 May 1945) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Footscray in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Delmenico played his early football with Castlemaine before spending five seasons beside club great Te ...

, had only two players with VFL experience in their team - captain

Kevin Neale Kevin "Cowboy" Neale (born 18 July 1945) is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the Victorian Football League (VFL). St Kilda Recruited from South Warrnambool, and nicknamed "''Cowboy''" for his bow-legs and his rolling gait ...

and Fitzroy's Michael Conlan. Their only match was against Warren Roper's Queensland, who had failed to qualify for Section One. The Australian Capital Territorians themselves had qualified for the Section Two Final by winning a play-off against the Australian Amateurs, New South Wales and Northern Territory earlier in the year.

Section Two Qualifying

Squads

Section One

Section Two

Honours

All-Australians

At the conclusion of the tournament, the best players were selected in the

All-Australian team The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-perf ...

. It was the first All-Australian team named since 1972. Victoria had the most representatives chosen, with seven, with Western Australia and South Australia each having five players selected.

Leading goal-kickers

Michael Roach Michael Roach (born December 17, 1952) is an American businessman, spiritual leader, and former Buddhist monk and scholar who has started a number of businesses and organizations, written books inspired by Buddhism, and translated Tibetan Buddhis ...

(TAS) - 9 goals * Richard Rushbrook (QLD) - 8 goals *

Tony Buhagiar Anthony Francis "Tony" Buhagiar (born 3 October 1955) is a retired Australian rules footballer who played in the Victorian Football League (VFL). A pint-sized rover, he made his senior debut for West Australian National Football League club Ea ...

(WA) - 7 goals * Barry Clarke (QLD) - 7 goals *

Peter Hudson Peter John Hudson AM (born 19 February 1946) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and for the New Norfolk Football Club and Glenorchy Football Club in the ...

(TAS) - 7 goals *

Peter Spencer Peter or Pete Spencer may refer to: *Peter Spencer (religious leader) (1782–1843), American Christian leader *Peter Spencer (journalist) (active 1970s onwards), British television news journalist *Peter Spencer (Royal Navy officer) (born 1947), B ...

(WA) - 7 goals *

Garry Wilson Garry J. "Flea" Wilson (born 17 July 1953) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Fitzroy in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Background Wilson, during his playing days, was described by ''The Encyclopedia of AFL Footba ...

(VIC) - 7 goals

Tassie Medalist

(WA) - 11 votes # Bruce Monteath (WA) - 7 votes #

Robert Flower Robert Alan Flower (5 August 1955 – 2 October 2014) was an Australian rules footballer with Melbourne Football Club. His first game was against Geelong in 1973 and he captained the team from 1981 until his final game in 1987. He held the ...

(Vic) - 6 votes #

Kym Hodgeman Kym Hodgeman (born 30 July 1956) is a former Australian rules footballer best known for his playing career with Glenelg in the SANFL from 1974 - 1980 & secondly for a 5 year stint with in the Australian Football League (VFL) from 1981 - 1985 ...

(SA) - 5 votes # Ken Hunter (WA) - 4 votes # Bruce Lindsay (SA) - 3 votes #

David Cloke David Cloke (born 28 January 1955) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Football Club and the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A tough and skilled footballer with an imposing ...

(Vic) - 2 votes #

Geoff Raines Geoff Raines (born 10 August 1956) is a former Australian rules football player who played in the VFL between 1976 and 1982 for the Richmond Football Club, between 1983 and 1985 for the Collingwood Football Club, in 1986 for the Essendon F ...

(Vic) - 2 votes # Kevin Bartlett (Vic) - 2 votes #

(Tas) - 2 votes # Peter Jonas (SA) - 1 vote #

Graham Cornes Graham Studley Cornes OAM (born 31 March 1948 in Melbourne, Victoria) is a former Australian rules footballer and coach, as well as a media personality. From 1995 until early 2013, Cornes co-hosted a weekday drivetime sports program that he ...

(SA) - 1 vote # Darryl Sutton (Vic) - 1 vote # Robert Shaw (Tas) - 1 vote

References

{{1979 Victoria State of Origin players Australian rules football State of Origin Perth State Of Origin Carnival, 1979