1978 VFL season

Night series

Premiership season

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

Round 8

Round 9

Round 10

Round 11

Round 12

Round 13

Round 14

Round 15

Round 16

Round 17

Round 18

Round 19

Round 20

Round 21

Round 22

Ladder

Finals

Elimination final

Qualifying final

Semi finals

Preliminary final

Grand final

Awards

• The Coleman Medal was won by Kelvin Templeton of Footscray with 118 goals
• The Brownlow Medal was won by Malcolm Blight of North Melbourne
• The reserves premiership was won by. North Melbourne 17.29 defeated 11.13 in the grand final, held as a curtain-raiser to the seniors grand final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 30 September.

  Notable events

• The 19th and 20th men were converted into interchange players, meaning that any two players could be rested at any time, and could return to the field.
• In Round 2, Fitzroy broke South Melbourne's 1976 record for the highest losing score against Melbourne by four points. This record would last until the 1989 VFL season.
• In Round 6, Melbourne and St Kilda set the current record for the highest aggregate score in a game, the two teams amassing 52.33. This broke the record set in the 1972 Grand Final.
• In Round 13, Footscray set the record for highest score in a game, scoring 33.15 against St Kilda. This beat Carlton's nine-year-old 1969 record by three points. The new record was beaten in the following 1979 VFL season. In this match, Kelvin Templeton kicked 15.9, the most goals in a game for a Footscray player, and the most scoring shots ever by any player.
• In Round 20, Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser was booed incessantly during the second half of the North Melbourne vs Carlton match at the Arden Street Oval. The booing continued right up to the moment when Mr. Fraser stepped inside his limousine and was driven away from the ground.