1988 Adelaide Bicentennial Carnival

SECTION Two: Northern Territory 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 over four days from 2 March until 5 March, and the matches were played at Football Park and Norwood Oval.

Ten teams were involved, including all the states and territories, making it 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, Tasmania had enjoyed more success in the interstate arena than New South Wales, the latter had 22 VFL players in its 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 Association representative team made up the remainder of the group, but selection for this team was not restricted to Victorian Football Association players. If a footballer, now competing elsewhere, had started his career in the Victorian Football Association—such as Terry Wallace, for example—then he was eligible to join the squad. The same rules applied to the other teams, so, if a Tasmanian-born player had started his career at West Perth, he could be selected for either Tasmania or Western Australia.

Attendances at the tournament were lower than expected, and overall the tournament ran at a $30,000 loss. The team was originally to have received a $40,000 prize, with incrementally lower prizes for all other states; however, these prizes were abandoned due to the operating loss.

Honours

All-Australians

1988 All-Australian Team	Name	Football League	State/Territory	Football Club
Terry Daniher	NSWAFL	New South Wales	Essendon Bombers
David Murphy	NSWAFL	New South Wales	Sydney Swans
Michael Long	NTFL	Northern Territory	St Mary's Saints
Michael McLean	NTFL	Northern Territory	Footscray Bulldogs
Maurice Rioli	NTFL	Northern Territory	St Mary's Saints
Tony Hall	SANFL	South Australia	Glenelg Tigers
Danny Hughes	SANFL	South Australia	Melbourne Demons
Stephen Kernahan	SANFL	South Australia	Carlton Blues
Martin Leslie	SANFL	South Australia	Port Adelaide Magpies
Bruce Lindner	SANFL	South Australia	Geelong Cats
Tony McGuinness	SANFL	South Australia	Footscray Bulldogs
Mark Mickan	SANFL	South Australia	Brisbane Bears
John Platten	SANFL	South Australia	Hawthorn Hawks
Greg Whittlesea	SANFL	South Australia	Sturt Double Blues
Graham Cornes	SANFL	South Australia	Glenelg Tigers (Coach)
Terry Wallace	VFA	Victoria	Richmond Tigers
Danny Frawley	VFL	Victoria	St Kilda Saints
Gerard Healy	VFL	Victoria	Sydney Swans
Simon Madden	VFL	Victoria	Essendon Bombers
Paul Roos	VFL	Victoria	Fitzroy Lions
Paul Salmon	VFL	Victoria	Essendon Bombers
Dale Weightman	VFL	Victoria	Richmond Tigers
Steve Malaxos	WAFL	Western Australia	West Coast Eagles

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 (VFL)) Dolphin Medal
• Terry Wallace (VIC (VFA))