2008 VFL season

League membership and affiliations

Prior to the 2008 season, there were several changes to the VFL-AFL reserves affiliations:

• ended its seven-year affiliation with Williamstown, and began fielding its own reserves team in the VFL, having previously done so in the 2000 season.
• ended its eight-year affiliation with Werribee, and entered a new affiliation with Williamstown.
• ended its two-year partial affiliation with Tasmania. Unlike many other VFL/AFL affiliations, which had strengthed their VFL clubs, the North Melbourne–Tasmania alignment had been very unpopular amongst Tasmanian fans, and significantly harmed the VFL club's standing within the state. Tasmania continued to contest the VFL as a stand-alone senior club, and and entered a new partial affiliation with Werribee. North Melbourne's other partial affiliation with North Ballarat was unchanged.

As a result, the size of the VFL increased to fourteen teams: nine VFL-AFL affiliations, two AFL reserves teams and three stand-alone VFL clubs.

VFL–AFL alignments

VFL season

Ladder

Finals series

|team-width=150 |score-width=80

|RD1-text1=September 7, TEAC Oval |RD1-team1=Port Melbourne |RD1-score1=20.10 (130) |RD1-team2=Werribee |RD1-score2=6.20 (56)

|RD1-text2=September 6, Casey Fields |RD1-team3=Casey Scorpions |RD1-score3=13.10 (88) |RD1-team4=Northern Bullants |RD1-score4=12.11 (83)

|RD1-text4=September 7, AUSTAR Arena |RD1-team7=North Ballarat |RD1-score7=15.16 (106) |RD1-team8=Williamstown |RD1-score8=12.14 (86)

|RD1-text3=September 6, TEAC Oval |RD1-team5=Coburg |RD1-score5=14.11 (95) |RD1-team6=Frankston |RD1-score6=14.17 (101)

|RD2-text1=September 14, TEAC Oval |RD2-team1=Werribee |RD2-score1=19.16 (130) |RD2-team2=Casey Scorpions |RD2-score2=9.7 (61)

|RD2-text2=September 13, TEAC Oval |RD2-team3=Williamstown |RD2-score3=13.14 (92) |RD2-team4=Frankston |RD2-score4=12.19 (91)

|RD3-text1=September 20, TEAC Oval |RD3-team1=Port Melbourne |RD3-score1=16.21 (117) |RD3-team2=Williamstown |RD3-score2=13.18 (96)

|RD3-text2=September 21, TEAC Oval |RD3-team3=North Ballarat |RD3-score3=13.14 (92) |RD3-team4=Werribee |RD3-score4=11.14 (80)

|RD4-text1=September 26, Telstra Dome |RD4-team1=North Ballarat |RD4-score1=18.12 (120) |RD4-team2=Port Melbourne |RD4-score2=11.9 (75)

Season Awards

Best and Fairest

The VFL Best and Fairest is awarded the J. J. Liston Trophy.

Leading Goalkickers

The VFL Leading Goalkicker at the end of the regular season is awarded the Jim 'Frosty' Miller Medal. The 2008 winner was Nick Sautner of the Sandringham Zebras.

Other

• The Fothergill–Round Medal was won by Robin Nahas (Port Melbourne).
• Williamstown won the reserves premiership. Williamstown 16.17 (113) defeated Box Hill 11.16 (82) in the Grand Final, held as a curtain-raiser to the Seniors First Preliminary Final on 20 September.

Notable events

• The timing of the grand final was shifted to the Friday night immediately before the AFL Grand Final, after many years of having been played on the preceding Sunday. This shift in timing lasted only two seasons.
• Starting from this season, the TAC Cup under-18s grand final was played as a curtain-raiser to the VFL grand final, having previously been a curtain-raiser to the AFL Grand Final. The VFL reserves grand final was shifted to the previous week, and was thereafter played as a curtain-raiser to one of the senior preliminary finals.

References

References

1. "Annual Review 2008". AFL Victoria.
2. (29 October 2014). "History of the VFL 1877 – 2013". Fox Sports Pulse.
3. Brett Stubbs. (15 April 2014). "Dominic Baker reveals changing times in Tasmanian football". The Mercury.
4. [http://www.sportingpulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?client=1-118-0-0-0&sID=60264&news_task=DETAIL&articleID=6623352&sectionID=60264 Sautner Climbs Mountain Again]
5. (29 October 2014). "Fothergill–Round Medallists". Sportingpulse.
6. (22 September 2008). "Sport". Herald Sun.