# List of VFL debuts in 1979

The 1979 Victorian Football League (VFL) season was the eighty third season of the VFL. The season saw 76 Australian rules footballers make their senior VFL debut and 41 players transferring to new clubs having previously played in the VFL.

## Debuts

| Name | Club | Age at debut | Round debuted | Games | Goals | Notes |
| Wayne Johnston | Carlton | 21 years, 102 days | 3 | 209 | 283 | |
| Alex Marcou | Carlton | 20 years, 268 days | 1 | 134 | 148 | |
| Robbert Klomp | Carlton | 23 years, 321 days | 1 | 84 | 17 | |
| Peter Francis | Carlton | 21 years, 74 days | 1 | 47 | 15 | |
| Michael Jez | Carlton | 25 years, 72 days | 20 | 2 | 0 | |
| Peter Daicos | Collingwood | 17 years, 220 days | 4 | 250 | 549 | |
| Denis Banks | Collingwood | 19 years, 337 days | 7 | 166 | 111 | |
| Craig Davis | Collingwood | 24 years, 187 days | 1 | 102 | 251 | Previously played for Carlton and North Melbourne. Father of Nick Davis. |
| David Twomey | Collingwood | 18 years, 150 days | 16 | 63 | 14 | |
| Mark Hannebery | Collingwood | 21 years, 237 days | 9 | 61 | 23 | |
| Russell Ohlsen | Collingwood | 23 years, 141 days | 3 | 50 | 22 | Previously played for Carlton. |
| Ross Brewer | Collingwood | 25 years, 347 days | 14 | 47 | 85 | Previously played for Melbourne. Brother of Ian Brewer. |
| Allan Edwards | Collingwood | 21 years, 251 days | 16 | 35 | 45 | Previously played for Richmond. Grandson of Frank Aked, son of Arthur Edwards and father of Jake Edwards. |
| Michael Woolnough | Collingwood | 26 years, 202 days | 2 | 24 | 8 | Previously played for Geelong. Father of Marc Woolnough. |
| David Young | Collingwood | 25 years, 150 days | 22 | 18 | 12 | Previously played for South Melbourne. |
| Bill Valli | Collingwood | 28 years, 356 days | 1 | 17 | 17 | |
| Mark Dreher | Collingwood | 18 years, 154 days | 20 | 15 | 0 | |
| Geoff Austen | Collingwood | 25 years, 176 days | 1 | 13 | 3 | Previously played for Fitzroy. |
| Stephen Roach | Collingwood | 20 years, 291 days | 1 | 4 | 0 | Previously played for Richmond. |
| Mick Warren | Collingwood | 20 years, 46 days | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
| Darren Williams | Essendon | 18 years, 204 days | 5 | 109 | 94 | |
| Frank Dunell | Essendon | 21 years, 93 days | 11 | 100 | 57 | |
| Neale Daniher | Essendon | 18 years, 44 days | 3 | 82 | 32 | Brother of Terry, Anthony and Chris Daniher |
| Alan Reid | Essendon | 23 years, 61 days | 3 | 52 | 18 | |
| Peter Keenan | Essendon | 27 years, 358 days | 3 | 31 | 17 | Previously played for Melbourne and North Melbourne |
| Barry Day | Essendon | 25 years, 32 days | 3 | 15 | 15 | |
| Craig Barbary | Essendon | 18 years, 291 days | 4 | 8 | 5 | |
| Kelvin Steel | Essendon | 24 years, 30 days | 14 | 6 | 0 | Previously played for Hawthorn |
| Robert Hyde | Essendon | 24 years, 311 days | EF | 1 | 0 | Previously played for Collingwood. |
| Leon Harris | Fitzroy | 20 years, 177 days | 5 | 186 | 101 | |
| Michael Poynton | Fitzroy | 17 years, 348 days | 4 | 52 | 66 | |
| Max Richardson | Fitzroy | 30 years, 104 days | 1 | 30 | 41 | Previously played for Collingwood. Brother of Wayne Richardson |
| Kevin Higgins | Fitzroy | 28 years, 46 days | 1 | 25 | 0 | Previously played for Geelong |
| Malcolm Bramley | Fitzroy | 20 years, 56 days | 1 | 5 | 2 | |
| Keith MacLeod | Fitzroy | 20 years, 091 days | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| Neil Cordy | Footscray | 20 years, 6 days | 2 | 139 | 28 | Brother of Brian and Graeme Cordy |
| Michael McKenna | Footscray | 18 years, 115 days | 17 | 102 | 55 | |
| Bill Berry | Footscray | 21 years, 354 days | 11 | 43 | 18 | Previously played for Essendon. |
| Gary Cowton | Footscray | 26 years, 98 days | 1 | 40 | 4 | Previously played for North Melbourne. |
| Shane Loveless | Footscray | 20 years, 123 days | 1 | 28 | 72 | |
| John Moylan | Footscray | 26 years, 114 days | 5 | 21 | 1 | Previously played for North Melbourne. |
| Steven Hoffman | Footscray | 27 years, 198 days | 1 | 11 | 5 | Previously played for South Melbourne. |
| Neil Bristow | Footscray | 23 years, 135 days | 1 | 10 | 4 | |
| Mark Williams | Footscray | 21 years, 203 days | 15 | 5 | 1 | Previously played for North Melbourne. |
| Gordon Polson | Footscray | 20 years, 123 days | 17 | 5 | 1 | |
| Robbie Peers | Footscray | 23 years, 196 days | 4 | 3 | 0 | |
| Shane Walsh | Footscray | 20 years, 129 days | 19 | 2 | 1 | |
| Mark Bos | Geelong | 18 years, 288 days | 6 | 195 | 16 | |
| John Mossop | Geelong | 19 years, 297 days | 1 | 134 | 87 | |
| Peter Featherby | Geelong | 27 years, 186 days | 11 | 93 | 79 | Previously played for Footscray |
| Peter Johnston | Geelong | 21 years, 166 days | 4 | 92 | 108 | Previously played for Melbourne |
| Glen Middlemiss | Geelong | 22 years, 303 days | 1 | 34 | 29 | |
| John Burns | Geelong | 29 years, 240 days | 1 | 17 | 10 | Previously played for North Melbourne |
| Mario Bortolotto | Geelong | 21 years, 362 days | 12 | 14 | 2 | |
| John Durnan | Geelong | 21 years, 284 days | 3 | 1 | 0 | |
| Greg Nichols | Geelong | 20 years, 224 days | 20 | 1 | 0 | |
| John Kennedy | Hawthorn | 19 years, 171 days | 6 | 241 | 210 | Son of John Kennedy Sr. Father of Josh P. Kennedy. |
| Mark Turner | Hawthorn | 19 years, 084 days | 14 | 35 | 6 | |
| Terry Moore | Hawthorn | 27 years, 272 days | 5 | 21 | 10 | Previously played for North Melbourne. |
| Robert Polkinghorne | Hawthorn | 21 years, 88 days | 8 | 5 | 0 | |
| Brendan McFaull | Hawthorn | 21 years, 341 days | 2 | 2 | 1 | |
| Gerard Healy | Melbourne | 18 years, 037 days | 1 | 130 | 189 | Won Brownlow Medal in 1988. Brother of Greg Healy |
| Peter Giles | Melbourne | 20 years, 357 days | 9 | 124 | 32 | |
| Kelly O'Donnell | Melbourne | 18 years, 156 days | 3 | 80 | 67 | |
| Tony Elshaug | Melbourne | 19 years, 37 days | 21 | 66 | 92 | |
| Cameron Clayton | Melbourne | 22 years, 110 days | 8 | 44 | 18 | Previously played for Richmond |
| Robert Elliott | Melbourne | 25 years, 352 days | 2 | 43 | 8 | Previously played for St Kilda. Brother of Glenn Elliott |
| Wayne Gordon | Melbourne | 25 years, 271 days | 8 | 34 | 5 | Previously played for Collingwood |
| Tony Martyn | Melbourne | 22 years, 29 days | 1 | 32 | 5 | |
| Jim Durnan | Melbourne | 19 years, 066 days | 12 | 26 | 2 | |
| Glenn Elliott | Melbourne | 28 years, 235 days | 1 | 15 | 11 | Previously played for St Kilda. Brother of Robert Elliott |
| Phil Carman | Melbourne | 28 years, 215 days | 1 | 11 | 23 | Previously played for Collingwood |
| Don Whitford | Melbourne | 22 years, 161 days | 4 | 10 | 3 | Previously played for Fitzroy |
| Bruce Elliott | Melbourne | 22 years, 279 days | 5 | 5 | 0 | |
| John Wallace | Melbourne | 19 years, 232 days | 3 | 2 | 0 | |
| John Dellamarta | Melbourne | 24 years, 242 days | 4 | 2 | 1 | Previously played for Collingwood |
| Stewart Gull | Melbourne | 27 years, 319 days | 7 | 2 | 1 | Previously played for South Melbourne. |
| Gary Dempsey | North Melbourne | 30 years, 136 days | 1 | 122 | 39 | Won 1975 Brownlow Medal. Previously played for Footscray. |
| Kevin Bryant | North Melbourne | 24 years, 89 days | 1 | 58 | 38 | |
| Russell Ebert | North Melbourne | 29 years, 289 days | 1 | 25 | 15 | Four time Magarey Medallist. Father of Brett Ebert |
| Shane Bond | North Melbourne | 24 years, 305 days | 3 | 9 | 8 | Previously played for Collingwood |
| John Murphy | North Melbourne | 29 years, 215 days | 12 | 9 | 8 | Previously played for Fitzroy and South Melbourne. Father of Marc Murphy |
| Graham Cornes | North Melbourne | 31 years, 7 days | 1 | 5 | 10 | 1980 Tassie Medallist. Father of Chad and Kane Cornes |
| Barry Rowlings | Richmond | 28 years, 257 days | 5 | 152 | 117 | Previously played for Hawthorn |
| Graeme Landy | Richmond | 25 years, 065 days | 18 | 120 | 38 | Previously played for Geelong |
| Robert Wiley | Richmond | 24 years, 14 days | 1 | 95 | 127 | |
| Stephen Mount | Richmond | 19 years, 33 days | 1 | 31 | 9 | |
| Shane Williams | Richmond | 19 years, 308 days | 11 | 27 | 14 | |
| Peter Williams | Richmond | 21 years, 149 days | 6 | 7 | 1 | |
| Craig Considine | Richmond | 20 years, 19 days | 14 | 7 | 1 | |
| Kim Kershaw | Richmond | 20 years, 100 days | 5 | 5 | 0 | |
| Rod Oborne | Richmond | 25 years, 304 days | 14 | 5 | 7 | Previously played for Collingwood. Father of Brad Oborne. |
| Frank Bain | Richmond | 19 years, 315 days | 3 | 2 | 0 | |
| Barrie Trotter | Richmond | 19 years, 134 days | 13 | 2 | 0 | |
| Mark Kellett | St Kilda | 18 years, 324 days | 11 | 55 | 7 | |
| Michael Nettlefold | St Kilda | 19 years, 351 days | 15 | 43 | 13 | |
| Andrew Cross | St Kilda | 18 years, 099 days | 16 | 31 | 31 | |
| Dean Herbert | St Kilda | 23 years, 157 days | 13 | 22 | 23 | |
| Malcolm Scott | St Kilda | 21 years, 087 days | 14 | 10 | 26 | |
| David Granger | St Kilda | 24 years, 123 days | 8 | 3 | 1 | |
| Allan Sinclair | St Kilda | 25 years, 326 days | 5 | 2 | 1 | Previously played for Fitzroy |
| Dean Ross | St Kilda | 24 years, 150 days | 11 | 2 | 1 | |
| Gary Lugg | St Kilda | 21 years, 25 days | 13 | 1 | 0 | |
| Stephen Wright | South Melbourne | 18 years, 81 days | 8 | 246 | 247 | |
| Ian Roberts | South Melbourne | 22 years, 88 days | 13 | 157 | 33 | |
| David Ackerly | South Melbourne | 18 years, 194 days | 10 | 138 | 12 | |
| Max Kruse | South Melbourne | 20 years, 244 days | 13 | 126 | 32 | |
| Wayne Carroll | South Melbourne | 21 years, 114 days | 15 | 123 | 57 | Brother of Dennis Carroll |
| Len Thompson | South Melbourne | 31 years, 223 days | 8 | 20 | 39 | Winner of Brownlow Medal in 1972. Previously played for Collingwood |
| Mark Fraser | South Melbourne | 19 years, 245 days | 9 | 20 | 1 | |
| Doug Koop | South Melbourne | 19 years, 13 days | 18 | 15 | 15 | |
| Jon Hummel | South Melbourne | 22 years, 84 days | 4 | 14 | 20 | Previously played for Richmond |
| Dale Murphy | South Melbourne | 19 years, 334 days | 18 | 12 | 0 | |
| Daryl Cumming | South Melbourne | 27 years, 327 days | 1 | 11 | 4 | Previously played for Richmond, Melbourne and North Melbourne |
| Robert Lamb | South Melbourne | 24 years, 136 days | 9 | 7 | 10 | Previously played for Richmond |
| Garry Williams | South Melbourne | 22 years, 225 days | 13 | 3 | 0 | |
| Howard Tarpey | South Melbourne | 21 years, 155 days | 22 | 1 | 0 | |