# List of VFL debuts in 1982

The 1982 Victorian Football League (VFL) season was the 86th season of the VFL. The season saw 91 Australian rules footballers make their senior VFL debut and a further 26 players transfer to new clubs having previously played in the VFL.

## Summary

Summary of debuts in 1982 :
| Club | VFL debuts | Change of club |
| Carlton | 4 | 2 |
| Collingwood | 10 | 3 |
| Essendon | 6 | 2 |
| Fitzroy | 7 | 2 |
| Footscray | 13 | 1 |
| Geelong | 9 | 1 |
| Hawthorn | 4 | 2 |
| Melbourne | 11 | 3 |
| North Melbourne | 7 | 1 |
| Richmond | 4 | 5 |
| St Kilda | 13 | 1 |
| Sydney | 3 | 3 |
| Total | 91 | 26 |

## Debuts

| Name | Club | Age at debut | Round debuted | Games | Goals | Notes |
| Paul Meldrum | Carlton | 21 years, 293 days | 15 | 158 | 140 | |
| Allan Montgomery | Carlton | 23 years, 206 days | 1 | 33 | 6 | |
| Ross Ditchburn | Carlton | 25 years, 58 days | 8 | 28 | 91 | |
| Mark Buckley | Carlton | 19 years, 340 days | 18 | 27 | 35 | Son of Brian Buckley and brother of Stephen Buckley. |
| David Clarke | Carlton | 29 years, 114 days | 5 | 9 | 21 | Father of David, Tim and Georgina Clarke. Previously played for Geelong. |
| Stephen Easton | Carlton | 22 years, 290 days | 10 | 1 | 0 | Son of Kevin Easton. Previously played for North Melbourne. |
| Geoff Miles | Collingwood | 20 years, 90 days | 3 | 31 | 7 | Father of Teia Miles and father-in-law of Mitch Duncan. |
| Chris Dalkin | Collingwood | 20 years, 45 days | 4 | 18 | 12 | |
| Wally Lovett | Collingwood | 20 years, 109 days | 2 | 15 | 11 | |
| Graham Teasdale | Collingwood | 26 years, 274 days | 1 | 14 | 21 | 1977 Brownlow Medallist. Previously played for Richmond and South Melbourne. |
| Tom Floyd | Collingwood | 21 years, 255 days | 13 | 14 | 8 | Previously played for Geelong. |
| Neil Peart | Collingwood | 23 years, 173 days | 1 | 13 | 0 | |
| Mark Lawson | Collingwood | 20 years, 54 days | 17 | 11 | 0 | |
| Tony Russell | Collingwood | 21 years, 192 days | 17 | 8 | 17 | |
| Paul Ryan | Collingwood | 20 years, 22 days | 12 | 6 | 1 | |
| Tony Beers | Collingwood | 19 years, 182 days | 7 | 5 | 1 | Son of Brian Beers and brother of Mark Beers. |
| Tony Keenan | Collingwood | 18 years, 79 days | 17 | 3 | 0 | |
| Gordon Towan | Collingwood | 28 years, 59 days | 9 | 2 | 0 | |
| Peter Carter | Collingwood | 23 years, 23 days | 9 | 1 | 1 | Previously played for South Melbourne. |
| Billy Duckworth | Essendon | 23 years, 34 days | 1 | 126 | 64 | Brother of John Duckworth. |
| Stephen Copping | Essendon | 25 years, 236 days | 1 | 42 | 88 | |
| Wayne Otway | Essendon | 25 years, 276 days | 1 | 36 | 65 | |
| Chris Waterson | Essendon | 21 years, 99 days | 15 | 31 | 11 | |
| Tony West | Essendon | 25 years, 218 days | 4 | 8 | 8 | |
| Roy Ramsay | Essendon | 26 years, 146 days | 10 | 3 | 0 | Previously played for North Melbourne. |
| Brian Brown | Essendon | 24 years, 300 days | 17 | 2 | 0 | Father of Jonathan Brown. Previously played for Fitzroy. |
| Anton Grbac | Essendon | 21 years, 210 days | 20 | 2 | 0 | |
| Paul Roos | Fitzroy | 18 years, 295 days | 4 | 269 | 270 | |
| Richard Osborne | Fitzroy | 18 years, 17 days | 15 | 187 | 411 | Brother of Graham Osborne. |
| Gary Pert | Fitzroy | 16 years, 325 days | 4 | 163 | 42 | Son of Brian Pert. |
| Bradley Gotch | Fitzroy | 19 years, 277 days | 1 | 43 | 60 | Father of Seb Gotch. |
| Garry Sidebottom | Fitzroy | 27 years, 238 days | 16 | 43 | 53 | Brother of Allan Sidebottom. Previously played for St Kilda and Geelong. |
| Michael Coates | Fitzroy | 21 years, 80 days | 1 | 29 | 5 | Son of George Coates. |
| Jan Smith | Fitzroy | 25 years, 354 days | 8 | 7 | 1 | Previously played for Geelong. |
| Mark Eaves | Fitzroy | 20 years, 351 days | 8 | 2 | 0 | |
| Andrew Merryweather | Fitzroy | 21 years, 117 days | 1 | 1 | 0 | Also known as Andrew Guthrie. Father of Cameron and Zach Guthrie. |
| Stephen MacPherson | Footscray | 17 years, 115 days | 1 | 188 | 152 | Brother of Rod MacPherson and father of Darcy MacPherson. |
| Simon Beasley | Footscray | 25 years, 234 days | 1 | 154 | 575 | |
| Rod MacPherson | Footscray | 18 years, 285 days | 15 | 43 | 24 | Brother of Stephen MacPherson and uncle of Darcy MacPherson. |
| Terry Love | Footscray | 18 years, 143 days | 1 | 13 | 11 | |
| Gary Walpole | Footscray | 18 years, 170 days | 4 | 12 | 5 | |
| Ian Rickman | Footscray | 19 years, 108 days | 16 | 11 | 10 | |
| Ross Christensen | Footscray | 20 years, 128 days | 12 | 10 | 16 | |
| Allan Jennings | Footscray | 23 years, 4 days | 1 | 9 | 15 | |
| Steven Hargrave | Footscray | 27 years, 295 days | 4 | 2 | 0 | Father of Ryan Hargrave. |
| Lindsay Sneddon | Footscray | 20 years, 141 days | 13 | 2 | 1 | |
| Jamie Barham | Footscray | 21 years, 214 days | 15 | 1 | 0 | Brother of Ricky Barham and uncle of Jaxson Barham. Previously played for Melbourne. |
| Darren Brown | Footscray | 17 years, 56 days | 15 | 1 | 0 | |
| Darren Grant | Footscray | 19 years, 97 days | 18 | 1 | 0 | |
| Bruce West | Footscray | 19 years, 265 days | 19 | 1 | 0 | |
| Andrew Bews | Geelong | 17 years, 222 days | 4 | 207 | 132 | Father of Jed Bews. |
| Tim Darcy | Geelong | 18 years, 204 days | 9 | 176 | 83 | |
| Damian Drum | Geelong | 21 years, 284 days | 7 | 63 | 34 | Uncle of Marcus Drum. |
| David O'Keeffe | Geelong | 20 years, 70 days | 6 | 58 | 22 | |
| Craig Cleave | Geelong | 19 years, 73 days | 17 | 48 | 12 | |
| Rod Waddell | Geelong | 25 years, 13 days | 11 | 20 | 10 | Uncle of Daniel, Shannon and Steven Motlop. Previously played for Carlton. |
| Peter Zychla | Geelong | 18 years, 279 days | 5 | 12 | 1 | |
| Stephen Nichols | Geelong | 18 years, 331 days | 8 | 7 | 6 | |
| Phillip Maddock | Geelong | 20 years, 185 days | 3 | 3 | 1 | |
| Karl Fedke | Geelong | 20 years, 24 days | 21 | 2 | 0 | |
| Dermott Brereton | Hawthorn | 18 years, 23 days | SF | 189 | 427 | |
| Gary Buckenara | Hawthorn | 23 years, 267 days | 1 | 154 | 293 | |
| Richard Loveridge | Hawthorn | 19 years, 71 days | 1 | 136 | 119 | |
| Michael Byrne | Hawthorn | 23 years, 131 days | 3 | 90 | 97 | Previously played for Melbourne. |
| Gary Ablett | Hawthorn | 20 years, 184 days | 2 | 6 | 10 | Brother of Geoff and Kevin Ablett, brother-in-law of Michael Tuck, father of Gary Jr. and Nathan Ablett, and uncle of Luke Ablett and Shane and Travis Tuck. |
| Robert Dutton | Hawthorn | 19 years, 71 days | 14 | 1 | 1 | Previously played for Carlton. |
| Brian Wilson | Melbourne | 20 years, 179 days | 1 | 154 | 208 | 1982 Brownlow Medallist. Previously played for Footscray and North Melbourne. |
| Alan Johnson | Melbourne | 25 years, 128 days | 1 | 135 | 95 | First player to be drafted in VFL/AFL Draft history. Father of Chris Johnson. |
| Adrian Battiston | Melbourne | 18 years, 193 days | 1 | 96 | 75 | |
| Alan Jarrott | Melbourne | 25 years, 223 days | 1 | 91 | 26 | Previously played for North Melbourne. |
| Chris Connolly | Melbourne | 19 years, 86 days | 13 | 84 | 38 | |
| Steven Icke | Melbourne | 26 years, 21 days | 1 | 78 | 17 | Previously played for North Melbourne. |
| Dale Dickson | Melbourne | 19 years, 288 days | 4 | 56 | 20 | |
| David Cordner | Melbourne | 19 years, 307 days | 1 | 53 | 61 | Grandson of Edward Cordner, son of Ted Cordner and nephew of Denis, Don and John Cordner. |
| Michael O'Sullivan | Melbourne | 19 years, 357 days | 1 | 53 | 11 | |
| Ted Fidge | Melbourne | 19 years, 12 days | 1 | 42 | 61 | Brother of John Fidge. |
| Peter Tossol | Melbourne | 19 years, 161 days | 6 | 17 | 20 | Brother of John Tossol. |
| Stephen McCarthy | Melbourne | 19 years, 355 days | 6 | 12 | 9 | |
| Stuart McKenzie | Melbourne | 21 years, 84 days | 6 | 9 | 0 | |
| Scott Sutcliffe | Melbourne | 19 years, 178 days | 19 | 7 | 2 | |
| Donald McDonald | North Melbourne | 19 years, 363 days | 19 | 155 | 165 | Father of Luke McDonald |
| Phil Krakouer | North Melbourne | 22 years, 71 days | 1 | 141 | 224 | Brother of Andrew and Jim Krakouer and uncle of Andrew and Nathan Krakouer. |
| Jim Krakouer | North Melbourne | 23 years, 165 days | 1 | 134 | 229 | Brother of Andrew and Phil Krakouer, father of Andrew Krakouer and uncle of Nathan Krakouer. |
| Graeme Atkins | North Melbourne | 18 years, 162 days | 3 | 61 | 39 | |
| Bruce Abernethy | North Melbourne | 19 years, 321 days | 1 | 43 | 21 | |
| Craig Holden | North Melbourne | 24 years, 225 days | 1 | 29 | 2 | |
| Phil Carman | North Melbourne | 31 years, 232 days | 5 | 13 | 27 | Previously played for Collingwood, Essendon and Melbourne. |
| Brad Nimmo | North Melbourne | 23 years, 171 days | 17 | 13 | 0 |
| Phil Egan | Richmond | 19 years, 39 days | 2 | 125 | 117 | |
| Maurice Rioli | Richmond | 24 years, 200 days | 2 | 118 | 80 | |
| Andy Preston | Richmond | 24 years, 300 days | 12 | 18 | 6 | Previously played for Geelong. |
| Ian Sartori | Richmond | 23 years, 212 days | 16 | 18 | 7 | Previously played for St Kilda. |
| Wayne Shand | Richmond | 21 years, 104 days | 6 | 12 | 1 | |
| Stephen Pirrie | Richmond | 21 years, 88 days | 13 | 11 | 0 | Grandson of Richard Pirrie, son of Kevin Pirrie and nephew of Dick Pirrie. |
| Darryl Sutton | Richmond | 29 years, 259 days | 3 | 6 | 0 | Previously played for North Melbourne. |
| Ross Brewer | Richmond | 28 years, 274 days | 8 | 6 | 8 | Brother of Ian Brewer. Previously played for Melbourne and Collingwood. |
| Noel Mugavin | Richmond | 25 years, 265 days | 2 | 2 | 3 | Uncle of Jonathan Brown. Previously played for Fitzroy. |
| Peter Kiel | St Kilda | 23 years, 176 days | 1 | 80 | 29 | |
| Robert Mace | St Kilda | 23 years, 269 days | 7 | 72 | 32 | Previously played for Hawthorn. |
| Darryl Cowie | St Kilda | 21 years, 26 days | 3 | 56 | 8 | |
| Glen Brown | St Kilda | 20 years, 160 days | 12 | 31 | 25 | |
| John Favier | St Kilda | 21 years, 254 days | 2 | 26 | 1 | |
| Simon O'Donnell | St Kilda | 19 years, 60 days | 1 | 24 | 18 | Represented Australia in cricket. |
| Greg Packham | St Kilda | 23 years, 26 days | 1 | 17 | 31 | |
| Paul Armstrong | St Kilda | 25 years, 83 days | 2 | 12 | 1 | |
| Wayne Slattery | St Kilda | 21 years, 156 days | 2 | 11 | 12 | Father of Tyson Slattery. |
| Steven Allan | St Kilda | 25 years, 221 days | 6 | 9 | 2 | |
| Allan Hassell | St Kilda | 24 years, 32 days | 6 | 6 | 0 | |
| Neil Park | St Kilda | 20 years, 22 days | 20 | 3 | 5 | |
| Geoff Linke | St Kilda | 26 years, 133 days | 2 | 2 | 3 | |
| Malcolm Smith | St Kilda | 23 years, 95 days | 22 | 1 | 0 | Father of Nick Smith. |
| Craig Braddy | Sydney Swans | 28 years, 24 days | 7 | 56 | 83 | Brother of Shane Braddy. Previously played for Fitzroy. |
| Steven Taubert | Sydney Swans | 28 years, 242 days | 11 | 44 | 26 | Previously played for Richmond and Essendon. |
| Jack Lucas | Sydney Swans | 21 years, 73 days | 13 | 19 | 6 | |
| John Reid | Sydney Swans | 29 years, 142 days | 16 | 10 | 2 | Previously played for Melbourne and Footscray. |
| Gerard Neesham | Sydney Swans | 27 years, 148 days | 7 | 9 | 1 | |
| Trevor Mustey | Sydney Swans | 18 years, 249 days | 11 | 2 | 0 | |