VFL Women's (VFLW) is the major state-level women's Australian rules football league in Victoria. The league initially comprised the six premier division clubs and the top four division 1 clubs from the now-defunct Victorian Women's Football League (VWFL), and has since evolved into what is also the second primary competition for AFL Women's (AFLW) clubs in Victoria.
Following the 2017 season, the VFL Women's was reconfigured to affiliate teams more closely with AFL clubs. Since 2021, twelve teams have appeared in the competition; all ten Victorian AFL clubs either field their own women's team or have an affiliation of sorts with an existing club in the VFLW, with the other teams being VFL-affiliated Williamstown and independent club Darebin. The reigning premiers are Port Melbourne.
The competition was not held in 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; the grand final was also cancelled in 2021 due to the pandemic, with no premiership being awarded.
History
AFL Victoria launched the VFL Women's competition on 21 March 2016, with its inaugural season featuring twelve doubleheaders with the Victorian Football League (VFL).[1] The league initially comprised the six Premier Division clubs (Darebin, Diamond Creek, Eastern Devils, Melbourne University, St Kilda Sharks and Western Spurs) and 2015's top four Division 1 clubs (Cranbourne, Geelong Magpies, Knox and Seaford) from the Victorian Women's Football League (VWFL). Melbourne University already had an existing partnership with Australian Football League (AFL) club North Melbourne.[2] Following the 2016 season, the Geelong Magpies were replaced with the AFL-aligned Geelong Cats, and Knox's license was purchased by Box Hill (then subsequently re-licensed to Hawthorn in 2018[3]).
Following the inaugural AFL Women's (AFLW) season in 2017, the league made further changes to the competition to affiliate clubs more directly with AFL clubs and the AFL Women's competition. Five other foundation clubs departed, leaving Darebin, Melbourne University and Western Spurs as the only remaining foundation clubs. The departing clubs were replaced by the AFL-aligned Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Richmond and Southern Saints, the VFL-aligned Casey and Williamstown, and the North East Australian Football League (NEAFL)-aligned Northern Territory;[4] Northern Territory aligned with Adelaide's AFLW team, giving Crows players an opportunity to play in the Victorian competition.[5] The Western Bulldogs joined in 2018 under a shared license with the Western Spurs, with the senior Spurs team competing as the Western Bulldogs and wearing red, white and blue.[6] The Western Spurs' license was handed over entirely to the Bulldogs ahead of the 2019 season, with the Spurs fielding teams solely in the Northern Football Netball League.[7]
In 2019, Greater Western Sydney's AFLW team played five invitational matches in Victoria against teams having a bye.[8] Following the 2019 season, AFL Northern Territory ended Northern Territory's involvement in the NEAFL and VFLW competitions,[9] and Williamstown aligned with Adelaide in Northern Territory's place.[10] Melbourne University's license was also taken over by North Melbourne, ending the clubs' ten-year partnership and allowing North Melbourne to field its own standalone team.[11] In 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, AFL Victoria decided to cancel the 2020 VFL Women's season and instead hold a four-team Super Series in September to give 120 footballers the chance to push their case to be selected in the 2020 AFL Women's draft;[12][13][14][15][16] this was later cancelled as well due to the increase of restrictions around COVID-19 in Victoria.[17]
The Coburg Football Club, already competing in the VFL, formed a women's team in 2020 with a plan to join the VFLW in 2021. However, the plan did not eventuate.[18]
In 2021, Port Melbourne joined the league, replacing Richmond, which initially left the competition due to financial issues before entering into a formal alignment with the VFL club.[19][20] The competition also shifted to a February commencement, running concurrently with the AFLW season and mirroring other second-tier leagues like the SANFL Women's and WAFL Women's.[19] In 2023, the competition commenced in March, and Hawthorn transferred its license back to Box Hill.[21]
Starting in 2024, the home-and-away season included matches against New South Wales AFL Women's teams Greater Western Sydney and Sydney; the New South Wales teams are not premiership eligible, but there will be premiership points available for the Victorian clubs in the matches.[22]
Clubs
Current clubs
| Club | Colours | Moniker | Home Ground | Former League | Est. | Years in VFLW | Premierships | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Most recent | |||||||
| Box Hill |  |
Hawks | Box Hill City Oval, Box Hill | – | 1936 | 2017- | 0 | — |
| Carlton |  |
Blues | Princes Park, Carlton North | – | 1864 | 2018- | 0 | — |
| Casey |  |
Demons | Casey Fields, Cranbourne East | – | 1902 | 2018- | 0 | — |
| Collingwood |  |
Magpies | Victoria Park, Abbotsford | – | 1892 | 2018- | 1 | 2019 |
| Darebin |  |
Falcons | Bill Lawry Oval, Northcote | VWFL | 1990 | 2016- | 2 | 2017 |
| Essendon |  |
Bombers | The Hangar, Melbourne Airport | – | 1871 | 2018- | 1 | 2022 |
| Geelong |  |
Cats | Deakin University Elite Sports Precinct, Waurn Ponds | – | 1859 | 2017- | 0 | — |
| North Melbourne |  |
Kangaroos | Arden Street Oval, North Melbourne | – | 1869 | 2021- | 0 | — |
| Port Melbourne |  |
Borough | North Port Oval, Port Melbourne | – | 1874 | 2021- | 1 | 2023 |
| Southern Saints |  |
Saints | Trevor Barker Beach Oval, Sandringham | – | 2017 | 2018- | 0 | — |
| Western Bulldogs |  |
Bulldogs | Whitten Oval, Footscray | – | 1877 | 2018- | 0 | — |
| Williamstown |  |
Seagulls | Williamstown Cricket Ground, Williamstown | – | 1864 | 2018- | 0 | — |
Former clubs
| Club | Colours | Moniker | Home Ground | Former League | Est. | Years in VFLW | Premierships | Current league | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Most recent | ||||||||
| Cranbourne |  |
Eagles | Frenken Homes Oval, Clyde North | VWFL | 1889 | 2016-2017 | 0 | - | SEFNL |
| Diamond Creek |  |
Demons, Creekers | C.T. Barling Reserve, Reservoir | VWFL | 2002 | 2016-2017 | 0 | - | NFNL |
| Eastern Devils |  |
Devils | Mulgrave Reserve, Mulgrave | VWFL | 1999 | 2016-2017 | 0 | - | EFNL |
| Geelong Magpies |  |
Magpies | Osborne Park, North Geelong | VWFL | 1876 | 2016 | 0 | - | GDFNL |
| Hawthorn | |
Hawks | Box Hill City Oval, Box Hill | – | 1902 | 2018-2022 | 1 | 2018 | AFLW |
| Knox |  |
Falcons | Knox Gardens Reserve, Wantirna South | VWFL | 1980 | 2016 | 0 | - | EFNL |
| Melbourne University |  |
Mugars | Main Oval, University of Melbourne, Parkville | VWFL | 1996 | 2016-2019 | 0 | - | VAFA |
| Northern Territory |  |
Thunder | Marrara Oval, Marrara | – | 2008 | 2018-2019 | 0 | - | Folded 2019 |
| Richmond |  |
Tigers | Punt Road Oval, East Melbourne | – | 1885 | 2018-2019 | 0 | - | AFLW |
| Seaford | |
Tigerettes | RF Miles Recreation Reserve, Seaford | VWFL | 1921 | 2016-2017 | 0 | - | MPFNL |
| St Kilda Sharks |  |
Sharks | Peanut Farm Reserve, St Kilda | VWFL | 1992 | 2016-2017 | 0 | - | In recess |
| Western Spurs |  |
Spurs | Henry Turner Memorial Reserve, Footscray | VWFL | 1993 | 2016-2017 | 0 | - | WFNL |
Honours
Premiers
- 2016: Darebin
- 2017: Darebin
- 2018: Hawthorn
- 2019: Collingwood
- 2022: Essendon
- 2023: Port Melbourne
- 2024: North Melbourne
Lambert–Pearce Medal
- 2016: Daisy Pearce (Darebin)
- 2017: Katie Brennan (Darebin)
- 2018: Jess Duffin (Williamstown)
- 2019: Lauren Pearce (Darebin)
- 2021: Georgia Nanscawen (Essendon)
- 2022: Georgia Nanscawen (Essendon)
- 2023: Jordan Mifsud (Box Hill), Akayla Peterson (Box Hill), Charlotte Simpson (Geelong Cats) (tied)
See also
References
- ^ "VFL Women's fixture release". AFL Victoria. 21 March 2016. Archived from the original on 26 March 2016.
- ^ Pierik, Jon (11 October 2017). "Victorian stadium upgrade plan likely by end of year, says state government". The Age. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
- ^ "Hawthorn extends the family". hawthornfc.com.au. 14 December 2017. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
- ^ "Three clubs depart in revamped VFLW comp". afl.com.au. 4 November 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
- ^ "Thunder rolls into VFL Women's in 2018". AFL Northern Territory. 9 November 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
- ^ "Western Bulldogs to field team in VFL Women's competition". westernbulldogs.com.au. 11 October 2017. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
- ^ "Our Club | Western Spurs". ParksideSpurs. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
- ^ Black, Sarah (20 December 2018). "Giants to play five VFLW games in 2019". womens.afl. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
- ^ McGowan, Marc (12 September 2019). "Thunder no more: AFLNT confirms no NEAFL and VFLW teams". afl.com.au. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
- ^ Black, Sarah (27 September 2019). "Crows align with VFLW club Williamstown". womens.afl. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
- ^ "Kangaroos hop into VFLW 2020". vfl.com.au. 1 November 2019. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
- ^ "Future AFLW stars to showcase their talents in VFLW Super Series". womens.afl. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
- ^ Twomey, Callum (16 June 2020). "Who's in? Eight-team VFL season is on, start date revealed". afl.com.au. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
- ^ Cherny, Daniel (16 June 2020). "VFL revamped, VFLW season substituted with new series". The Age. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
- ^ "VFL to return with eight clubs in August". SEN. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
- ^ "VFL confirms eight-team competition for 2020 and a four-team VFLW set-up". foxports.com.au. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
- ^ Black, Sarah (4 August 2020). "Trade wrap: Eagles swoop on Dogs mid, Tigers add trio". womens.afl. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
- ^ "Coburg ready to enter women's team for first time, names coach". Herald Sun. 20 August 2020.
- ^ a b "Port Melbourne joins VFLW, competition start date locked in". AFL Women's. 29 October 2020.
- ^ "Richmond form Port Melbourne alignment for 2021 VFLW season". Richmond FC. 27 October 2020.
- ^ Black, Sarah (7 February 2023). "Women's footy action just around the corner, with VFLW R1 fixture locked in". womens.afl. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
- ^ "Sydney to compete in rebel VFLW competition". Sydney Swans. 9 February 2024.
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