VFL Women's

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. The competition has been held concurrently with the AFLW since 2021.

VFL Women's
Upcoming season or competition:
Current sports event 2023 VFL Women's season
SportAustralian rules football
Founded21 March 2016 (2016-03-21)
Melbourne, Victoria
Inaugural season2016
AdministratorAFL Victoria
No. of teams12
CountryAustralia
Most recent
champion(s)		Essendon (1st premiership)
Most titlesDarebin (2 premierships)
TV partner(s)Seven Network
(grand final only)
Sponsor(s)Rebel
Related
competitions		AFL Women's
Victorian Football League
SANFL Women's
WAFL Women's
Official websiteafl.com.au/vfl

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 Essendon.

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 (renamed Hawthorn in 2018 to align with the AFL club).

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 (renamed the Western Bulldogs in 2018 to align with the AFL club) 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;[3] Northern Territory aligned with Adelaide's AFLW team, giving Crows players an opportunity to play in the Victorian competition.[4]

In 2019, Greater Western Sydney's AFLW team played five invitational matches in Victoria against teams having a bye.[5] Following the 2019 season, AFL Northern Territory ended Northern Territory's involvement in the NEAFL and VFLW competitions,[6] and Williamstown aligned with Adelaide in Northern Territory's place.[7] 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.[8] 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;[9][10][11][12][13] this was later cancelled as well due to the increase of restrictions around COVID-19 in Victoria.[14]

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.[15][16] 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.[15] In 2023, the competition commenced in March, and Hawthorn transferred its license back to Box Hill.[17]

Clubs

Current clubs
Club Colours Moniker Home venue Main affiliate Secondary affiliate Est. Seasons Premierships
First Total Total Most recent
Box Hill HawksBox Hill City OvalBox Hill (VFL)Hawthorn (AFL)19362017512018
Carlton BluesPrinces ParkCarlton (AFL)—1864201840—
Casey DemonsCasey FieldsCasey (VFL)Melbourne (AFL)1902201840—
Collingwood MagpiesVictoria ParkCollingwood (AFL)—18922018412019
Darebin FalconsBill Lawry OvalIndependent women's club19902016622017
Essendon BombersThe HangarEssendon (AFL)—18712018412022
Geelong Cats CatsDeakin University Waurn PondsGeelong (AFL)—1859201750—
North Melbourne KangaroosArden Street OvalNorth Melbourne (AFL)—1869202120—
Port Melbourne BoroughNorth Port OvalPort Melbourne (VFL)Richmond (AFLW)1874202120—
Southern Saints SaintsTrevor Barker Beach OvalSt Kilda (AFL)Sandringham (VFL)1873201840—
Western Bulldogs BulldogsWhitten OvalWestern Bulldogs (AFL)—1877201660—
Williamstown SeagullsWilliamstown Cricket GroundWilliamstown (VFL)—1864201840—

Former clubs

Honours
Darebin's 2017 premiership team

Premiers
Main article: List of VFL Women's premiers

Lambert–Pearce Medal
Main article: Lambert–Pearce Medal

See also

References
  1. "VFL Women's fixture release". AFL Victoria. 21 March 2016. Archived from the original on 26 March 2016.
  2. Pierik, Jon (11 October 2017). "Victorian stadium upgrade plan likely by end of year, says state government". The Age. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  3. "Three clubs depart in revamped VFLW comp". afl.com.au. 4 November 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  4. "Thunder rolls into VFL Women's in 2018". AFL Northern Territory. 9 November 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  5. Black, Sarah (20 December 2018). "Giants to play five VFLW games in 2019". womens.afl. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  6. McGowan, Marc (12 September 2019). "Thunder no more: AFLNT confirms no NEAFL and VFLW teams". afl.com.au. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  7. Black, Sarah (27 September 2019). "Crows align with VFLW club Williamstown". womens.afl. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  8. "Kangaroos hop into VFLW 2020". vfl.com.au. 1 November 2019. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  9. "Future AFLW stars to showcase their talents in VFLW Super Series". womens.afl. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  10. Twomey, Callum (16 June 2020). "Who's in? Eight-team VFL season is on, start date revealed". afl.com.au. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  11. Cherny, Daniel (16 June 2020). "VFL revamped, VFLW season substituted with new series". The Age. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  12. "VFL to return with eight clubs in August". SEN. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  13. "VFL confirms eight-team competition for 2020 and a four-team VFLW set-up". foxports.com.au. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  14. Black, Sarah (4 August 2020). "Trade wrap: Eagles swoop on Dogs mid, Tigers add trio". womens.afl. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  15. "Port Melbourne joins VFLW, competition start date locked in". AFL Women's. 29 October 2020.
  16. "Richmond form Port Melbourne alignment for 2021 VFLW season". Richmond FC. 27 October 2020.
  17. 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.
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