General Updates
New Updates
Tuesday 1st April – between 3pm-6pm
Players will only be required for 5-10 minues & can attend any time between 3pm-6pm.
There is an expectation for each club to provide the following club representative (Captain preferred) for an individual shoot at one of the above dates.
- 1 x Senior Male Football Player
- 1 x A-Grade Netballer
- 1 x Senior Female Footballer (If Applicable)
- 1 x All-Abilities Football Player (If Applicable)
- 1 x All-Abilities Netball Player (If Applicable)
The players will need to be dressed in full playing attire (including netball bibs), with changerooms available onsite.
If your club is wearing alternative uniforms for any of the themed rounds below, it would be great if you could let me know prior and have the player equipped with the alternative uniform (if applicable).
- ANZAC Day
- Indigenous Round
- Inclusion / Pride Round
- Other Club Based Initiatives
If there are any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Sean Atkinson (
AFL Barwon is excited to announce the release of the 2025 AFL Barwon TV broadcast schedule.
K rock Football will continue to provide expert coverage of Geelong FNL Senior Football, delivering live commentary and insights from the region’s best football callers.
All matches will be broadcast on AFL Barwon TV for a full lineup of featured games across our leagues, ensuring you never miss a moment of the 2025 season.
Netball Umpiring
Reminders
Last Wednesday night clubs received their Green Wrist bands for umpires under the age of 18 to wear. As explained, everyone who is involved in the midweek Winter Comp will receive their own wrist band and scrunchie and clubs should only need to provide these for anyone who doesn’t umpire midweek.
As we know the competition dates don’t align and you may not have enough Scrunchies and Wristbands at the beginning of the season. If you require more please reach out and we will get them to you for Round 1.
If you can help us keep track as to who has received theirs that would be greatly appreciated.
The Green Band initiative is part of Netball Victoria’s ongoing commitment to creating a safe, supportive, and respectful environment for all members of our netball community, especially our young umpires.
The program empowers umpires under the age of 18, by providing them with green bands and scrunchies to enhance visibility and promote empathy and respect from players, coaches, and spectators.
The program works in tandem with Netball Australia’s Safeguarding Children and Young People policy.
Umpires under 18 years old will wear wrist bands across all our competitions when umpiring. Competition Coordinators, Umpire Mentors and Club Umpire Coordinators and Court Supervisors will oversee sideline behaviour and provide support where necessary.
Reminder that the next window to purchase an AFL Barwon Windbreaker is between Tuesday 1st April and Monday 7th April.
Club Umpire Coordinators met last week to work through roles and duties for the upcoming season. They are required to complete a spreadsheet with a list of umpires and their accreditation information, please complete and return via email to
Individuals can contact their club umpire coordinators directly if wanting to umpire Saturday netball this season.
Season starts April 29th
Must have completed the Foundation Umpires Education Course, Rules of Theory Netball Exam and participated in an AFL Barwon Beginner Training Session.
You will receive an email with further instructions to complete prior to competition starting.
Commercial Partnerships
New Updates
As we gear up for another exciting season of football and netball in the AFL Barwon region, I wanted to take a moment to highlight an important issue affecting our players, coaches, and sporting communities: mental health and wellbeing.
Why Mental Health Must Be a Priority in Our Clubs
- 1 in 7 people globally experience a mental health disorder, and half of all mental health conditions begin by age 14.
- In Australia, suicide remains the leading cause of death for young people aged 15-24.
- One in five Australian adults experiences a mental illness each year, with depression and anxiety being the most common conditions.
- Suicide is a leading cause of death among adults, particularly men aged 18-44, who are three times more likely to die by suicide than women.
- In sporting environments, players, coaches, and volunteers often struggle in silence due to stigma, despite sport being an ideal setting for early intervention and peer support.
Programs That Make a Difference
Your club plays a crucial role in fostering not just athletic ability but also mentally strong and resilient communities. Programs like Read the Play, Tackle Your Feelings, and Ahead of the Game integrate mental health education into sporting environments, giving players, parents, and coaches the tools to support each other:
- Read the Play delivers interactive sessions to junior players and umpires aged 12-18, helping them recognise signs of mental ill-health and know where to seek help to support themselves and teammates.
- Tackle Your Feelings aims to provide senior players, coaches, committee members, support staff and umpires with the tools to Understand, Recognise and Respond to signs of mental ill-health.
- Ahead of the Game teaches players, parents, coaches, umpires and volunteers to understand mental health, build mental fitness and strengthen resilience.
How Your Club Can Get Involved
We encourage all clubs to prioritise these free and evidence-based programs in their 2025 season planning. By embedding mental health awareness into your club culture, we can collectively reduce stigma, support players and adults at risk, and create a safer, more connected sporting community.
To book a program or learn more, please refer to the attached document outlining all available mental health and wellbeing programs.
Together, we can make mental health a priority in AFL Barwon football and netball clubs.
For Lisa, endometriosis is not just a reproductive disease
“It’s a daily journey. Some days are really good and other days are just exhausting.” Such is the experience of endometriosis sufferer Lisa.
Like one in seven women (or those assigned female at birth), Lisa lives with endometriosis, a condition in which cells like the ones that line the uterus start growing in other areas of the body, often causing a variety of severe and painful symptoms.
March is Endometriosis Awareness Month and Lisa wants people living with endometriosis to know that good endometriosis care can validate the experience of painful symptoms and help provide tools for better management of these symptoms.
Lisa said the road to getting a diagnosis was a long and painful one, after seeking specialist endometriosis care from the Julia Argyrou Endometriosis Centre at Epworth
If you or someone you know has, or suspects they may have endometriosis, speak with one of the Endometriosis Nurse Coordinators for personalised support. Free telehealth appointments are available.
AFL Barwon is proud to have Rookie Me as our Official Community Coach and Player Development Partner, delivering a suite of digital resources and support to league coaches, players, and clubs.
As part of this partnership, clubs will have access to Rookie Me Coach Premium, an extensive platform featuring a library of training activities, session plans, coaching tools, and educational resources tailored for coaches at all levels. Additionally, clubs will benefit from Rookie Me Play, a cutting-edge digital match-day platform designed to manage fair game time, player rotations, and team statistics.
AFL Barwon has 250 Rookie Me Premium licenses available to distribute across our 51 affiliated clubs. Licenses will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis until all are claimed. This software provides valuable support for community coaches, equipping them with the tools and insights to enhance their coaching and player development. It also provides a way to manage fair play time for junior players.
Please note that while we will strive to accommodate requests, the demand across 400 teams means we may not be able to fulfill every request in full.
To request licenses for your club or for any inquiries, please contact
To view the Rookie Me products: https://www.rookieme.com/afl-barwon/coaches/
Has your men’s competition team ever hosted a Pride Cup? 🏳️🌈
If not, now is the perfect time! The Movember x Pride Cup Community Club Fund is offering up to $1000 in funding to help teams host their first-ever Pride Game. Successful applicants will receive funding for event essentials like pride uniforms and guest speakers, plus free inclusion education, game-day support, and promotion for their event.
Applications are now open and assessed on a rolling basis – so don’t wait!
