You will find all the details of the 2024 Best & Fairest Presentation Nights via the link below. 

The next Presentation Night is the Under 19 & Senior Female Presentation Night which will be held on the 21st August. 

Your Club's Female Football contact will have recieved your recommended attendees & RSVPs should have been submitted on Wed 14th Aug.

For any questions regarding Presentation Nights, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

The Regional Development Coach (RDC) for Geelong Falcons is a 12-month parental leave cover role focused on developing young footballers aged 15-19 and fostering a supportive program culture.

Responsibilities include planning and managing player pathways, ensuring a positive environment, and collaborating with stakeholders.

Ideal candidates will have coaching accreditation, experience with youth, strong communication skills, and knowledge of player development.

Benefits include flexible working, health and wellbeing programs, and AFL memberships. Applications close on 21 August 2024.

The 2024 Under 19 & Senior Female Presentation Night will be held on the 21st August. 

Your Club's Female Football contact will have recieved your recommended attendees & RSVPs should have been submitted on Wed 14th Aug.

For any questions regarding Presentation Nights, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

The 2024 Junior Football Presentation Night will be held on the evening of the 27th August at Deakin Cats Community Centre.

Your Club's Junior Football (male & female) will recieve your recommended attendees from Will Ross in the coming week.

For any questions regarding Presentation Nights, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

The following communication was sent out to BFNL Football Contacts on Monday 12th August at 1:30pm

Good Afternoon BFNL Football Contacts,

BFNL 2024 finals start this weekend, well done and good luck to all teams participating.

Week one & Two of the BFNL 2024 Qualifying and Elimination Finals will be held at Portarlington, all game times are available on PlayHQ.

Fixtures and team info are found via the button below.

Host & Participating clubs game day responsibilities.

• Host Club: Portarlington FNC
• Umpire escorts
• Scoreboard attendant
• Interchange & look after Spare football.

Participating Clubs: Anglesea, Bannockburn, Barwon Heads, Colac, Drysdale, Geelong Amateur, Grovedale, Modewarre & Queenscliff.

• Timekeepers – important to have a timekeeper sorted during the week not the day of the game. (Ensure clubs come out on time)
• Team sheets (can either be given directly to the umpires or via AFLB Staff 1 copy for AFL Barwon staff)
• Best Players & Goalkickers (give to AFLB staff post-game) 

AFL Barwon Staff:

• Footballs (One to umpires – Spare to interchange steward)
• Paperwork (To umpires and timekeepers)
• Brief timekeepers regarding time on in Reserves & Under 18s, as well as extra time procedures
• Ensure clubs come out on time.
• Collect paperwork and football from the umpires’ post-game & get the all-clear.
• Collect the best players and goalkickers from the club post-game & notify them of any reports or review requests.
• Results entry after each game. 

Any Questions please reach out.

Regards, 
Simon Riddoch (Senior Male Football Coordinator)
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

2024 Female Football Finals Overview 

An overview of the upcoming AFL Barwon Female Football Finals Series as we head into Week 2: 

Week 2 – Sunday 18th August 
Venues: North Geelong FNC, Modewarre FNC 

Week 3 Grand Finals – Sunday 25th August 
Venue: Lara FNC 

IMPORTANT: Updated Female Football Fixture – 18th Aug North Geelong 

There has been a change in game times for Sunday 18th August for games fixtured at North Geelong. 

These changes have been made to ensure we can accommodate those players who are also participating in netball finals held in Portarlington.   

Please see below updated game times, which is also reflected in PlayHq: 

Senior Female Division 2 

• St Joseph’s vs Newtown & Chilwell 
• 10:00am  
• North Geelong 

U16 Female Division 1 

• Lara Jenkins vs Torquay Wood 
• 12:00pm
• North Geelong 

 U14 Female Division 1 

• Peninsula Sharks Bulls vs St Mary’s Garing 
• 1:45pm 
• North Geelong 

Thank you for your understanding, as you can appreciate trying to accommodate teams/players across both netball and football is challenging and we want to ensure that as minimal teams are impacted as possible in the 2024 Finals Series. 

2024 Junior Football Finals Overview 

An overview of the upcoming AFL Barwon Junior Football Finals Series: 

Week 1: 
Saturday 17th & Sunday 18th August – Surf Coast & Torquay  

Week 2: 
Saturday 24th & Sunday 25th August – Bell Park 
 
Week 3: 
Saturday 31st August & Sunday 1st September – North Geelong 

13.3 Both Home and Away Team Managers 

• Both Team managers are responsible for the following match-day duties 
• Provide Team Sheet to the umpires, showing all players with correct jumper numbers and all officials with correct numbers where applicable generated from PLAY HQ Data Base and signed by the Team 

Comp Rule 3 - Registrations

 3.1 Every player must be a registered member of their Club and approved by their Club Committee.  

23 Under 18s Competitions 

23.1 Player Qualification Criteria 

23.1.1 Where there are multiple divisions, all other than the lowest graded competition are deemed to be an “18 a side competition” with a maximum of 23 players and a minimum of 14 players. 

23.1.2 The Lowest Graded Competition is deemed to be a “16 a side competition” with a maximum of 23 players and a minimum of 14 players. If either side has less than 16, both teams must play with the same number of players. If both sides have 20 or more players on the day, then both teams will field 18 players 

5 Interchange/Order Off Rule  

Interchange and order-off rules are to operate for Seniors, Reserves and Under 18s as per AFL Victoria Rule 10.0 & AFL Laws of Australian Football Rule 7. 

Note: All underage competitions inclusive of Under 18 Colts are to comply with the above Rules and are unable to replace carded players until the relevant playing time has elapsed. (Yellow Card = 15 minutes. Red Card = 20 minutes) 

In all AFL Barwon Senior & Reserve matches any player receiving a yellow or red card may be replaced immediately. A player receiving a red card in any grade is to remain off the field for the remainder of the game. A player receiving a yellow card can return to the field after 15 minutes of playing time has elapsed. 

5.1 Interchange bench numbers in all Senior Football Leagues are four (4), Reserves & Under 18s are five (5). 

5.2 For all AFL Barwon competitions, Clubs shall be required to field a minimum of 14 players to commence the game. Failure to do so will result in their side forfeiting the match. 

5.3 If any irregularities are noted on the Interchange sheet, the Commission shall have the power to determine a fine and to deal with the match as they deem appropriate. 

22 Eligibility For Finals

22.1 Definitions: 

A player must be in attendance, in suitable attire to take the field and at a minimum be on the field in the club’s interchange area for the duration of the game. (Unless forced to leave for medical reasons) 

In this rule a reference to:

• Seniors = Community Club’s First Senior grade team
• Reserves = Community Club’s Second or lower Division Senior grade team
• Under 18s = AFL Barwon Club’s Under 18 grade team

Finals Eligibility Checklist

Step 1: - Identify which team you are wishing to check. 

Step 2: - Work down the table to see if they meet the requirements. 

Step 3: - Cross reference if required from the notes. 

Note:

• Requirements are for games played in the current season 
• Grading games are included in calculations
• If a player participates in multiple games on the same weekend in different age/grades, only the higher graded game will be recognised for eligibility purposes
• Requirements 2 & 3 not applicable for reserves/lower grade open age finals if eligible for club & Seniors are playing finals on the same weekend (unless played 10 or more Talent League games) 
• Requirements 2 & 3 not applicable for lower graded Under 18 finals if eligible for higher graded Under 18 finals & both Under 18 teams are playing finals on the same weekend (unless played 10 or more Talent League Games) 
• Requirements 2 & 3 may vary at the discretion of AFLB if season is compromised
• Byes do not count as games played

Host Club:  

• Umpire escorts  
• Interchange & look after Spare ball. 
• Scoreboard attendant  
• Footballs (One to umpires – Spare to interchange steward). 
• Match day Paperwork (To umpires and timekeepers). 
• Collect paperwork and football from the umpires’ post-game & get the all-clear. 
• Collect the best players and goalkickers from the club post-game & notify them of any reports or review requests. 
• Results entry after each game were (live scores) possible.  

 Participating Clubs: 

• Timekeepers 
• Team sheets (given directly to the umpires) 
• Best Players & Goalkickers (give to host club post-game) 
• Brief timekeepers regarding time on in under-18s, as well as extra time procedures. 
• Ensure clubs come out on time. 

NOTE U18 Colts games and finals reminders below 

• Division #1 Three rounds remaining – Finals following GFNL – Top 5 
• Division #2 One round remaining – Finals following BFNL – Top 5 
• Division #3 Two rounds remaining- Finals following GDFNL – Top 5
  • NOTE: access to the ground will be behind the St Albans FNC change rooms using the team sheet for entry. 
• Division #4 One round remaining – Finals following juniors (U16& U14) – Top 4 @ Surf Coast Suns FNC & Torquay FNC ovals  

Ticketing and Entry 

All participating clubs will be issued tickets as outlined in last week’s email to presidents and secretaries. Each club must nominate an email address for tickets via the FORM ATTACHED TO THAT EMAIL. 

Only one email address per club is permitted. 

These will be issued by COB Tuesday of each week. 

Please encourage your members who plan to attend to pre-purchase to take advantage of faster entry to the grounds, via our INTIX website (link under "General Updates")

Junior Players and Ticketing  

All Junior Netball players will be allocated One (1) complimentary adult admission with all junior player’s (13&U, 15&U, & 17&U) allocated admission ticket.

For this offer to be valid, the junior player and adult must proceed through the admission gate at the same time.

(No ticket physically allocated, but entry permitted when entering with child).

Team Entry 

A reminder that teams MUST BE SELECTED BY 12pm Wednesday to enable us to type up position tracking sheets for the weekend. 

PLEASE ensure this is completed to support us in preparing for the each week’s schedule. 

Finals Scorers Duties 

Each club will have been allocated one or more scorers duties – Please respond with the NAME OF THE PERSON FILLING THIS DUTY BY COB WEDNESDAY of each week once received. 

If your scorer is not someone who is already a member of a participating team, please advise and this can be issued separately. 

 Female Football and Netball Finals 

In anticipation of there potentially being impacted players between football and netball this finals series, please be advised of the below process should you be aware of any clashes. Netball times are fixed, however there may be some scope to manipulate football times if we are informed early enough. 

• AS SOON as the clash is identified, please email myself and Paris Rowe to advise. 

• i.e. 2v3 netball played on Saturday & game is lost so know they will play Sunday the following week – email SATURDAY NIGHT to inform us as soon as possible. 

We MUST be informed by 5pm Sunday of that weekend IN WRITING – no requests post this time will be considered.  

We will make every effort to mitigate a clash, however it is not always possible and cannot be guaranteed. Early communication on your part supports us in supporting you. 

Finals Information 

All resources have been sent to your club netball director, senior coordinator or junior coordinator, but can also be found below:

Author: Sophie Allison

Salary Cap Reporting – DUE 4 WEEKS POST YOUR CLUBS FINAL A GRADE GAME 

As the season draws to a close, please be reminded of your post season reporting requirements.  

All clubs are required to submit their player payment reporting via the spreadsheet on our website HERE  

(scroll to “Netball Budget Template”) 

All Players who have taken the court in A Grade are required to have either a standard player declaration, or non-declared player statement. 

All relevant player payment policies can be found on this site should you need any further information. If you are unsure about anything, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

Author - Chloe Prout

BFNL and GFNL Junior Netball Awards 

Just a reminder that the Bellarine FNL and Geelong FNL Junior Netball Award nominations are due Monday 19th August. More information on each award is provided in the nomination forms below. 

Bellarine FNL nomination form: https://forms.gle/QRK9F8qbNua8VJfy5 

Geelong FNL nomination form: https://forms.gle/E2awNVuCJaQTnfzh7  

2025 AFL Barwon Junior Netball Representative Program 

More information on the 2025 program is coming soon, including club nominations, trial dates and coach applications! 

2024/25 AFL Barwon Junior Netball Summer Season 

The summer netball season is fast approaching! Season dates and team entry links are below, with detailed information sent to clubs last week. 

Google forms for team entries (due Sunday 15th September) 

• 11&U: https://forms.gle/nP5yLmgoH4wmdTzCA 

• 13&U: https://forms.gle/ktSug5YZka2uyBbe6 

• 15&U: https://forms.gle/wvkMTfn1mfqjkhyR7 

• 17&U: https://forms.gle/hWmgWW2JHbnFRX4M6 

The Marathon Foods Community Grant is a targeted investment initiative designed to support our AFL Barwon clubs with projects that improve canteen or club kitchen cooking equipment and support the cooking of Marathon Food products. The objective of the program is to assist AFL Barwon affiliated clubs with small investments that will have a long-term benefit to their club and enhance community engagement.

The grants program is only available to clubs that have senior football or netball teams affiliated with the Bellarine & Geelong Football Netball League or are junior-only clubs competing in AFL Barwon Junior Male or Female Football and AFL Barwon Junior Netball competitions with no senior teams.

AFLW Local Footy Sausage Sizzles are back for the 2024 Geelong Cats AFLW season.  

Get your club together this AFLW season and a run a sausage sizzle at one of the AFLW home games at GMHBA Stadium in 2024.  

All resources are supplied, all you need to do is turn up in your colours, sell some sausages and raise some funds for your club.  

All funds raised must be used to benefit your female football program at your local club. 

Requirements: 

• All volunteers must complete a free food safety course (Home - DoFoodSafely (health.vic.gov.au)) 

• Provide names and head shots of volunteers for AFL accreditations to access the GMHBA pre-game 

• Provide your club’s logo in PDF, AI or EPS (High Resolution JPEG files are also accepted) 

Expressions of Interest applications close COB Friday 23 August. 

Clubs who participated in the 2023 program will be ineligible to be selected in 2024. 

If you have any questions please email Sarah Allen - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

If you or a family member has recently suffered a concussion and are unsure of the next steps, Epworth Geelong is here to assist. 

The Epworth Geelong Acute Concussion Clinic, which opened in mid-June 2024, is a physiotherapist-led facility that can refer patients to specialist medical services.​

This clinic is the first of its kind in the Greater Geelong community, designed to support concussion sufferers aged 16 and older, as well as their families, within the first month following the injury.

 The clinic offers assessments, education, advice on returning to play and work, and exercise prescriptions to aid in recovery.

 As an adjunct service, the Acute Concussion Clinic integrates with the Epworth Geelong Outpatients Concussion Clinic for those requiring further rehabilitation.

The clinic operates from 8:30am to 12:00pm on Tuesdays, located in the Outpatient Department on the lower ground floor at Epworth Geelong.

Patients who present with concussion symptoms at the Epworth Geelong Emergency Department can be referred to the Acute Concussion Clinic for follow-up care.

Additionally, general practitioners can directly refer patients to the clinic.

Hi All, 

Some important Grant opportunities form to be considered for your respective Clubs, noting the SRV. Grant is instigated by your Local Government Authority-LGA.  

*If you require any support engaging with your LGA’s(Local Government Authorities) feel free to reach out to me for assistance. I am more then happy to assist. 

Boost For Football and Netball Across Victoria 

The Allan Labor Government is supporting local footy and netball clubs as they head towards the finals, with new grants to ensure more Victorians can play the sport they love close to home in regional Victoria. 

Minister for Community Sport Ros Spence today visited the home of the Barnawartha Tigers Football and Netball Club to announce applications for the latest round of the Labor Government’s Country Football and Netball Program are now open. 

Grants of up to $250,000 are available for regional and outer metropolitan councils to apply for grants for sports infrastructure developments including court lighting upgrades, changeroom overhauls, new pavilions and more, to benefit their local clubs and communities.  

Successful recipients in recent years include the Hepburn Shire Council which received $250,000 for netball court and oval lighting upgrades at Daylesford Football Netball Club, and $250,000 for Hindmarsh Shire Council to upgrade Nhill and District Sporting Club’s home ground at Davis Park.  

Developed in partnership with the AFL, AFL Victoria and Netball Victoria, the program has invested more than $40 million and delivered more than 575 projects since 2005. 

The Labor Government’s Country Football and Netball Program is part of more than $23 million invested in this year’s budget and more than $2.3 billion invested since 2014 to deliver world class community sport infrastructure and programs that increase participation and improve accessibility for more Victorians.  

Applications close on Monday, 30 September 2024. For more information on the program and to apply, visit  sport.vic.gov.au/funding

Quote attributable to Minister for Community Sport Ros Spence 

“Regional sports clubs and communities depend on their home ground facilities not only to host big games but to bring communities together, which is why we are focused on delivering quality sporting facilities across Victoria.” 

Quote attributable to Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes 

“This program is a game changer for regional Victoria ensuring communities have the facilities they need for important community events like local footy and netball here in Barnawartha.” 

Quote attributable to the Head of AFL Victoria Greg Madigan 

"Good facilities are pivotal to ensuring people can participate in and enjoy the game of Australian Rules Football, at all levels. AFL Victoria thanks the Victorian Government for its ongoing support of community sport in regional areas through the Country Football and Netball Program, which allows local clubs and communities to benefit from new or upgraded facilities that are welcoming, inclusive and bring people together.” 

Quote attributable to CEO of Netball Victoria Andrea Pearman 

“Sport is the lifeblood of our regional communities, and we thank the Victorian Government for their support in delivering safer, more inclusive netball facilities right across the state. We know how important community sport is in fostering connection, and this program means more opportunities for more Victorians to participate in our game.” 

https://sport.vic.gov.au/funding/country-football-and-netball-program 

DYSONS COMMUNITY GRANTS 

The Dyson Group of Companies, incorporating the legendary Cobb & Co brand, is pleased to announce the launch of the next round of the Dysons Community Grants. 

The program, now in it’s fourth year, has been established to provide grants in support of the many sporting, educational, welfare and community groups around Victoria, and to date almost 100 grants have been distributed. 

There are two rounds of grants annually, each with $10,000 available (maximum grant $1000). Eligible organisations include pre-schools, primary and secondary schools, sporting clubs, not-for-profit groups, charities, welfare agencies, local societies and volunteer emergency services. 
 
This next round of grants opens on 1 September and closes 30 September 2024.   

More information can be found here: https://www.dysongroup.com.au/about/community-grants 

As always, if you would like assistance with any of the above, I would welcome any opportunity to speak to your committees/Individuals to discuss how I can support you in season 2024 and beyond.

Regards,

Tim Secombe   
Club Development Lead   
M: 0417665173 
E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.