Awards season is in full swing and the attention now turns to junior football. The winners of the AFL Barwon Junior Football Vote Counts were announced on tonight.

The Under 16 Division 1 Uncle Buck’s Cup saw St Joseph’s Hamish Watson awarded the best and fairest with 15 votes. Runner up to Watson was Cooper Stormonth of Torquay who polled 12 votes.

In the Under 16 Division 2 Kempe Cup Drysdale’s Jai Foot came away with the best and fairest after polling 15 votes. Drysdale also produced the runner up with Finn Kelly polling 12 votes.

In the Under 16 Division 3 The Athlete’s Foot Cup Sonny Primmer from Armstrong Creek capped off a dominant season which saw him named in the best 9 times to finish with 27 votes. Primmer was followed by Cruz O’Toole from the East Geelong/Geelong West combined team who polled 17 votes.

In the Under 16 Division 4 Winning Edge Presentations Cup Portarlington’s Ashley Muscat was awarded the best and fairest after a dominant season where he polled 31 votes and was named in the best in every game. Second to Muscat was Charlie Lamb of Modewarre/Inverleigh who finished the count on 29 votes.

In the Under 16 Division 5 Kempe Cup Anakie/Lara’s Corey King won the best and fairest after polling 15 votes. Following him was teammate Adam Jervies who polled 10 votes.

In the Under 14 Division 1 Kempe Cup Phillip Coumans from Geelong East was awarded the best and fairest with 22 votes. Lenny Closter of St Mary’s was the runner up after polling 18 votes.

In the Under 14 Division 2 Uncle Bucks Cup Grovedale’s James Richardson capped off a consistent season which saw him named in the best in every game to win the best and fairest with 24 votes. Charlie Rocke from Drysdale was awarded the runner up with 21 votes after averaging over a goal a game.

In the Under 14 Division 3 P&R Foods Cup Noah Dunscombe from Armstrong Creek won the best and fairest with 26 votes. Dunscombe was potent in the forward 50 with 20 goals in 12 games. Following him was the similarly potent Hayden Brunnenmeyer from St Albans who polled 22 votes to go with his 18 goals in 12 games.

In the Under 14 Division 4 Rookie Me Cup Finn Bereza from Anglesea capped off his consistent season with a best and fairest award after polling 27 votes. Runner up to Bereza was Jack Salter from Queenscliff with 22 votes.

In the Under 14 Division 5 Town & Country Pizza Cup Modewarre’s Xavier Partridge was honoured for his dominant season with the best and fairest after polling 32 votes. In second was Paddy McCann from St Mary’s who polled 11 votes.

In the Under 14 Division 6 Town & Country Pizza Cup the consistent Ashley Fiorillo from North Geelong won the best and fairest after polling 20 votes and being named in the best in every game. Runner up was fellow North Geelong team member Harlem Bowker who polled 16 votes.

The Under 14 Division 7 Town & Country Pizza Cup saw a close contest with Max Growse of Newtown & Chilwell winning the count with 18 votes. Closely following was double bottom-ager Levii Edwards from Belmont who finished the count with 17 votes.

AFL Barwon congratulates all the award winners on their season and their achievements.

Full list of votes can be found below.

2026 Under 14 Div 1 Kempe Cup

2026 Under 14 Div 2 Uncle Buck's Cup

2026 Under 14 Div 3 P&R Foods Cup

2026 Under 14 Div 4 Rookie Me Cup

2026 Under 14 Div 5 Town & Country Pizza Cup

2026 Under 14 Div 6 Town & Country Pizza Cup

2026 Under 14 Div 7 Town & Country Pizza Cup

2026 Under 16 Div 1 Uncle Buck's Cup

2026 Under 16 Div 2 Kempe Cup

2026 Under 16 Div 3 The Athlete's Foot Cup

2026 Under 16 Div 4 Winning Edge Presentations Cup

2026 Under 16 Div 5 Kempe Cup

The wait is almost over, with the 2026 Kempe Junior Football Vote Count set to shine a spotlight on some of the region’s most promising young footballers.

The Under 14 Mixed and Under 16 competitions will take centre stage as we count the votes and crown the 2026 Kempe Junior Football Best & Fairest winners.

You can follow all the excitement live below as the votes are revealed from the last 4 rounds and this year’s junior best and fairest winners are announced.

Watch the 2026 Kempe Junior Football Vote Count Live below.

A former powerhouse of the BFNL is returning to finals football after 19 years.

By Ben Andonoudis

A finals drought almost two decades in the making will finally come to an end in Portarlington on Sunday.

The Newcomb Power’s senior side will run onto the field for a finals fixture for the first time since winning the 2007 BFNL premiership.

Since then, the club has endured some of the most challenging years in its history.

This season has been different for the Power. 2026 has seen nine wins which has propelled them into an elimination final against Barwon Heads.

For Newcomb Power senior coach Tony Mirabella Sunday’s game will present a vastly different challenge.

“It's just a completely different story and the intensity lifts, the contest lifts, the energy lifts”, Mirabella said.

While that may be the case, the Power can have confidence that they have performed well against Barwon during the season.

Their last match against the Seagulls saw Newcomb record a 102-point win in round 19. But Mirabella is not looking too much into it.

“The Barwon Heads coach said yesterday that it's a different game when it gets to finals and I completely agree with him having been a part of games where you've dominated in the home-and-away season and then come to finals”, Mirabella said.

A win on Sunday could see the Power face some of the powerhouses in the BFNL on their quest for a premiership. But the feeling among the group is that they can match it with those at the top.

“We're confident that our brand holds up against the best in the league and it's just about being confident enough to make sure that brand and that system is there,” Mirabella said.

The 2026 season has been one of many firsts for the senior squad at Newcomb. This season’s breakthrough has provided several of the club’s senior players with the opportunity to taste finals after some lean times.

“There's certainly a group of players that have done their time at Newcomb and probably haven't tasted that finals feeling for quite a while since they were in juniors,” Mirabella said.

While the 2026 season has seen the senior team progress from ninth to a fifth-place finish and finals football, those at the club know the journey has taken much longer.

“I think that when I took over in 2023 there was a couple of good years where Newcomb showed signs, but before the COVID era there were seasons where there were 200-point losses,” Mirabella said.

These dark times are now very firmly in the rear-view mirror for the Power.

However, Mirabella is conscious that the ultimate success may not come this year. “It can be a three, four, five, six-year journey,” Mirabella said.

No matter what happens on Sunday the Power can be proud of what they have achieved in this drought-breaking season.

After twenty years, they will finally be back where they want to be in the mix for a premiership.

The 2026 finals series ramps up this weekend, with premierships on the line, the opening weekend of the Dow Bellarine FNL finals, Colac & District FNL finals, uper Sunday of Epworth Female Football Grand Finals as well as junior football and netball finals all taking place across the region.

From the first bounce of the Dow Bellarine FNL finals through to the final siren of the Female Football Grand Finals, there is plenty happening across AFL Barwon this weekend.

For full fixtures, match times, venues and finals information, visit the AFL Barwon Finals Hub and check PlayHQ before heading to the ground.

Finals time is about creating lasting memories that can be talked about for years to come.

Across this exciting finals period, let’s make sure the memories we create are positive ones for everyone involved — memories worth celebrating, not ones that should be forgotten.

Respect the game, respect the opposition and respect our officials throughout the finals series.

Grill'd Junior Netball Finals

Friday night will see the Junior Netball Finals get underway at Kardinia Park.

The opening semi-finals will see the 1st v 2nd and 3rd v 4th teams meet, with the winners progressing towards the Grand Final and the losing teams given another opportunity through the Preliminary Final.

Full Fixtures: https://www.playhq.com/netball-australia/org/afl-barwon-fnl/winter-2026/67a3f07f?day=FRIDAY

Dow Bellarine FNL Finals

The Dow Bellarine Football Netball League finals series gets underway this weekend at Portarlington Recreation Reserve, with the Qualifying and Elimination Finals to be played across Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 August.

It is the first step towards Grand Final Day on Saturday 19 September, with teams across Senior Football, Reserves, Under 18s and A-E Grade and junior netball beginning their push for a premiership.

Fans heading to Portarlington are encouraged to pre-purchase their tickets online, with Early Bird prices available at $15 for adults, $10 concession, $5 juniors and $40 for a family of four.

Tickets can be purchased: https://www.intix.com.au/org/afl-barwon

Epworth Female Football Grand Finals

Sunday will see seven premierships decided across two grounds at Lara Recreation Reserve, with the 2026 Epworth Female Football Grand Finals bringing together teams from Under 14 through to Senior Division 1.

Bisinella Oval

10:00am
Under 17 Division 1 Epworth Cup
St Mary’s Flynn v Torquay Scott

12:15pm
Senior Division 2 Epworth Cup
Lara v Torquay

2:30pm
Senior Division 1 Epworth Cup
Geelong Ammos Senior Female 1 v Grovedale

Lara Recreation Reserve No. 2

9:00am
Under 17 Division 2 Kings Cup
Ocean Grove Martin v St Mary’s Hoare

11:15am
Under 14 Division 3 Kings Cup
Peninsula Sharks Bulls v Newtown & Chilwell Lappin

1:00pm
Under 14 Division 2 Kings Cup
South Barwon Laherty v Bannockburn Grinter

2:45pm
Under 14 Division 1 Epworth Cup
Torquay Bennett v Barwon Heads U14 Girls Leen

Seven premierships will be decided across the day, providing a fitting conclusion to another strong season of female football across the AFL Barwon region.

Kempe Junior Football Finals

Junior football finals continue across the weekend, with clubs, players and families coming together for another important stage of the 2026 Kempe Junior Football Finals Series.

Games will be played this weekend at Leopold Memorial Park Oval's 1 & 2, and North Shores, Windsor Park.

Full Fixtures: https://www.playhq.com/afl/org/afl-barwon-fnl/2026/cfa23107? 

C&DFNL Finals

There is also plenty of action across the Colac & District Football Netball League, with a full weekend of netball fixtures scheduled across Saturday and Sunday at Central Reserve.

Full fixtures:

Football: https://www.playhq.com/afl/org/colac-and-district-football-and-netball-league/2026/49a5daca

Netball: https://www.playhq.com/netball-australia/org/colac-and-district-football-and-netball-league/winter-2026/d614ac41