AFL Barwon is thrilled to announce that the Blood Toyota Geelong Football Netball League Grand Finals will be held at the Leopold Football Netball Club in 2023.

Leopold will also host the Geelong FNL Preliminary Finals, with the first two weeks of the finals to be hosted at West Oval.

The decision to host the Geelong FNL Grand Finals at the Leopold Football Netball Club reflects the venue's excellent facilities, rich history, and will provide an excellent showcase of community sport. Both finals venues will provide an exceptional experience for players, officials, and Club Supporters.

AFL Barwon Region General Manager, Edward Wilson was quoted.

“AFL Barwon is proud to announce two outstanding Clubs within the Barwon region as hosts of the GFNL Finals Series. Geelong West & Leopold exhibit operational excellence as Clubs both on-and-off the field and court, and as such, are worthy hosts for these marquee weeks on the calendar. I thank both Clubs for their tireless support and enthusiasm in partnership with AFL Barwon”.

Leopold Football Netball Club President Richard Hockley on behalf of the committee stated that,

“The Committee of Management at Leopold Football Netball Club would like to thank AFL Barwon for the opportunity to showcase our facility to the region. We are very proud of our facility, in particular its strong connection between netball and football. We now look forward to working with AFL Barwon and all other Geelong FNL clubs to deliver a first-class finals series”.

Geelong West Giants Football Netball Club Chair Sarah Naylor was pleased to have the opportunity to showcase their club again this final’s series.

“Geelong West is very excited to be hosting the first two weeks of 2023 Geelong FNL Finals and we thank AFL Barwon for the opportunity to showcase our Club to the Barwon region once again. Following the success of the 2022 Finals Series, we look forward to building on this foundation across the Qualifying, Elimination & Semi Finals weekends in September”.  

The full schedule for the Blood Toyota Geelong Football Netball League Finals Series is as follows:

Week 1 – West Oval

Saturday, September 2

Qualifying Finals

Sunday, September 3

Elimination Finals

Week 2 – West Oval

Saturday, September 9

Second Semi Finals

Sunday, September 10

First Semi Finals

Week 3 - Leopold Memorial Park

Saturday, September 16

Preliminary Finals

Week 4 - Leopold Memorial Park

Saturday, September 23

Grand Finals

The AFL has launched the all-new official mobile app for community football, the ‘Play AFL’ app.

Play AFL is a free iOS and Android app for local footy that houses fixtures, ladders, results and stats for every league on the PlayHQ platform.

It's an app designed for fans, players, coaches, umpires, volunteers, administrators and families to follow leagues, players and teams in the palm of a hand.

Go to your preferred app store and search ‘Play AFL’.

Click here to access links to download the Play AFL app on the Apple App Store and Google Play

Features include:

> Follow your favourites

With the Play AFL app, you'll have the ability to select favourite players, teams, clubs, grades and leagues, giving you easy access to the local footy you care about most.

> Quickly access results

Through your favourites, your app home screen will be setup with shortcuts to quickly access results and stats from around the grounds.

> Stay connected wherever you are

The Play AFL app's user-friendly interface is designed for players, coaches, umpires, volunteers, families and fans, no matter where you are, so that you can stay connected and engaged with community footy teams, clubs and players.

AFL Victoria and School Sport Victoria (SSV) have partnered to launch a nine-a-side Australian Rules Football competition for primary schools across the state, to be played in June and July. 

The competition for students in grades 4-6 will be played at venues across metropolitan and regional Victoria from mid-June, prior to the conclusion of term two and then again in July at the start of term three. 

Venues in Jacana, Casey, Kennington, Wangaratta, Barwon, Ringwood, Horsham and Newborough will host the competition. Four smaller playing fields will be set up on one ground, meaning 72 students can play simultaneously at a venue in a single-day, round robin format, maximizing participation and student involvement. 

Head of AFL Victoria, Ben Kavenagh, said: “Australian Rules Football plays such a prominent and important role in the Victorian school system and gives opportunities to tens of thousands of young boys and girls to play a team sport and get active every year. 

“The nine-a-side format we are launching for primary schools across Victoria is designed to get more kids playing football, whether they’re already involved or new to the game and wanting to learn new skills. 

“Smaller team sizes give schools more flexibility to participate, particularly where student numbers are lower. It’s an exciting time and we are really looking forward to seeing this program roll out.”

More than 68,000 primary school students participated in Australian Rules Football school programs across Victoria in 2022, an increase of 12,000 on 2021. Through initiatives like the nine-a-side competition, even more are expected to experience the game in schools this year. 

“AFL Victoria is proud of our long-standing association with School Sport Victoria and I want to thank SSV for their leadership in ensuring Australian Rules Football is accessible through their programs,” added Kavenagh.

For more information on AFL Victoria’s schools programs, contact Nicholas Holloway (nicholas.holloway@afl.com.au). 

2023 VICTORIAN PRIMARY SCHOOL 9-A-SIDE COMPETITION PROGRAM

Wed 21 June: Western Metropolitan Primary Region

South Barwon Reserve (20 teams)