Geelong Ammos midfielder Bella Hill has made history by taking out the 2026 Senior Female Division 1 Epworth Cup Best & Fairest.

Hill - a previous Division 1 winner in 2021 while playing for Grovedale, became the first player in Female Division 1 history to win the award twice by claiming this year's honour.

Hill, a former Geelong VFLW player, stepped away from football during the 2023 and 2024 seasons before making a return last year with Ammos.

Hill’s 2026 season saw her named in the best nine times while also finding the goals consistently with 17 goals in her 11 games.

She took out the award after finishing the season on 24 votes.

This saw her finish 11 votes clear of the runners up who finished tied on 13 votes in a competitive leaderboard.  

Geelong Ammos teammate Cheryl De Groot was one of those three players to finish tied on 13 votes.

Alongside De Groot on 13 votes was Grovedale’s Emily Worpel who was joined by St Mary’s Rebecca Clottey.

Coming in at fifth was St Joseph’s Bella Gilham on 12 votes.

The top 10 had an even spread of Division 1 clubs with five of the eight teams represented.

The top 10 leaderboard and a full list of award winners can be found below.

Leading Goalkicker: Bella Gilham (St Joseph's) 50 goals

Times News Group Rising Star: Juliet Muscroft (Torquay)

Female Football Coach of the Year: Chris Hickey (St Joseph's)

P&R Food Services Coaches Player of the Year: Emily Ramsay (Geelong Amateur)

Club by Club Leaderboards

Four clubs in the Barwon Region have been lucky enough to receive a grant that will help them to keep kids on the field.

Author: Ben Andonoudis

Every child deserves the chance to experience the joy of community sport.

For some families, rising costs have made that increasingly difficult.

Thanks to Marathon Foods and the Marathon Foods No child sits out of Community Sport Initiative, four clubs each received a $2000 grant to help cover junior registration costs.  

Marathon Foods Head of Commercial Operations Gianni Curcio said the initiative was about providing practical support to families and clubs at a grassroots level.

“Community sport plays such an important role in bringing people together, and we don’t want a family’s financial circumstances to be the reason a child misses out,” Curcio said.

“For us, this initiative was about doing something practical that could make a genuine difference at club level. If these grants help keep more kids involved, playing with their mates and being part of their local club, then that’s exactly what we wanted to achieve.”

Bell Park was one of four clubs to receive funding from the initiative.  

The funding enabled the club to cover the registration of multiple juniors who otherwise would not have been able to take part in organised sport.

Bell Park junior coordinator Ross Dillon said the funding would make a difference for local families.

“We appreciate it, it helps us a lot, and if we had more companies like marathon food it would be fantastic as well,” Dillon said.

Like every club, Bell Park relies on the hard work of dedicate volunteers to ensure every child is able to get on the field.

With the assistance of the grant, Bell Park can make the work of those volunteers a little easier.

“Getting assistance from a company that wants to get involved and help out, it helps you because it's not easy, it’s a big job and a lot of people give up a lot of time,” Dillon said.

Those volunteers give up their time so that as many children in their local area can have the opportunity to play community sport.

With the funding they have received they can work towards making that possible.

“I want every kid to play and every kid should be able to play,” Dillon said.

Over at the Ocean Grove Cobras Junior Football Club, that is a narrative they can resonate with.

The grants will be put to good use by the Cobras.

Families who may be experiencing financial difficulties will be assisted by help with registration fees, playing apparel and other participation costs such as mouthguards.

“It means we can continue to ensure that no child misses out on playing football because of financial circumstances,” Ocean Grove Cobras President Suze McLeish said.

At the Cobras, they know that junior football has many positives, both in the game and outside of it.

“We know the benefits of junior football extend far beyond the game itself.”

“Every child deserves the opportunity to experience those benefits,” McLeish said.

At Geelong West, the grant is helping keep more families at the club.  

For Geelong West Official Bethany Putland, the grant has helped to reduce barriers that prevent children from participating in community sport at the club.

“It has enabled us to continue investing in our junior programs, supporting player development and creating positive experiences that keep children engaged in sport,” Putland said.

Putland thanked Marathon Foods for its support of grassroots sport.

“Thank you for believing in the value of grassroots sport and for helping us provide opportunities that will have a lasting impact on the next generation,” Putland said.

And at St Albans Football Netball Club, the grant has allowed St Albans to invest valuable resources in their volunteers, easing the burden on important members of the club.

“It has allowed us to reduce some of the pressure on our volunteers,” St Albans Player Wellbeing Officer Grace Waterson said.

Thanks to Marathon Foods, the grant has also eased some of the everyday financial pressures associated with running a community sporting club.

“Like many community sporting clubs, the cost of simply getting a club up and running each week continues to increase,” Waterson said.

These costs have been partially helped thanks to the support of Marathon Foods and St Albans have been particularly appreciative of that support.

“We are incredibly grateful for the support which has made a genuine difference to the way our club operates both on and off the field,” Waterson said.

At a time when so many people are having to give up the things they love due to financial pressures, Marathon Foods is ensuring that children don’t have to give up community sport.

By Ben Andonoudis

Saturday, August 15 will see the AFL Barwon All-Abilities Football season come to an end as both divisions play their final games.

Here is everything you need to know:

Who is playing?

The AFL Barwon All-Abilities competitions feature two divisions.

Contact division:

• Bell Park
• Geelong West
• Newcomb
• St Joseph's 

Non-contact division:

• Geelong West
• Newcomb
• Newtown & Chilwell
• St Joseph's

Where are they playing?

Games will be played at St Joseph's FNC, taking place at both Walker Oval and Plan Group Oval on Saturday.

What about the season to this point?

The season started in April, with players battling it out over 10 rounds.

Who is playing who?

Contact Division:

The Grand final pits 2025 runners-up Bell Park, taking on 2025 consolation final winner Newcomb. The two sides have met once this season ,with Bell Park winning by 12-points.

The Consolation Final will see 2025 premiers Geelong West take on 2025 consolation final runners-up St Joseph's. The Joeys defeated Geelong West by 37 points in their only previous meeting this season.

Non-contact division:

The 2026 season saw the introduction of a non-contact division for the first time, allowing more players to take part in organised sport while having their abilities catered to.

The non-contact division is also non-competitive, allowing players to play for the love of the game.

In the non-contact division, the four teams have all performed at a high level and will be looking to end the season on a high.

Geelong West take on Newcomb in game one, while game two sees St Joseph's take on Newtown & Chilwell.

How can you support the players?

Get down to the games and cheer them on as they take to the field! They are free to attend.

Full Fixture (all on Saturday):

GAME 1 (NON-CONTACT) – Geelong West Giants vs Newcomb Power – WALKER OVAL

• 1:15pm – Game commences.
• 2:15pm – Game concludes (club medal presentations to follow).

GAME 2 (NON-CONTACT) – St Joseph's vs Newtown & Chilwell – WALKER OVAL

• 2:45pm – Game commences.
• 3:45pm – Games concludes (club medal presentations to follow).

GAME 3 (CONTACT) – Geelong West Giants vs St Joseph's - Consolation Final – WALKER OVAL

• 4:50pm – Teams run onto the ground.
• 5:00pm – Game commences.
• 6:25pm – Game concludes.
• 7:15pm – Presentation of medals in clubrooms.

GAME 4 (CONTACT) – Bell Park Dragons vs Newcomb Power - Grand Final – PLAN GROUP OVAL

• 5:35pm – Teams run onto the groud
• 5:40pm – Teams line up for national anthem and announcements 
• 5:45pm – Game commences.
• 7:10pm – Game concludes.
• 7:15pm – Presentation of medals in clubrooms.

By Ben Andonoudis

The AFL Barwon Epworth Senior Female Division 2 finals series gets underway with two exciting games to take place on Sunday.

Qualifying final: Lara vs Grovedale @ Lara Recreation Reserve (12pm, Sunday 9^th August)

The winner of this game will take on top of the ladder Torquay for a spot in the grand final.

Both teams have been impressive this season with Lara finishing the regular season in second while Grovedale were third on the ladder.

Both have great records this season with Lara having only tasted defeat once up to this point and Grovedale enjoying a 10-win home-and-away season.

The two previous matchups between these sides have seen Lara come away 61-point winners in round seven and 78-point winners in round 13.

Grovedale have shown improvement this season, having finished in seventh spot last season in Division 2. 

Elimination final: St Joseph's vs St Albans/Thomson @ Herne Hill Reserve (12pm Sunday 9^th August)

The winner of this game will face off in a sudden-death semi-final against the losing team from the other matchup this weekend.

Following the end of the regular season, St Joseph's found themselves in fourth spot while St Albans/Thomson were in fifth.

Both teams have enjoyed a positive win-loss record, St Joseph's going 9-5 in the home-and-away, and St Albans/Thomson 8-6.

The sides have faced off against each other twice already in 2026, with a thriller occurring in round seven as St Albans/Thomson came away two-point winners.

The other matchup between the two sides saw St Josephs win by forfeit.