VAFA Wilson Women’s: Building it bigger and better

Shona MacInnes – Women’s Football and Engagement Manager 

It’s hard to believe 2018 was only the second year of women’s football in the VAFA.  

The surge in women’s football can be expressed in figures. A snapshot of this is in Victoria where in 2010 there were only 58 dedicated female football teams (includes junior and senior) and just eight seasons later in 2017 there were 747. This year, over 1,000 female football teams took to the field in this state alone. 

Our own competition reflects this growth with our founding 40 teams from 2017 expanding to 63 teams from 47 clubs this year. The VAFA now administers the largest senior women’s football competition in the country.   

What can’t be quantified is the immense benefit the integration of women into the VAFA has brought to our clubs and the wider community. Some common themes from the clubs are increased numbers of volunteers, stronger financial positions, booming social events and enhanced club cultures. 

We commenced a five-year longitudinal study on the participation of women on club committees and in coaching roles, with a view to develop and increase these numbers next year and beyond.  

Not only is our competition expanding in size, but the standard of our female players is ever-improving. The opening round this year showcased the marked increase in skill level, fitness and game sense across the board from last year. It was astounding the changes our first full pre-season produced. 

A testament to this is that over 120 of our players are on VFLW lists. Our competition is now consolidating as a pathway to the elite level for women’s football. 

We kicked off the season again with a Coaches’ Forum where 78 coaches and players, from the club’s leadership groups, attended the TH King Oval in early March. Many of our players have come across from other sports and are skilled at reading and reacting to play but haven’t had those years of deliberate practice needed to hone skills such as kicking, handballing and tackling. The forum concentrated on these areas with an element of physical conditioning as well. St Kilda FC 300-gamer, Nathan Burke, was the keynote speaker for the occasion. With his current role as the assistant coach for St Kilda VFLW in mind, and as the father of three daughters, Burke gave a fantastic insight into coaching female footballers. 

In future years these gaps in the women’s game will close as the new crops of players come through the Auskick and under-age football systems. We need to be patient until these skills develop. 

With the re-development of Elsternwick Park underway the Lightning Premiership weekend was held at Keysborough Playing Fields, the home of Old Mentonians. We thank the club for hosting and assisting with this event. This tournament gave 24 mainly new teams the opportunity to have their first hit out in a real match situation. Kew won on Saturday and Beaumaris took the honours on Sunday. 

This year the women’s competition was structured into Premier, Premier B Blue, Premier B White and Divisions 1-3. We had two Reserves competitions, one in William Buck Premier and the other in Premier B Blue.  

The season went for 14 rounds with each team playing each other twice and finals commenced in the first week of August. Sunday 19th August saw eight women’s grand finals played across all senior and reserves sections. 

Melbourne University WFC defeated Marcellin in William Buck Premier by 18 points. A hail storm during the game produced one of the iconic photographs for the season with not only 475 likes on @vafawomens Instagram but an astounding 4,750 likes when it was reposted by @aflwomens. The Marcellin Sheagles were victorious against Fitzroy-ACU in Premier Reserve.  

St Mary’s Salesian made it back-to-back premierships by winning Premier B Blue and Old Haileybury defeated the favourites, Scotch Stars, in Premier B White. West Brunswick overcame Old Geelong in Premier B Blue Reserve. 

Hawthorn AFC also went back-to-back after defeating Ivanhoe in Division 1, Whitefriars defeated Old Melburnians in Division 2 and in Division 3, Westbourne Grammarians were victorious over minor premiers Preston Bullants. 

We hosted our second Women’s Best & Fairest Presentation Night at The Park in Albert Park, with Marcellin ruck Taylor Padfield taking out the William Buck Premier women’s B&F while teammate, Laura Robertson, was named the Anytime Fitness Rising Star. Congratulations to the B&F winners from all the other sections. 265 attendees from our VAFA community lit up the red carpet and filled the function room with an infectious energy as we celebrated another great season. 

On the Queen’s Birthday weekend the VAFA again made history by taking both a men’s and a women’s representative side to South Australia to play against the Adelaide Footy League. Both teams achieved on-field victories, but the real success was the further integration of our men’s and women’s competitions. The men and women warmed up together on the final training night before, for the first time, participating in a combined Big V jumper presentation dinner at the Harry Trott Oval. The camaraderie and solidarity were further demonstrated by the genuine support and pride both teams gave and found in each other on match day. 

We thank head coach John Kanis and his assistants Frank Dunnell, Tina ‘Bobby’ Macumber and Peter Summers for their time and expertise. 

From the strong foundation laid last year VAFA women’s football continued to grow in size and standard in 2018. As I go out to meet with the clubs who are starting up women’s teams, I am continually reminded of the extraordinary people of the VAFA. It is their vision, their enthusiasm, commitment and just plain hard work, that has made our competition the benchmark in women’s community football.  

To the team at VAFA HQ, the competition has surpassed all expectations due, in no small way, to your remarkable dedication to making this work. 

It is again a great privilege and pleasure to be part of this outstanding football association.