2026 VAFA Finals Fixture – September 19-20
The fixture has been released for Week 5 of the 2026 VAFA Finals Series, featuring William Buck Premier Women’s & Reserves Grand Finals, William Buck Premier Men’s Preliminary & Grand
The VAFA wishes to advise that General Manager of Football & Umpiring, Mr. Matt Collister, has accepted a position with Netball Australia as Super Netball Competitions Manager and will depart the VAFA on Tuesday 19th December.
Matt first joined the VAFA as Football Operations Manager in January 2020, just before the impact of COVID. Matt was promoted to his current General Manager position in April 2022.
CEO Jason Reddick commented “No doubt stemming from his playing days with both Old Melburnians and Old Geelong, Matt has shown a great passion for our Amateur football competition. He has been steadfast in upholding the integrity and prevailing laws of the game, equitably and without favour. In the last 18 months I’ve also witnessed Matt further develop his relationships with club personnel and collaborated with them in setting progressive changes to our policies and rules for the betterment of the competition.
Matt has made a great contribution as a valued staff member for close to four years. He moves on to the next stage of his career at a national sporting organisation with our sincere thanks and best wishes”.
Matt provided the following reflections: “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time working in Football Operations at the VAFA. I will miss the thrill of the Finals Series and the collaboration with clubs and stakeholders to find ways to improve and grow the competition.
I know that I leave the VAFA a better version of myself than when I started and I sincerely hope that I have left the VAFA competition in a better position than when I entered the role.
Special thanks to Brett Connell and Sam Confait who hired me into the Association in 2020, Peter Grant who oversaw my transition into the General Manager role and to Jason and the current Board and staff for their support, kindness and companionship.
The VAFA will look to appoint a replacement for Matt in the New Year. In the meantime, Football Operations Manager Dale Christie [email protected] and Football Operations Coordinator, Gabriella Martin [email protected], are available for all Football matters that Clubs may have.
We appreciate your patience during this transition period.
The fixture has been released for Week 5 of the 2026 VAFA Finals Series, featuring William Buck Premier Women’s & Reserves Grand Finals, William Buck Premier Men’s Preliminary & Grand
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