VAFA launches Women’s Academy Series

The VAFA is thrilled to announce that, for the first time in League history, a Women’s Academy Series will be played to provide talented youngsters with the opportunity to feature in a round-robin tournament with and against players of their age group.

The VAFA Women’s Academy Series has been in the planning for a couple of years and will launch this weekend when the Melbourne University Women’s Football Club hosts Old Scotch at Melbourne University Oval on Sunday at 12pm.

The Academy Series will be played between three clubs – Melbourne University, Old Scotch, and Westbourne Grammarians – and will run for six rounds, featuring players born in 2005 or later. This series is designed as a prelude to the launch of a VAFA Under 19’s Women’s competition in future years.

VAFA Head of Football & Umpiring, Dale Christie, is delighted to see the Academy Series concept come to life.

“There has been a significant rise in the number of young women coming straight out of their local junior or school footy program, so we need to build the same bridge between junior and senior footy that our men have,” said Christie.

“And that’s Under 19s, where if you’re not quite ready for the added speed, intensity, and physicality of senior footy, you can continue to develop your game by playing with and against players of your age.

“We’ve seen what an incredibly useful pathway that is for our men, with so many youngsters starting their VAFA journey in the Under 19s and then making their way up into senior footy when they’re ready. For some, that jump comes quickly. For others, it’s a steadier build.

“Either way, it’s important that we provide our young women with the chance to develop at their own pace and not be thrown into senior competition before they’re ready to handle it. That will make it more enjoyable for the players and will allow our clubs to offer another option to incoming players.

“We’ll learn a lot as a league. Club coaches and administrators will also gain valuable insights into coaching Women’s Under 19’s footy, which is not available anywhere else at the community level. I’m sure the players will flourish with the opportunity to test themselves against their peers.”

Melbourne University Women’s Football Club President Maddi Noack is excited by this new series.

“We’re stoked about it, and we’ve had really good turnouts at Under 19’s training,” said Noack.

“We see it as a great way to feed our senior program and provide important continuity from junior to senior level.

“Systemically, community sport tends to lose young women around the 17-to-18-year-old mark and transitioning back into senior sport later can be difficult. Having an Under-19 program can provide a gentler introduction to senior programs and help us support their development as players and people.

“We’ve already been excited by a few young leaders in our group, and we have a mix of past and present Mugs players in our coaching group. This community of coaches know and love the club, so they’re good cultural fits to bring the Under 19s along with our broader MUGS culture.”

Old Scotch General Manager Andrew Toop has been around local footy for decades and has been an ardent supporter of the concept.

“We at Scotch see the need to develop a pathway,” said Toop.

“We also wanted to build a relationship with a local girls’ feeder club – the Camberwell Sharks – and a series like this can help clubs develop those relationships.

“We’ve installed a women’s coach – AFLW premiership player Tess Craven – who is coaching the Sharks’ top-age women’s side. We see this new Series as the next logical step in building our pathway to women’s senior footy.

“We want to acknowledge Liv Arundel, who is a player at our club and a teacher for MLC, and Liv Peck, who will be the captain of our Women’s Under 19’s team this year, for their efforts in getting this off the ground. Cam Kenny-Jones will be our inaugural coach, and he is also a teacher at MLC.

“I commend the VAFA for getting on the front foot to develop a competition for this age group. It’s critical. Women’s footy is at a point where it needs to be stimulated, and this series is a step in the right direction.”

Westbourne Grammarians senior coach Chris Grant agrees.

“Players develop at different speeds, and it’s invaluable to be able to place players into a standard of footy suited to where they’re at on their development curve,” said Grant.

“This new category in our women’s pathway gives us another option. We will use this series as a development tool for our youngsters, who are keen to test themselves against Old Scotch and Melbourne Uni’s kids.

“We’re excited to have this fantastic opportunity, and we can’t wait to visit Old Scotch in Round 2.”

VAFA Chief Executive Officer, Jason Reddick, is looking forward to this new initiative.

“We are very excited to launch the 2025 VAFA Women’s Academy Series in response to the requests from our clubs to bridge the gap between junior girls’ football and senior women’s level,” said Reddick.

“I congratulate the three clubs involved in piloting this program – Westbourne, Melbourne University and Old Scotch – and wish them all the best for what promises to be an exciting six-week tournament.

“We hope the success of the series will lead to the development of a fully-fledged Under 19’s women’s competition in the future.”

Round 1 – Sun May 25: MUWFC v Old Scotch (Melbourne University Oval, 12pm)

Round 2 – Sun June 1: Old Scotch vs Westbourne (Camberwell Sportsground, 11:30am)

Round 3 – Sun June 15: Westbourne v Old Scotch (Westbourne School Ground, TBA)

Round 4 – Sun June 22: MUWFC vs Westbourne (Melbourne University Oval, 12pm)

Round 5 – Sun June 29: Westbourne v MUWFC (Westbourne School Ground, TBA) 

Round 6 – Sat July 5: Old Scotch v MUWFC (Camberwell Sportsground, 9:20am)

Grand Final – Sat July 12: TBC v TBC (Elsternwick Park – curtain raiser to Big V Women vs PFL)

• Schedule subject to change.