THE PULSE – Finals achievements & Premier Grand Finals

After the completion of four weeks of the 2026 VAFA Finals Series, we have seen 129 finals matches played and crowned 26 Premiership teams.

In hosting these Grand Finals, we have used 13 different venues. Access to suitable venues at this time of the year is a huge challenge, which necessitated eight men’s and four women’s Grand Finals being fixtured into morning time slots. Having been present for many of those grand finals, the AM scheduling certainly didn’t detract from the exhilaration experienced by the winning teams when the final siren sounded.

Whilst every Premiership represents a special success for each team and Club, there have been some standout achievements worth highlighting:

• Williamstown CYMS Women’s winning the inaugural U19 Women’s title at DSV Stadium, Williamstown
• Masala Men’s winning their Club’s first ever Premiership
• Beaumaris Women winning the Premier B Women’s flag in the first VAFA women’s night GF played in front of 800 fans at the Kennedy Community Centre
• A three peat of premiership victories for Richmond Central Reserves (Men’s Div 3) and West Brunswick Reserves (Men’s Div 2)
• Power House Men’s winning back-to-back flags and earning promotion D3 to D2 to D1 in consecutive seasons
• Wattle Park Div 3 Men’s having an undefeated season, capped off with a 92-point Premiership victory

We now turn our attention to the Premier grade finals this weekend with another seven Grand Finals to be won.

The Holmesglen U19 Premier Men’s Grand Final kicks off at 9.20am at Revo Fitness Park on Saturday, where Old Brighton will be striving for their third win in a row against the same opponent St Kevins, whom they defeated in 2024 and 2025. Given the turnover of players, it is remarkable that these teams find themselves contesting a third consecutive Grand Final.

Premier C Men’s has Fitzroy and Parkdale doing battle in both seniors and reserves at Trevor Barker Oval on Saturday, demonstrating the strong depth in their playing lists that will hold them in good stead in B Grade next year. Fitzroy have only lost two games for the year, although the latest one was to Parkdale in the second Semi Final.

Premier B Men’s will see the undefeated Collegians facing fellow promoted club, De La Salle, for the J.V. Deane Cup, with both Clubs looking to return to A Grade with some new silverware. Collegians finished seven games clear of De La Salle after the home and away season and won their Semi Final encounter by 51 points, but that is all confined to history once the two proud teams cross the line on Sunday at Trevor Barker Beach Oval.  

On Sunday at Revo Fitness Park, we feature the William Buck Premier Women’s Grand Final between last year’s winners Old Scotch and their Semi Final conquerors, Caulfield Grammarians. Scotch comfortably won each of the home and away encounters during the year but will need to turn around the eight point Semi Final defeat in order to earn an historic three peat of Premiership Cups. Only five points separated the teams in last year’s Grand Final, so are expecting another classic encounter between these two powerful Women’s teams.  

With a weekend forecast promising sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-20’s, we are expecting huge crowds to turn out for this weekend’s finals at our top tier venues. Patrons are encouraged to arrive early to access available car parking in the area and avoid delays with gate entry. Further details can be found on the Finals Football hub on VAFA website, link here: Finals – VAFA

So, the scene is set for showcasing a great exhibition of Amateur Football and community spirit.

Enjoy the occasion!

Jason Reddick – VAFA CEO