AFL Barwon Female Football explained

AFL Barwon Female Football
Sport:	Australian rules football
Teams:	20
Confed:	AFL Barwon
Champion:	Geelong Amateur (Div 1) Geelong West Giants (Div 2) Modewarre (Div 3)
Champ Season:	2023
Most Champs:	Geelong Amateur (2× Div 1)
Sponsor:	Epworth Health
Related Comps:	GFL, GDFL, BFL, CDFL
Website:	AFL Barwon

AFL Barwon Female Football^[1] is a women's Australian rules football competition based in the greater Geelong region. The first season of senior football held for women in the area was 2018. The senior competition has since swelled to three divisions incorporating 20 teams. A further eight underage girls divisions are also competed for in the 2023 season.

Background

AFL Barwon is the governing body overseeing Australian rules football in the Geelong and greater district. After many years in which only junior girl's competitions were organised, a senior women's football competition commenced in 2018 under the banner of AFL Barwon Women's Football. Rather than being organised by the GFL, GDFL, or the BFL, the competition is managed under the AFL Barwon banner. The competition was renamed to AFL Barwon Female Football ahead of the 2019 season.

2018 inaugural season competing teams:^[2]

• Bellarine Football League:

Barwon Heads; Drysdale; Geelong Amateur; Ocean Grove

• Geelong Football League:

Grovedale; Lara; St Joseph's; St Mary's

• Geelong & District Football League:

• Colac & District Football League:

Colac Imperials

The competition has held grading games at the start of the seasons in 2018, 2021–2024 in order to compose divisions to try to make matches as competitive as possible.

In March 2024, following extensive consultation^[3] AFL Barwon announced that the competition would transition from playing mostly on Sundays to scheduling Saturday matches from 2025.^[4]

Current Clubs

Division 1

Club	Colours	Nickname	Home Ground	Former League	Est.	AFL Barwon Seasons	AFL Barwon Senior Premierships
							Total	Most recent
Barwon Heads		Seagulls	Howard Harmer Reserve, Barwon Heads	—	1922	2018-	1	2018
Geelong Amateur		Ammos, Pegasus	Queens Park, Highton	—	1926	2018-	2	2023
Grovedale		Tigers	Burdoo Reserve, Grovedale	—	1947	2018-	0	-
Lara		Cats	Lara Recreation Reserve, Lara	—	1880	2018-	0	-
St Mary's		Saints	Kardinia Park West, South Geelong	—	1953	2018-	1	2019
Thomson		Tigers	Thomson Recreation Reserve, Thomson	—	1953	2023-	0	-
Torquay		Tigers	Spring Creek Reserve, Torquay	—	1952	2019-	0	-

Division 2

Club	Colours	Nickname	Home Ground	Former League	Est.	AFL Barwon Seasons	AFL Barwon Senior Premierships
							Total	Most recent
Anglesea		Roos	Ellimatta Reserve, Anglesea	—	1963	2021-	1	2022
Drysdale		Hawks	Drysdale Recreational Reserve, Drysdale	—	1879	2018-	0	-
Geelong West		Giants	West Oval, Geelong West	—	2017	2018-	1	2022
Newtown & Chilwell		Eagles	Elderslie Reserve, Newtown	—	1933	2021-	0	-
South Barwon		Swans	McDonald Reserve, Belmont	—	1990	2021-	0	-
St Joseph's		Joeys	Herne Hill Reserve, Herne Hill	—	1973	2018-	1	2022

Division 3

Club	Colours	Nickname	Home Ground	Former League	Est.	AFL Barwon Seasons	AFL Barwon Senior Premierships
							Total	Most recent
Barwon Heads		Seagulls	Howard Harmer Reserve, Barwon Heads	—	1922	2018-	1	2018
Belmont Lions		Lions	Winter Reserve, Belmont	—	1965	2024-	0	-
Geelong Amateur		Ammos, Pegasus	Queens Park, Highton	—	1926	2018-	0	-
Grovedale		Tigers	Burdoo Reserve, Grovedale	—	1947	2018-	0	-
Modewarre		Warriors	Mt Moriac Recreation Reserve, Mount Moriac	—	1879	2023-	1	2023
North Geelong		Magpies	Osborne Park, North Geelong	VWFL	1876	2018-	2	2019
St Albans		Supersaints	St Albans Reserve, Thomson	—	1880	2021-	0	-

Former Clubs

Club	Colours	Nickname	Home Ground	Former League	Est.	AFL Barwon Seasons	AFL Barwon Senior Premierships		Fate
							Total	Most recent
Bell Post Hill		Panthers	Myers Reserve, Bell Post Hill	—	1976	2018	0	-	In recess
Colac Imperials		Imperials	Western Reserve, Colac	—	1922	2018-2021	0	-	In recess
Ocean Grove		Grubbers	Shell Road Reserve, Ocean Grove	—	1964	2018-2019	0	-	In recess

Premiers

Division 1

• 2018 — North Geelong
• 2019 — St Mary's
• 2020 — Season cancelled due to ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.
• 2021 — Not awarded^[5]
• 2022 — Geelong Amateur
• 2023 — Geelong Amateur

Division 2

• 2018 — Barwon Heads
• 2019 — North Geelong
• 2020 — Season cancelled due to ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.
• 2021 — Not awarded
• 2022 — St Joseph's
• 2023 — Geelong West Giants

Division 3

• 2021 — Not awarded
• 2022 — Anglesea
• 2023 — Modewarre

Ladders and finals results

2018

Division 1	Wins	Losses	Draws	For	Against	%	Pts		Final	Team	G	B	Pts	Team	G	B	Pts
North Geelong	15	0	0	566	79	716.46%	46		1st Semi	Geelong Amateur	8	2	50	Geelong West Giants	4	5	29
St Mary's	11	4	0	295	206	143.20%	34		2nd Semi	North Geelong	2	10	22	St Mary's	3	3	21
Geelong Amateur	7	8	0	150	405	37.04%	18		Preliminary	St Mary's	7	9	51	Geelong Amateur	1	10	16
Geelong West Giants	4	11	0	108	429	25.17%	8		Grand	North Geelong	6	5	41	St Mary's	2	3	15

Division 2	Wins	Losses	Draws	FF	For	Against	%	Pts		Final	Team	G	B	Pts	Team	G	B	Pts
Colac Imperials	9	5	0	1	337	223	151.12%	32		1st Semi	Barwon Heads	3	4	22	Ocean Grove	3	3	21
Grovedale	9	5	0	0	223	154	144.81%	32		2nd Semi	Colac Imperials	6	5	41	Grovedale	6	3	39
Ocean Grove	9	6	0	0	457	130	351.54%	30		Preliminary	Barwon Heads	5	5	35	Grovedale	1	6	12
Barwon Heads	9	6	0	0	469	229	204.80%	30		Grand	Barwon Heads	4	9	33	Colac Imperials	4	8	32
Drysdale	6	8	0	1	272	246	110.57%	24
St Joseph's	4	11	0	0	155	399	38.85%	10
Lara	3	12	0	0	171	503	34.00%	10
Bell Post Hill	1	11	0	0	82	282	29.08%	2

Note: Drysdale and St Joseph's started the season in Division 1^[6]

2019

Division 1	Wins	Losses	Draws	FF	For	Against	%	Pts		Final	Team	G	B	Pts	Team	G	B	Pts
Geelong Amateur	12	1	0	0	907	175	581.29%	48		Elimination	Barwon Heads	8	5	53	Colac Imperials	4	8	32
Geelong West Giants	11	2	0	0	800	228	350.88%	44		Qualifying	St Mary's	5	8	38	Geelong West Giants	5	6	36
St Mary's	10	3	0	0	923	240	384.58%	40		1st Semi	Geelong West Giants	8	6	54	Barwon Heads	3	0	18
Barwon Heads	7	6	0	0	616	390	157.95%	28		2nd Semi	St Mary's	6	5	41	Geelong Amateur	4	5	29
Colac Imperials	5	7	0	1	411	588	69.90%	24		Preliminary	Geelong Amateur	4	9	33	Geelong West Giants	3	1	19
Grovedale	3	10	0	0	216	692	31.21%	12		Grand	St Mary's	6	4	40	Geelong Amateur	4	5	29
Torquay	3	10	0	0	211	678	31.12%	12
Ocean Grove	0	12	0	0	40	1133	3.53%	0

Division 2	Wins	Losses	Draws	FF	For	Against	%	Pts		Final	Team	G	B	Pts	Team	G	B	Pts
North Geelong	12	0	0	1	1145	79	1449.37%	52		Elimination	St Joseph's	5	11	41	Geelong West Giants	2	2	14
Drysdale	11	2	0	0	1025	280	366.07%	44		Qualifying	Drysdale	12	4	76	St Mary's	3	4	22
St Mary's	6	6	0	1	517	405	127.65%	28		1st Semi	St Mary's	5	6	36	St Joseph's	2	5	17
Geelong West Giants	7	6	0	0	429	592	72.47%	28		2nd Semi	North Geelong	10	18	78	Drysdale	1	0	6
St Joseph's	6	6	0	0	544	502	108.37%	24		Preliminary	Drysdale	4	4	28	St Mary's	2	0	12
Geelong Amateur	4	9	0	0	311	673	46.21%	16		Grand	North Geelong	3	8	26	Drysdale	0	1	1
Lara	2	10	0	0	381	592	67.79%	8
Barwon Heads	2	11	0	0	141	1400	10.07%	8

2020

Season cancelled due to ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.

2021

On 19 September 2021, due to ongoing restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in Victoria, AFL Barwon was forced to cancel the remaining weeks of the competitions without premierships being awarded.

Division 1	Wins	Losses	Draws	FF	For	Against	%	Pts		Final	Team	G	B	Pts	Team	G	B	Pts
Geelong Amateur	11	0	0	0	552	108	511.11%	36		1st Semi	St Mary's	2	4	16	Grovedale	2	7	19
Newtown & Chilwell	7	4	0	0	303	233	130.04%	22		2nd Semi	Geelong Amateur	3	2	20	Newtown & Chilwell	4	6	30
St Mary's	6	5	0	0	302	276	109.42%	20		Preliminary	Geelong Amateur				Grovedale
Grovedale	5	5	0	1	213	333	63.96%	18		Grand	Newtown & Chilwell				–
Geelong West Giants	5	6	0	0	175	180	97.22%	16
Barwon Heads	2	9	0	0	143	558	25.63%	4

Division 2	Wins	Losses	Draws	FF	For	Against	%	Pts		Final	Team	G	B	Pts	Team	G	B	Pts
North Geelong	7	4	0	0	449	70	641.43%	28		1st Semi	Newtown & Chilwell	5	8	38	St Mary's	1	4	10
Drysdale	8	3	0	0	404	166	243.37%	26		2nd Semi	North Geelong	2	10	22	Drysdale	6	1	37
Newtown & Chilwell	7	4	0	0	186	376	49.47%	20		Preliminary	North Geelong				Newtown & Chilwell
St Mary's	6	5	0	0	251	280	89.44%	18		Grand	Drysdale				–
Geelong West Giants	4	7	0	0	101	267	37.83%	12
Lara	4	7	0	0	138	370	37.30%	10

Division 3	Wins	Losses	Draws	FF	For	Against	%	Pts		Final	Team	G	B	Pts	Team	G	B	Pts
St Joseph's	7	4	0	0	619	128	483.59%	28		1st Semi	Colac Imperials	3	10	28	Anglesea	7	5	47
Torquay	6	4	1	0	373	121	308.26%	24		2nd Semi	St Joseph's	2	2	14	Torquay	6	13	49
Colac Imperials	6	4	0	0	435	144	302.08%	22		Preliminary	St Joseph's				Anglesea
Anglesea	6	4	1	0	442	150	294.67%	20		Grand	Torquay				–
South Barwon	6	5	0	0	273	171	159.65%	20
Geelong Amateur	3	8	0	0	104	467	22.17%	10
St Albans	2	9	0	0	93	500	18.60%	6
Barwon Heads	0	11	0	0	17	673	2.53%	0

2022

Division 1	Wins	Losses	Draws	FF	ADJ	For	Against	%	Pts		Final	Team	G	B	Pts	Team	G	B	Pts
Geelong Amateur	10	1	0	0	4	447	134	333.58%	44		1st Semi	Newtown & Chilwell	3	6	24	Grovedale	4	3	27
St Mary's	9	2	0	0	8	507	205	247.32%	44		2nd Semi	Geelong Amateur	7	8	50	St Mary's	1	1	7
Newtown & Chilwell	6	5	0	0	6	309	368	83.97%	30		Preliminary	St Mary's	5	15	45	Grovedale	2	1	13
Grovedale	4	7	0	0	6	265	403	65.76%	22		Grand	Geelong Amateur	4	5	29	St Mary's	0	3	3
Barwon Heads	3	8	0	0	4	336	430	78.14%	16
Geelong West Giants	1	10	0	0	2	167	491	34.01%	6

Division 2	Wins	Losses	Draws	FF	ADJ	For	Against	%	Pts		Final	Team	G	B	Pts	Team	G	B	Pts
St Joseph's	9	2	0	0	4	617	324	190.43%	40		1st Semi	St Mary's	4	3	27	Torquay	5	3	33
Drysdale	7	4	0	0	6	419	376	111.44%	34		2nd Semi	St Joseph's	10	11	71	Drysdale	1	4	10
St Mary's	6	5	0	0	4	450	369	121.95%	28		Preliminary	Drysdale	2	6	18	Torquay	8	9	57
Torquay	5	6	0	0	6	438	315	139.05%	26		Grand	St Joseph's	5	3	33	Torquay	3	2	20
Newtown & Chilwell	4	6	0	1	6	321	394	81.47%	22
Barwon Heads	2	9	0	0	4	185	652	28.37%	12

Division 3	Wins	Losses	Draws	FF	ADJ	For	Against	%	Pts		Final	Team	G	B	Pts	Team	G	B	Pts
Anglesea	10	1	0	0	4	510	207	246.38%	44		1st Semi	Lara	3	7	25	North Geelong	6	4	40
South Barwon	8	2	0	0	0	538	184	292.39%	34		2nd Semi	Anglesea	2	13	25	South Barwon	3	3	21
Lara	7	3	0	0	2	399	267	149.44%	32		Preliminary	South Barwon	9	9	63	North Geelong	1	3	9
North Geelong	4	7	0	0	4	212	302	70.20%	20		Grand	Anglesea	6	6	42	South Barwon	2	3	15
St Albans	2	9	0	0	2	61	453	13.47%	10
Geelong Amateur/Geelong West	1	6	0	4	0	129	436	29.59%	4

Source: ^[7]

2023

Division 1	Wins	Losses	Draws	FF	ADJ	For	Against	%	Pts		Final	Team	G	B	Pts	Team	G	B	Pts
Geelong Amateur	10	2	0	0	6	600	145	413.79%	46		1st Semi	St Mary's	3	3	21	Barwon Heads	4	9	33
Grovedale	8	3	1	0	4	328	235	139.57%	38		2nd Semi	Geelong Amateur	1	9	15	Grovedale	2	1	13
St Mary's	6	5	1	0	4	389	434	89.63%	30		Preliminary	Grovedale	6	15	51	Barwon Heads	1	4	10
Barwon Heads	5	7	0	0	4	407	498	81.73%	24		Grand	Geelong Amateur	4	10	34	Grovedale	2	1	13
Lara	3	9	0	0	4	366	572	63.99%	16
St Joseph's	3	9	0	0	4	341	547	62.34%	16

Division 2	Wins	Losses	Draws	FF	ADJ	For	Against	%	Pts		Final	Team	G	B	Pts	Team	G	B	Pts
Geelong West Giants	11	1	0	0	2	441	175	252.00%	46		1st Semi	Thomson	4	7	31	South Barwon	2	4	16
Anglesea	9	3	0	0	4	457	180	253.89%	40		2nd Semi	Geelong West Giants	8	3	51	Anglesea	1	1	7
Thomson	8	4	0	0	2	451	325	138.77%	34		Preliminary	Anglesea	3	4	22	Thomson	4	4	28
South Barwon	7	4	0	1	2	347	298	116.44%	26		Grand	Geelong West Giants	3	5	23	Thomson	3	4	22
Newtown & Chilwell	6	6	0	1	4	531	328	161.89%	28
St Mary's	5	6	0	1	4	459	386	118.91%	24
Torquay	2	9	0	1	0	208	454	45.81%	8
Geelong Amateur	0	12	0	0	4	145	893	16.24%	4

Division 3	Wins	Losses	Draws	FF	ADJ	For	Against	%	Pts		Final	Team	G	B	Pts	Team	G	B	Pts
North Geelong	9	2	1	0	4	396	209	189.47%	42		1st Semi	Modewarre	4	9	33	Barwon Heads	2	1	13
Drysdale	9	3	0	0	0	594	186	319.35%	36		2nd Semi	North Geelong	4	7	31	Drysdale	2	1	13
Modewarre	8	4	0	0	2	334	172	194.19%	34		Preliminary	Drysdale	3	1	19	Modewarre	4	8	32
Barwon Heads	6	5	1	0	2	258	332	77.71%	28		Grand	North Geelong	1	8	14	Modewarre	6	0	36
St Albans	3	9	0	0	4	236	394	59.90%	16
Bannockburn	0	11	0	1	0	85	610	13.93%	0

Source: ^[8]

Best and Fairest Award

Division 1

• 2018 — Charlotte Thorne (North Geelong) 39 votes^[9]
• 2019 — Stephanie Abfalter (Geelong Amateur) 19 votes^[10]
• 2021 — Isabella Hill (Grovedale) 21 votes
• 2022 — Alana Tully (Grovedale)^[11]
• 2023 — Danielle Sgarbi (Geelong Amateur)^[12]

Division 2

• 2018 — Emma Allen (Barwon Heads) 23 votes^[13]
• 2019 — Charlotte Thorne (North Geelong) 27 votes^[14]
• 2021 — Temikka Beeston (North Geelong) 18 votes
• 2022 — Tara Smith (Drysdale)^[11]
• 2023 — Daisy Wilson (South Barwon)^[12]

Division 3

• 2021 — Charlotte Simpson (St Joseph's) 18 votes
• 2022 — Maggie Caudullo^[11]
• 2023 — Tara Smith (Drysdale)^[12]

Leading Goalkickers

Division 1

• 2018 — Ashleigh Bond (St Mary's) 28 goals
• 2019 — Ashleigh Bond (St Mary's) 23 goals
• 2021 — Bianca Cheever (St Mary's) & Rhianna Arnold (Geelong Amateur) 16 goals^[15]
• 2022 — Allesha McLean (St Mary's) 25 goals^[11]
• 2023 — Lucy Were (Geelong Amateur) 23 goals

Division 2

• 2018 — Teagan Barber (Colac Imperials) 23 goals
• 2019 — Melissa Egan (Drysdale) 61 goals
• 2021 — Melissa Egan (Drysdale) 20 goals^[15]
• 2022 — Bianca Deckker (Drysdale) 28 goals^[11]
• 2023 — Emily Kenshole (Thomson) 31 goals

Division 3

• 2021 — Charlotte Simpson (St Joseph's), Rebekah Lane (South Barwon) & Camille King (Anglesea) 21 goals^[15]
• 2022 — Rebekah Lane (South Barwon) 28 goals^[11]
• 2023 — Bianca Deckker (Drysdale) 24 goals

Grand Final Best on Ground

Division 1

• 2022 – Cheryl de Groot (Geelong Amateur)^[16]
• 2023 – Danielle Sgarbi (Geelong Amateur)^[17]

Division 2

• 2022 – Tamika Lewis (St Joseph's)^[16]
• 2023 – Teagan Tatlock (Thomson)^[18]

Division 3

• 2022 – Ruby Manson (Anglesea)^[16]
• 2023 – Monique Martin (Modewarre)^[19]

Sponsorship

The divisions has had the following organisations as naming rights partner for each season:

• 2018:

Epworth Health (Division 1)

Corio Bay Health Group (Division 2)

• 2019, 2021–22:

Epworth Health (Divisions 1–3)

Representative games

In May 2019, an AFL Barwon Female Football representative team coached by Geelong AFLW player Melissa Hickey, and captained by Barwon Heads' Emma Allen, played the Northern Football Netball League.

External links

• Official website
• PlayHQ Results & Ladders (2022)

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2022 . AFL Barwon 2022 Annual Report . 2023-06-09 . AFL Barwon.
2. Web site: SENIOR WOMEN'S COMPETITION COMING IN 2018 . AFL Barwon . 21 May 2021.
3. Web site: AFL Barwon Future of Football & Netball Project Statement - Senior Male Football & Senior Netball. . AFL Barwon . 4 April 2024 . 28 March 2024.
4. Web site: King . Tom . Non-mandatory promotion adopted by AFL Barwon . Krock Football . Geelong Broadcasters Pty Limited . 4 April 2024 . 28 March 2024.
5. Web site: CANCELLATION OF REMAINING 2021 WINTER COMPETITIONS . AFL Barwon . 19 September 2021 . 19 September 2021.
6. Web site: SENIOR WOMEN'S FOOTBALL COMPETITION RESTRUCTURE . AFL Barwon . 21 May 2021.
7. Web site: AFL Barwon FNL . playhq.com . 8 August 2022.
8. Web site: AFL Barwon FNL . playhq.com . 28 August 2023.
9. Web site: AFL BARWON SENIOR WOMENS DIVISION 1 B&F . AFL Barwon . 21 May 2021.
10. Web site: ABFALTER CLAIMS DIVISION ONE CROWN IN THRILLING COUNT . AFL Barwon . 21 May 2021.
11. Book: AFL Barwon 2022 Annual Report . 63.
12. Web site: SGARBI TOPS LOCAL WOMEN'S FOOTY . Krock Football . 28 August 2023.
13. Web site: AFL BARWON SENIOR WOMEN'S DIVISION 2 B&F . AFL Barwon . 21 May 2021.
14. Web site: THORNE GOES BACK TO BACK . AFL Barwon . 21 May 2021.
15. Book: AFL Barwon 2021 Annual Report . 67.
16. News: Forrest . Matthew . A GRAND DAY FORAMAZING AMMOS . Geelong Advertiser . Nationwide News Pty Ltd . 16 August 2022 . Geelong, Victoria . 30.
17. News: Forrest . Matthew . Wammos gun down Grovedale . Geelong Advertiser . Nationwide News Pty Ltd . 28 August 2023 . Geelong, Victoria . 30.
18. News: Forrest . Matthew . Extra special . Geelong Advertiser . Nationwide News Pty Ltd . 28 August 2023 . Geelong, Victoria . 32.
19. News: Forrest . Matthew . Warriors fire true on way to title . Geelong Advertiser . Nationwide News Pty Ltd . 28 August 2023 . Geelong, Victoria . 30.