AFL Barwon Female Football 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 multiple divisions incorporating 19 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:
: Barwon Heads; Drysdale; Geelong Amateur; Ocean Grove
: Grovedale; Lara; St Joseph's; St Mary's
: Bell Post Hill; Geelong West Giants; North Geelong
: Colac Imperials
The competition has held grading games at the start of the seasons in 2018, 2021âÂÂ2024 in order to compose divisions to try to make matches as competitive as possible.
In March 2024, following extensive consultation AFL Barwon announced that the competition would transition from playing mostly on Sundays to scheduling Saturday matches from 2025.
Current clubs
Division 1
Division 2
Former clubs
Premiers
Division 1
Division 2
Division 3
Best and Fairest Award
Division 1
- 2018 â Charlotte Thorne (North Geelong) 39 votes
- 2019 â Stephanie Abfalter (Geelong Amateur) 19 votes
- 2021 â Isabella Hill (Grovedale) 21 votes
- 2022 â Alana Tully (Grovedale)
- 2023 â Danielle Sgarbi (Geelong Amateur)
- 2024 â Janessa Fitzgerald (Grovedale) 19 votes
- 2025 â Phoebe Monahan (Thomson) 28 votes
Division 2
- 2018 â Emma Allen (Barwon Heads) 23 votes
- 2019 â Charlotte Thorne (North Geelong) 27 votes
- 2021 â Temikka Beeston (North Geelong) 18 votes
- 2022 â Tara Smith (Drysdale)
- 2023 â Daisy Wilson (South Barwon)
- 2024 â Elara Dillon (South Barwon) 19 votes
- 2025 â Elara Dillon (South Barwon 30 votes
Division 3
- 2021 â Charlotte Simpson (St Joseph's) 18 votes
- 2022 â Maggie Caudullo
- 2023 â Tara Smith (Drysdale)
- 2024 â Monique Martin (Modewarre) 14 votes
Leading Goalkickers
Division 1
- 2018 â Ashleigh Bond (St Mary's) 28 goals
- 2019 â Ashleigh Bond (St Mary's) 23 goals
- 2021 â Bianca Cheever (St Mary's) & Rhianna Arnold (Geelong Amateur) 16 goals
- 2022 â Allesha McLean (St Mary's) 25 goals
- 2023 â Lucy Were (Geelong Amateur) 23 goals
- 2024 â Emily Kenshole (Thomson) 27 goals
- 2025 â Lillee Barendsen (Geelong Amateur) 51 goals
Division 2
- 2018 â Teagan Barber (Colac Imperials) 23 goals
- 2019 â Melissa Egan (Drysdale) 61 goals
- 2021 â Melissa Egan (Drysdale) 20 goals
- 2022 â Bianca Deckker (Drysdale) 28 goals
- 2023 â Emily Kenshole (Thomson) 31 goals
- 2024 â Bella Gilham (St Joseph's) 32 goals
- 2025 â Neave Dickson (Newtown & Chilwell) 41 goals
Division 3
- 2021 â Charlotte Simpson (St Joseph's), Rebekah Lane (South Barwon) & Camille King (Anglesea) 21 goals
- 2022 â Rebekah Lane (South Barwon) 28 goals
- 2023 â Bianca Deckker (Drysdale) 24 goals
- 2024 â Dakota Harrington (St Albans) 24 goals
Sponsorship
The divisions has had the following organisations as naming rights partner for each season:
: Epworth Health (Division 1)
: Corio Bay Health Group (Division 2)
: Epworth Health (Divisions 1âÂÂ3)
Representative matches
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.
References
External links