VFL 2026

[AussieNick1999]

Looks like Tom Murphy will be finished up at Frankston. He's been announced as the new senior coach of Pines in the MPFNL.

 

[AnUltimateRessie]

Lachie Wilson is moving to Port Melbourne. Josh Tovey, who played some games for Collingwood VFL, and Josh Chatfield, who was Footscray's VFL captain in 2024, have also signed with Port Melbourne.

AJ Kuol Mun is leaving Port Melbourne for Werribee, which is bad news for Port Melbourne and great for Werribee. With his first-rate tap work, he was one of the players I had most hoped to keep, and he's a good chance to be drafted once he becomes more consistent with his marking around the ground. He'll be tough to replace.

Edited to add: Massimo Raso is also moving to Werribee.

AJ jumping VFL clubs each year isn't a great look to me. I hate that sort of stuff.

 

[SeaSide]

Might have had to invite Southport down for it (although I prefer it being a Victorian thing only and Southport might have said no anyway.) Or invite a strong metro, country, or VAFA club to play against Sandringham or Preston. But having four games at one venue would be a logistical challenge when it came to changerooms space. I doubt any of the standalones would have enough rooms for eight teams, their personnel, and their equipment.

An end of season knockout comp with all VFL clubs plus some premiership clubs, (and their runners-up) from local and country clubs participating would be great.
Grounds used could be Moorabbin, Victoria Park, Princes Park, Essendon, Footscray, and possibly some others not used for cricket.

 

[Yoda_]

An end of season knockout comp with all VFL clubs plus some premiership clubs, (and their runners-up) from local and country clubs participating would be great.
Grounds used could be Moorabbin, Victoria Park, Princes Park, Essendon, Footscray, and possibly some others not used for cricket.

didn't they try the Foxtel cup?

what a farce that ended up as.. agreed that it'd be fantastic if they did ALL competitions. Imagine a fairytale story like Balwyn coming up against Box Hill in a first final and winning? unreal thought that will never happen

 

[CFC1995]

didn't they try the Foxtel cup?

what a farce that ended up as.. agreed that it'd be fantastic if they did ALL competitions. Imagine a fairytale story like Balwyn coming up against Box Hill in a first final and winning? unreal thought that will never happen

The problem with that is Balwyn would get annihilated by Box Hill

 

[MortlockWatcher]

A better example would probably have been Balwyn against a standalone club.

 

[Shonuff77]

Werribee premiership ruckman Sam Conway has called time on his VFL career. He had the most hitouts in 2025. He played 51 games. Bees not only need a full forward they need a ruck as well.

 

[Flyingleslieskite]

Werribee premiership ruckman Sam Conway has called time on his VFL career. He had the most hitouts in 2025. He played 51 games. Bees not only need a full forward they need a ruck as well.

Its been mentioned earlier that they signed AJ from port melbourne so thats sorted

 

[CFC1995]

A better example would probably have been Balwyn against a standalone club.

Any of the stand alone clubs would beat Balwyn by 100 points + (TBC on how Sandy are shaping up)

 

[Spiny Norman]

Yeah, you've got yourselves a very good ruckman going into 2026. The only knocks on AJ are inconsistent marking around the ground and giving away some ruck free kicks, and I expect him to improve in both areas. There's a good chance you'll have to replace him sooner than you'd like because he's a good shout to be drafted once he does improve in those respects, but he's a very good signing for Werribee. In our game against Southport he was taking it right up to Brayden Crossley

Brayden Crossley

Age

26

Ht

198cm

Wt

102kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

9.4

2star

K

4.5

2star

HB

4.9

4star

M

2.4

3star

T

2.2

4star

G

0.5

3star

No current season stats available

D

9.2

3star

K

5.0

2star

HB

4.2

4star

M

2.0

3star

T

2.2

4star

G

0.6

3star

in the ruck, and we might well have won that game (it ended in a draw) if Kuol Mun hadn't had to come off in the third with some sort of ankle injury.

What Port Melbourne will be doing for a ruck is another question.... We've got some decent backups but really need to sign someone else now to take the main ruck duties.

 

[Yoda_]

Former Frankston YCW junior and now former Subiaco defender Harry Berenger is joining the Dolphis

AussieNick1999 this is the one with state league experience in tipping

 

[AussieNick1999]

Former Frankston YCW junior and now former Subiaco defender Harry Berenger is joining the Dolphis

AussieNick1999 this is the one with state league experience in tipping

I don't really follow the WAFL but 46 senior games suggests he's really solid. He's got some height according to his draft profile, and the club's official post suggests he'll be playing in the backline so maybe he can help fill that void left by Max Williams.

 

[emuboy]

With 22 teams (previously 21) and an 18 match season obviously not all teams play each other in a given year, I've never been sure how the VFL works its fixturing as to who plays who and where and who misses out. Is there a seeded draw with the teams ranked in terms of prior year finishing, a roster system over several years or just pot luck?

And some fixtures not happening would be a detriment to some clubs. For example, Port Melbourne would be less than happy if they failed to meet local rivals Williamstown and Sandringham during the season but probably would not be overly concerned about missing a meeting with the Gold Coast Suns Reserves. Conversely the Gold Coast Suns would be quite put out if their fixture saw no games against the Brisbane Lions or Southport, but missing playing Frankston or Werribee probably wouldn't bother them.

Does anyone know how the VFL works its fixtures?

 

[SeaSide]

With 22 teams (previously 21) and an 18 match season obviously not all teams play each other in a given year, I've never been sure how the VFL works its fixturing as to who plays who and where and who misses out. Is there a seeded draw with the teams ranked in terms of prior year finishing, a roster system over several years or just pot luck?

And some fixtures not happening would be a detriment to some clubs. For example, Port Melbourne would be less than happy if they failed to meet local rivals Williamstown and Sandringham during the season but probably would not be overly concerned about missing a meeting with the Gold Coast Suns Reserves. Conversely the Gold Coast Suns would be quite put out if their fixture saw no games against the Brisbane Lions or Southport, but missing playing Frankston or Werribee probably wouldn't bother them.

Does anyone know how the VFL works its fixtures?

Perhaps the AFL doesn't have too much time for the SOs as they are a PITA.
It's a shame as some of them are the foundations of modern day football.

 

[MortlockWatcher]

Slightly left-field, but ...

Does anyone have the March 5, 1981 edition of Inside Football?

I desperately need a scan of what is on page 22 (a page covering VFA football).

I am working on a book on the 1981 VFA season and there was a review of the 1980 season on page 23 and a review of the 1980/81 summer on page 22. I have page 23 as a PDF but somehow don't have page 22 apart from a stripe of text on the right hand side of the page.

Living in Perth, I don't have ready access to the SLV microfilm reels. The book is more than 95% completed and getting a scan of this page will speed things up by a few months as I don't expect to be in Melbourne until the middle of next year at the earliest.

 

[AussieNick1999]

Slightly left-field, but ...

Does anyone have the March 5, 1981 edition of Inside Football?

I desperately need a scan of what is on page 22 (a page covering VFA football).

I am working on a book on the 1981 VFA season and there was a review of the 1980 season on page 23 and a review of the 1980/81 summer on page 22. I have page 23 as a PDF but somehow don't have page 22 apart from a stripe of text on the right hand side of the page.

Living in Perth, I don't have ready access to the SLV microfilm reels. The book is more than 95% completed and getting a scan of this page will speed things up by a few months as I don't expect to be in Melbourne until the middle of next year at the earliest.

If you don't have any luck here, consider messaging the 'VFA Footy The Halcyon Days' page on Facebook. They've posted a ton of VFA memorabilia and even if they don't have it, they might be able to point you towards someone who does.

 

[random observer]

Slightly left-field, but ...

Does anyone have the March 5, 1981 edition of Inside Football?

I desperately need a scan of what is on page 22 (a page covering VFA football).

I am working on a book on the 1981 VFA season and there was a review of the 1980 season on page 23 and a review of the 1980/81 summer on page 22. I have page 23 as a PDF but somehow don't have page 22 apart from a stripe of text on the right hand side of the page.

Living in Perth, I don't have ready access to the SLV microfilm reels. The book is more than 95% completed and getting a scan of this page will speed things up by a few months as I don't expect to be in Melbourne until the middle of next year at the earliest.

I was in the city today so I had a went to the State Library and had a crack.

Staff are very helpful. Excellent readability is entirely due to the librarian.

I also included p.23 in case anyone else was interested in reading it.

 

[AussieNick1999]

I was in the city today so I had a went to the State Library and had a crack.

Staff are very helpful. Excellent readability is entirely due to the librarian.

I also included p.23 in case anyone else was interested in reading it.

I've got to head in there at some point. There are some article's about Frankston's history that I'd like to track down. Next year will be 60 years since we joined the VFA so I'm hoping to organise something to mark the occasion.

 

[MortlockWatcher]

I was in the city today so I had a went to the State Library and had a crack.

Staff are very helpful. Excellent readability is entirely due to the librarian.

I also included p.23 in case anyone else was interested in reading it.

You bloody legend random observer.

That is exactly what I needed!

 

[AussieNick1999]

Frankston may have lost another handy player in Harrison Jones. Announced as a Mt Eliza recruit yesterday and it seems he'll be there full-time.

Not panic time yet but our drawing power as a destination club may be put to the test this offseason.

 

[Flyingleslieskite]

Frankston may have lost another handy player in Harrison Jones. Announced as a Mt Eliza recruit yesterday and it seems he'll be there full-time.

Not panic time yet but our drawing power as a destination club may be put to the test this offseason.

Theyve pumped him up as hes a home grown junior returning. It mentions hes currently VFL listed

 

[Shonuff77]

Harry Grintell is playing on next year. He can play both ends of the field. He's played 72 VFL games, 52 for the bees.

 

[Flyingleslieskite]

Harry Grintell is playing on next year. He can play both ends of the field. He's played 72 VFL games, 52 for the bees.

Some pretty good recruits and retention for the bees, expect them to bounce back in 26'.

 

[Yoda_]

Frankston may have lost another handy player in Harrison Jones. Announced as a Mt Eliza recruit yesterday and it seems he'll be there full-time.

Not panic time yet but our drawing power as a destination club may be put to the test this offseason.

Seen Harrison Coe named as a signing at Mooroolbark as well, unsure if full time or not

A raft of re-signings though. Owens, Mynott, Milne, Barlow

 

[Yoda_]

Speaking of signings, all the hard work my impotent football club in targeted recruits has fallen to the way side.

Oskar Smartt is off the East Perth
Will Hoare and now Matt Foley are off to Coburg
Jordan Busutill off to Weribee

Discerning our inability to attract and retain VFL quality players