VFL 2026

[Flyingleslieskite]

Time for a 20 game season surely.

Time for teams to play each other all once surely, or will 2026 see some stand alones play each other twice?

With Tassie in and Sandy stand alone this may still apply but the Ants are no longer, while Coburg are pushing for finals

 

[Shonuff77]

Time for a 20 game season surely.

Exactly, there's even amount of teams, why have they persisted with 3 ridiculous byes. Need to bring the state game to Melbourne as well.

 

[VFABees]

Jennie The Terminator Loughnan will be waiting for her next scalp , which i hear is Coburg
She is no good and needs to look in her own backyard

VFL's fans is always blaming someone else.
You want to know what undid the Bullants and maybe Frankston and Coburg. It's not the AFL or AFL Vic. It's Willy, Box Hill and Port poaching 4 - 6 players each year only to delist them 12 months later.

AFL gifted Port Melbourne finals for a decade and Port couldn't even get a stadium naming sponsor for most of them..

 

[bedford]

VFL's fans is always blaming someone else.
You want to know what undid the Bullants and maybe Frankston and Coburg. It's not the AFL or AFL Vic. It's Willy, Box Hill and Port poaching 4 - 6 players each year only to delist them 12 months later.

AFL gifted Port Melbourne finals for a decade and Port couldn't even get a stadium naming sponsor for most of them..

Well done on the crap

 

[bedford]

Tom Mitchell big chance to sign at Port

 

[Dogs till i die]

What makes you say that

"The cost of an eastern seaboard competition is prohibitive" was a quote in an earlier post and the AFL / AFL Vic currently pay all travel costs for AFL clubs, including stanadalones.

I get the impression the AFL/Afl Vic will demand more from standalones to remain in the comp.

Part distrust from me, part financial reality.

 

[Flyingleslieskite]

Tom Mitchell big chance to sign at Port

Wont change anything! He looked so far off the pace for Collingwood VFL in 2025

 

[Flyingleslieskite]

"The cost of an eastern seaboard competition is prohibitive" was a quote in an earlier post and the AFL / AFL Vic currently pay all travel costs for AFL clubs, including stanadalones.

I get the impression the AFL/Afl Vic will demand more from standalones to remain in the comp.

Part distrust from me, part financial reality.

It was the AFLs idea to have the VFL takeover the NEAFL meaning interstate travel...so they can still pay it

 

[bedford]

Wont change anything! He looked so far off the pace for Collingwood VFL in 2025

Just come out and say you hate Port

 

[eth-dog]

Just come out and say you hate Portals

Mate. Come on. I don't particularly like the guy but he loves the VFL and stands up for all stand alones. He has a point unfortunately

 

[Flyingleslieskite]

Mate. Come on. I don't particularly like the guy but he loves the VFL and stands up for all stand alones. He has a point unfortunately

Thank you champ

How do you think Sandy will fare this season without the st kilda alignment?

 

[bedford]

Thank you champ

How do you think Sandy will fare this season without the st kilda alignment?

You champed him lol

 

[AussieNick1999]

Thank you champ

How do you think Sandy will fare this season without the st kilda alignment?

This season I suspect they'll be battling. Not necessarily bottom four but not in the finals mix.

What matters more in my opinion is whether they can lure back supporters who drifted away during the alignment. If they can't build up a strong supporter base they'll spend the next few years like Preston; thrashed every week, no money to spend on players or coaches, matches being played in front of run down stands with hardly anyone in them.

 

[Flyingleslieskite]

This season I suspect they'll be battling. Not necessarily bottom four but not in the finals mix.

What matters more in my opinion is whether they can lure back supporters who drifted away during the alignment. If they can't build up a strong supporter base they'll spend the next few years like Preston; thrashed every week, no money to spend on players or coaches, matches being played in front of run down stands with hardly anyone in them.

Agreed but put it this way, at least they're in a better demograpic compared to Preston.
And they would have had this plan in the works for years. Unlike Preston too.

 

[AussieNick1999]

Agreed but put it this way, at least they're in a better demograpic compared to Preston.
And they would have had this plan in the works for years. Unlike Preston too.

They definitely have far more to work with than Preston did. Frankston are close enough to be a local rival but both clubs will have a large enough region of their own to draw supporters from. And of course Sandringham hasn't seen the same demographic changes that the inner suburbs have.

The deciding factor will ultimately be whether or not crowds show up or not. Are past supporters going to return now that the club is independent again. Can the club draw in new supporters, sponsorships etc? Will they be able to draw healthy crowds with their games clashing with local footy? Or will they move toward night football like Frankston did?

 

[AussieNick1999]

Some big news for Port Melbourne today. VFL Rewind have just announced that the club will be selling off its poker machines, leaving Williamstown, Werribee, and Southport as the only VFL standalone clubs supported by pokies revenue.

It's a pretty significant move given Port's on-field and off-field state over the past few years, and I'm sure it's not a decision they've made lightly. That being said, I applaud them for doing it. I despise the close link between footy and gambling and pokies have been a big source of inequality between clubs in the VFL. Hopefully they can become yet another case study of how to make a football club thrive without pokies.

 

[bedford]

This season I suspect they'll be battling. Not necessarily bottom four but not in the finals mix.

What matters more in my opinion is whether they can lure back supporters who drifted away during the alignment. If they can't build up a strong supporter base they'll spend the next few years like Preston; thrashed every week, no money to spend on players or coaches, matches being played in front of run down stands with hardly anyone in them.

They have a great footy manager and some astute people on the coaching panel

 

[bedford]

They definitely have far more to work with than Preston did. Frankston are close enough to be a local rival but both clubs will have a large enough region of their own to draw supporters from. And of course Sandringham hasn't seen the same demographic changes that the inner suburbs have.

The deciding factor will ultimately be whether or not crowds show up or not. Are past supporters going to return now that the club is independent again. Can the club draw in new supporters, sponsorships etc? Will they be able to draw healthy crowds with their games clashing with local footy? Or will they move toward night football like Frankston did?

I believe a lot of past players etc have chipped in a fair amount of cash , Sandy by the Bay is a great set up as well

 

[MegaA]

Some big news for Port Melbourne today. VFL Rewind have just announced that the club will be selling off its poker machines, leaving Williamstown, Werribee, and Southport as the only VFL standalone clubs supported by pokies revenue.

It's a pretty significant move given Port's on-field and off-field state over the past few years, and I'm sure it's not a decision they've made lightly. That being said, I applaud them for doing it. I despise the close link between footy and gambling and pokies have been a big source of inequality between clubs in the VFL. Hopefully they can become yet another case study of how to make a football club thrive without pokies.

It’s a very divisive one, some are like you and dislike pokies others feel that while they are legal clubs should take advantage of that revenue stream. It’s not as if a club pulls out from pokies and it makes a dent into people gambling habbita, sporting clubs have little impact on people choosing gaming as a source of entertainment. Additionally it’s not as if somebody chooses to play pokies to help out their club, the Rex club is literally 2 blocks from my place and less than a 5 minute walk - I’ve been a port Melbourne member for several years but not once have I thought about going to play in order to help the club. Whilst It is supported by some members others feel like we may be at the crossroads as generating revenue is becoming increasingly difficult in a harsh economic climate.

 

[AussieNick1999]

It’s a very divisive one, some are like you and dislike pokies others feel that while they are legal clubs should take advantage of that revenue stream. It’s not as if a club pulls out from pokies and it makes a dent into people gambling habbita, sporting clubs have little impact on people choosing gaming as a source of entertainment. Additionally it’s not as if somebody chooses to play pokies to help out their club, the Rex club is literally 2 blocks from my place and less than a 5 minute walk - I’ve been a port Melbourne member for several years but not once have I thought about going to play in order to help the club. Whilst It is supported by some members others feel like we may be at the crossroads as generating revenue is becoming increasingly difficult in a harsh economic climate.

I don't begrudge any club that is tempted by the potential revenue of pokies. The financial stability it can provide even in times of on-field struggle is something that a lot of clubs - especially struggling ones - would have a hard time turning away from. And yes, I know those pokies machines will still be siphoning money from problem gamblers and making someone else rich, but it's not a meaningless gesture for a club to say "we won't be a part of this anymore." As a Frankston supporter I'm extremely proud that we've been able to build a strong club without relying on pokies.

From what I've seen of Port Melbourne's gameday atmosphere over the past couple seasons, the club is making great efforts to engage the local community. It's something I think Frankston could learn a bit from. It'll be a harder journey for you guys due to demographic differences between our areas, but from what I've seen you guys are making the right moves to build a strong supporter base.

 

[MegaA]

I don't begrudge any club that is tempted by the potential revenue of pokies. The financial stability it can provide even in times of on-field struggle is something that a lot of clubs - especially struggling ones - would have a hard time turning away from. And yes, I know those pokies machines will still be siphoning money from problem gamblers and making someone else rich, but it's not a meaningless gesture for a club to say "we won't be a part of this anymore." As a Frankston supporter I'm extremely proud that we've been able to build a strong club without relying on pokies.

From what I've seen of Port Melbourne's gameday atmosphere over the past couple seasons, the club is making great efforts to engage the local community. It's something I think Frankston could learn a bit from. It'll be a harder journey for you guys due to demographic differences between our areas, but from what I've seen you guys are making the right moves to build a strong supporter base.

I agree they are doing a lot right off field on match day but the biggest draw card is positive on field results which will be hard to come by without pokies. Although Frankston has played in the last 2 finals series I think there’s a correlation between pokies and on field success, Williamstown Werribee and Southport (although no guarantee of success with pokies) have done significantly better than the clubs without gaming. Opinions are divided but for me (due to being ultra competitive) it’s a big No , mainly because I think we will have to settle for on field mediocrity- at least in the near future. Who knows more may be revealed and it could be stated they aren’t as lucrative as I thought, I can
also understand why some are supporters of the idea of ridding the pokies

 

[AussieNick1999]

Tom Blamires has committed to another year at Frankston. He possibly has hopes of a train-on spot in the AFL, but it looks like we're a reasonable chance to keep the two players we were expected to lose in the draft.

 

[bedford]

Great move by Port getting rid of the pokies , maybe Werribee can do the same , but they won't and they won't tell you how much they are fleecing people that can't afford it !

 

[bedford]

Which one will Port get , Will Phillips or Tom Mitchell

 

[Flyingleslieskite]

Which one will Port get , Will Phillips or Tom Mitchell

Might be able to afford both after selling the pokies