2025 VFL R1 - Footscray v Northern Bullants

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Season 2025 - VFL Competition

FOOTSCRAY BULLDOGS vs NORTHERN BULLANTS

Saturday 22 March, 7:10pm, Mission Whitten Oval

 

FOOTSCRAY BULLDOGS

B: J. Croft (16), L. Smith (40), E. Hunt (56)

HB: C. Smith (55), C. Hargraves (52), C. Poulter (25)

C: T. Maple (65), D. Orgill (50), L. Kennedy (35)

HF: N. Coffield (17), J. Busslinger (5), L. Muratore (68)

F: C. Craig-Peters (61), R. Gardner (43), J. Gilbee (69)

R: W. Lewis (64), C. Hynes (6), P. Spicer (63)

INT: B. Crofts (54), B. Medwell (70), B. Young (67), J. Kellett (57), D. Moloney (75)

23rd Player: D. Moloney (75)

EMG: K. Sexton (71), C. Bramble (76), X. Kardachi (66), T. Middleton (77)

 

NEW: Cooper Hynes, 19, 190cm, Bonbeach YCW/Dandenong Stingrays; Luke Kennedy, 18, 180cm, Ormond/Sandringham Dragons; Bailey Medwell, 25, 183cm, Sebastopol; Luca Muratore, 22, 184cm, Airport West

 

NORTHERN BULLANTS

B: W. Madden (23), R. Greene (27), E. Mantas (28)

HB: J. Hamilton (15), J. Weidemann (9), L. Mackie (4)

C: Y. Ashwin (7), K. Schreiber (2), L. Coghlan (22)

HF: M. Goodman (16), S. Green (12), H. Grace (26)

F: C. Scerri (30), J. Jorgensen (1), C. Franks (5)

R: W. Elliott (6), J. Velissaris (3), S. Donegan (24)

INT: L. Taylor (39), G. Varagiannis (31), K. Emery (10), P. Fairlie (45), L. Kolar (37)

EMG: C. Bolmat (17), A. Naim (18), D. Andrew (19)

 

NEW: Yuyu Ashwin, 20, 184cm, Collingwood VFL; Liam Coghlan, 23, 186cm, Port Melbourne; Riley Greene, 23, 191cm, Brisbane Lions VFL; Will Madden, 26, 193cm, Essendon VFL; Christopher Scerri, 21, 177cm, Strathmore; Kaden Schreiber, 23, 188cm, Collingwood VFL; Liam Taylor, 25, 181cm, North Ringwood; Giorgio Varagiannis, 23, 179cm, GWS VFL; Jackson Weideman, 25, 190cm, North Albury

 

Head-to-Head: Footscray 25-3; At Mission Whitten Oval: Footscray 13-1; Streak: Footscray 6; Last time: Footscray 24.17 (161) def Northern Bullants 0.4 (4) – Round 18, 2023, Genis Steel Oval

2025 VFL R1 - Essendon v Williamstown

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Season 2025 - VFL Competition

ESSENDON vs WILLIAMSTOWN

Saturday 22 March, 3:05pm, NEC Hangar

 

ESSENDON

B: D. Akuei (64), W. Hoare (51), J. Nguyen (42)

HB: Z. Johnson (40), L. Hayes (18), A. Clarke (36)

C: S. El-Hawli (41), J. Busuttil (68), L. Lual (34)

HF: A. Davey (33), R. Unwin (38), J. Peris (53)

F: C. Nyko (65), K. Gerreyn (19), A. Day-Wicks (44)

R: T. Goldstein (17), J. Hately (50), X. O'Neill (55)

INT: S. McKay (80), S. Clough (56), O. Smartt (63), T. Sellers (75), J. Eckersley (58)

23rd Player: S. Clough (56)

EMG: N. Quigg (83), H. Sinnott (54), N. Scott (57)

 

NEW: Dom Akuei, 22, 194cm, Carlton AFL; Jordan Busuttil, 23, 180cm, Williamstown CYMS; Angus Clarke, 18, 189cm, East Gambier/Glenelg; Shane Clough, 20, 177cm, Gisborne; Archer Day-Wicks, 18, 186cm, Sandhurst/Bendigo Pioneers; Kayle Gerreyn, 18, 200cm, Joondalup-Kinross/West Perth; Zak Johnson, 18, 186cm, St Mary’s Greensborough/Northern Knights; Tyler Sellers, 22, 193cm, North Melbourne AFL; Rhys Unwin, 18, 179cm, Cobden/GWV Rebels

 

WILLIAMSTOWN

B: F. O'Dwyer (17), Z. Pritchard (44), J. Greiser (18)

HB: N. Gadsby (13), L. Parks (22), H. Minton-Connell (16)

C: L. Conway (34), J. Cousins (10), H. Hall-Kahan (20)

HF: B. Coleman (23), J. Noonan (31), J. Fitzgerald (8)

F: J. Petric (24), B. McLaughlin (6), N. Colenso (35)

R: T. Downie (11), R. Collier-Dawkins (9), J. Brown (2)

INT: C. Polson (5), T. Triffett (7), J. Toner (14), L. Impey (45), J. McHale (1)

EMG: D. Hollow (12), B. Kennedy (42), N. Pendergast (32), H. Morrison (46)

 

NEW: Hugo Hall-Kahan, 22, 180cm, Sandringham

 

Head-to-Head: Tied 16-16; At NEC Hangar: Never Met; Streak: Williamstown 2; Last time: Williamstown 13.12 (90) def Essendon 11.13 (79) – Round 7, 2024, DSV Stadium

2025 VFL R1 - Southport v Werribee

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Season 2025 - VFL Competition

The grand final rematch...

SOUTHPORT SHARKS vs WERRIBEE

Saturday 22 March, 12:05pm, Fankhauser Reserve

 

SOUTHPORT SHARKS

B: M. Willis (10), M. Spencer (6), M. McGuinness (14)

HB: B. Woodcock (1), N. Williams (30), Z. Molloy (12)

C: J. Heron (5), J. Edwards (21), M. Manteit (4)

HF: S. Lowson (13), M. Pescud (42), J. Gore (18)

F: H. Dixon (29), W. Buzza (15), C. Lake (33)

R: B. Crossley (20), J. Dawson (3), Z. Foot (2)

INT: C. Webster (22), W. Derrington (18), D. Scott (38), B. Aston (32), O. Collins (27)

EMG: J. Lockett (23), E. Reardon (26), T. Hayes (37), F. Hay (39), H. Sullivan (31), R. Bowman (7)

 

NEW: Owen Collins, 20, 183cm, Brisbane Lions VFL; Josh Gore, 23, 178cm, West Adelaide; Sam Lowson, 29, 182cm, North Melbourne VFL; Darby Scott, 21, 178cm, Aberfeldie; Christian Webster, 20, 194cm, Sydney VFL

 

WERRIBEE

B: L. Pinnuck (9), H. Garoni (1), D. Brew (29)

HB: J. Smith (35), N. Tullio (37), C. Whyte (4)

C: Z. Banch (36), M. McCluggage (15), F. Young (3)

HF: M. Cousins (14), S. Azzi (19), J. Clarke (27)

F: B. Kellett (30), B. Malual (22), R. Eyers (10)

R: J. Riding (33), J. Pavlidis (34), J. Longmire (12)

INT: J. Lohmann (13), J. Grundy (20), H. Grintell (16), B. Wright (28), T. Watts (44)

EMG: A. Depasquale (7), C. Wild (6), S. Allan (18), D. Gugliotti (23), L. Kershaw (41), C. Ward (45), C. McLeod (31), A. Gardiner (39)

 

NEW: Mace Cousins, 22, 184cm, Geelong VFL; Jackson Grundy, 23, 182cm, North Warrnambool; Ben Kellett, 21, 199cm, South Barwon; Jake Lohmann, 24, 185cm, Brisbane Lions VFL; Jedd Longmire, 20, 189cm, Collingwood VFL; Myles McCluggage, 21, 185cm, South Warrnambool; Ryan Eyers, 21, 199cm, Geelong VFL; Noah Tullio, 18, 169cm, Newtown & Chilwell/Geelong Falcons; Tylar Watts, 24, 202cm, Geelong West Giants; Brady Wright, 21, 194cm, Darley

 

Head-to-Head: Werribee 3-2; At Fankhauser Reserve: Werribee 2-0; Streak: Werribee 1; Last time: Werribee 10.9 (69) def Southport 8.15 (63) – Grand Final, 2024, IKON Park

2025 VFL R1 - Brisbane v Port Melbourne

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Season 2025 - VFL Competition

BRISBANE LIONS vs PORT MELBOURNE

Saturday 22 March, 11:05am, Brighton Homes Arena

 

BRISBANE LIONS

B: D. Joyce (41), Z. Zakostelsky (21), H. Arnold (50)

HB: D. Robertson (2), L. Beecken (17), S. Brain (34)

C: W. Greenaway (59), J. Tunstill (29), S. Marshall (20)

HF: D. Gardiner (27), J. Manly (54), D. Craven (45)

F: B. Ryan (24), T. Gallop (22), H. Smith (25)

R: D. Fort (32), R. Torrent (36), H. Bertoli-Simmonds (49)

INT: T. Abberley (48), B. Thomas (53), C. Offermans (56), J. Creighton (57), F. McFadyen (58)

23rd Player: F. McFadyen (58)

EMG: T. Meekin (52), B. McDonald (55), R. Gilder (60), C. McCarthy (64)

 

NEW: Harry Arnold, 25, 194cm, Sydney AFL; Hayden Bertoli-Simmonds, 25, 194, Morningside; James Creighton, 21, 185cm, GWS VFL; Fergus McFadyen, 18, 189cm, Wilston Grange/Lions Academy; Charlie Offermans, 26, 181cm, Labrador

 

PORT MELBOURNE

B: L. Bond (41), T. Graham (28), T. Watson (11)

HB: T. Highmore (35), J. Van Es (6), M. Gahan (32)

C: C. Lazzaro (1), J. Green (14), H. Hooper (36)

HF: D. Bedendo (12), J. Miller (23), A. Manton (16)

F: J. Davey (58), P. Farrant (22), D. Lloyd (44)

R: A. Kuol Mun (27), T. Hird (4), R. Polkinghorne (24)

INT: M. Signorello (17), D. Heppell (59), T. Wanganeen (2), W. Martyn (8), T. Hofert (10)

EMG: S. Philip (9), N. Hawkins (18), H. Stubbings (31)

 

NEW: Dom Bedendo, 22, 191cm, Western Bulldogs; Lachlan Bond, 23, 189cm, Geelong VFL; Jayden Davey, 20, 179cm, Essendon AFL; Paddy Farrant, 25, 192cm, Collingwood VFL; Tom Graham, 24, 194cm, Norwood SANFL; Dyson Heppell, 32, 189cm, Essendon AFL; Ajang Kuol Mun, 21, 206cm, Geelong VFL; Charlie Lazzaro, 22, 180cm, North Melbourne AFL; Drew Lloyd, 22, 183cm, Balranald; Will Martyn, 24, 186cm, Brisbane Lions VFL; Riley Polkinghorne, 23, 180cm, North Ballarat; James van Es, 20, 196cm, St Kilda; Tex Wanganeen, 21, 180cm, Essendon AFL

 

Head-to-Head: Brisbane Lions 1-0; At Brighton Homes Arena: Never Met; Streak: Brisbane Lions 1; Last time: Brisbane Lions 11.18 (84) def Port Melbourne 6.9 (45) – Round 5, 2022, Moreton Bay Sports Complex

Website upgrade is actually happening!

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Site Feedback

There will be a few days of interrupted access to the site this week as vflfooty is upgraded to a newer version of the software.

Expect a few minor hiccups over the coming days, and potentially some posts over the past week being lost.  I will endeavour to get them back up onto the site in some form.

Any errors or unusual behaviour of the site can be reported to at vflfooty@vflooty.com.

Saturday night lights to shine on VFL

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VFA / VFL News

From the official VFL website - www.vfl.com.au

Saturday night football live and free on the Seven Network is coming to the Smithy’s VFL in 2025

Werribee's Zac Banch celebrates a goal during the 2024 Smithy's VFL Grand Final. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos

Saturday night football live and free on the Seven Network is coming to the Smithy’s VFL.

In an exciting development, a Saturday night match will feature every round of the 2025 Smithy’s VFL home and away season. The match will be broadcast live and free by the Seven Network via 7mate in Victoria and 7plus Sport nationally from 7:00pm.

The Saturday night broadcast match will be played at multiple venues, including Port Melbourne's ETU Stadium, Carlton's IKON Park, Frankston's Kinetic Stadium and Footscray's Mission Whitten Oval.

AFL Head of State League Competitions, Jennie Loughnan, said: “The introduction of weekly Saturday night football is a fantastic result for the Smithy’s VFL.

“We are thrilled to be continuing our long-standing broadcast partnership with the Seven Network and look forward to showcasing the Smithy’s VFL to more fans via the new Saturday night timeslot,” Loughnan said.

“Having a weekly broadcast match featured in prime-time is a huge win for the Smithy’s VFL, our clubs and our fans.

“Twelve players who were VFL-listed during the 2024 season have been added to AFL lists and we are excited to watch more stars emerge this year.

“We are extremely grateful to our host venues for working with us to bring this concept to life and thank our clubs for their support.”

Seven Network Head of AFL and Sport Innovation, Gary O’Keeffe said: “In 2025, Seven is taking its VFL coverage to the next level, bringing fans prime-time, live, and free state league footy like never before.

“The growth of the game from the grassroots to the elite is extremely important to us at Seven,” he said.

“For the first time, weekly VFL games will hit prime time on Saturday nights, live and free on Seven and streamed on 7plus Sport. This is a game-changer for fans, giving them the chance to watch the next generation of stars shine under the lights in a blockbuster time slot.

“We couldn’t be more excited to deliver state league footy to a bigger audience than ever before, live and free on Seven and 7plus Sport.”

Below is the Seven Network's Smithy's VFL broadcast match schedule for Rounds 1-13.



Round 1: Footscray Bulldogs vs Northern Bullants at Mission Whitten Oval

Round 2: Port Melbourne vs Frankston at ETU Stadium

Round 3: Carlton vs Southport Sharks at IKON Park

Round 4: Port Melbourne vs Essendon at ETU Stadium

Round 5: Essendon vs Collingwood at ETU Stadium

Round 6: Box Hill Hawks vs Richmond at Kinetic Stadium

Round 7: Carlton vs Sandringham at IKON Park

Round 8: Port Melbourne vs Geelong Cats at ETU Stadium

Round 9: Richmond vs Essendon at Kinetic Stadium

Round 10: Frankston vs Sandringham at Kinetic Stadium

Round 11: Collingwood vs Casey Demons at Mission Whitten Oval

Round 12: Casey Demons vs Essendon at ETU Stadium

Round 13: Frankston vs Essendon at Kinetic Stadium

The Smithy's VFL fixture will be updated to reflect the changes in scheduling for the Saturday night broadcast matches.

AFL Saturday paywall a chance for SANFL WAFL VFL to draw new audiences

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VFA / VFL News

 

ABC Radio Adelaide By Malcolm Sutton

Posted 4h ago4 hours ago

Football players clash on field.

The SANFL is looking at scheduling more night games for broadcast this year.(Supplied)

The AFL's gamble to hide Saturday games behind a paywall through Foxtel and Kayo this year has handed state leagues a big opportunity to fill the gap, a media analyst says, as the high cost of living continues to bite.

One match a week is already televised free-to-air for each state league by Channel 7 and will continue under its State League Saturdays format.

But the WAFL is introducing Saturday night games, the SANFL is looking at broadcasting more evening games, and the VFL is reportedly in talks to broadcast live every Saturday evening.

Conversely, in a move that will "rankle supporters", all AFL games on the traditional day for football will be pay-to-view in Victoria, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.

AFL Saturdays about to change

Saturday used to be the home of footy but in 2025 fans better get used to paying to watch AFL on a Saturday, when most matches are traditionally played.

The AFL logo on the side of a building, partially obscured by a tree branch.

Read more

For the rest of the country, there will be no live free-to-air games on Saturday until at least the first nine or 11 rounds, depending on where you live.

"This is a massive roll of the AFL dice," Pearman strategy and research director and media analyst Steve Allen said.

"Foxtel have got lucky, in as much as when the deal was signed, cost-of-living pressures were only building."

He said it had since become a "major challenge" for many households, despite tax cuts and a RBA interest rate cut coming in to "alleviate some of the pressure".

"Nevertheless, we do not predict a massive uptake in Foxtel subscriptions," Mr Allen said.

Barbara, from Adelaide, said she was "very cross" with the AFL for its deal.

"I'm elderly and I love to watch football, but I can't on free-to-air for about the first eight matches," she told ABC Radio Adelaide.

"I can't afford that [paying for Foxtel or Kayo]."

Watch

Duration: 6 minutes 27 seconds6m

The AFL kicks off this week, and broadcasters are promising more coverage than ever but on free-to-air TV, Saturday games will be a lot harder to find on the schedule. Norman Hermant explains why.

Mr Allen did not believe the AFL's deal to broadcast delayed coverage of local Saturday AFL games in SA, NSW/ACT, Queensland and WA on free-to-air for about the first half of the season would continue.

"With the anticipated follower reaction, I doubt the AFL will pursue this strategy," he said.

"All Saturday matches behind a paywall will rankle supporters as all teams will ultimately be affected."

He added that up until now, there had been little evidence that increasing costs to attend AFL football had reduced its supporter base, but the paywall was "likely to have an effect".  

Dynamic pricing last year saw general admission prices jump to $59 in Adelaide.

State leagues to step up

Mr Allen said the situation had presented a "huge opportunity" for the state leagues to increase their viewers, "which the VFL has taken up with Channel 7, like the SANFL."

football players wrestle for the ball on a field

The WAFL is scheduling more night games on Saturday this season.(Supplied)

The WAFL is introducing several Saturday night matches in its 2025 fixture, and five matches will be played on April 5 alone.

WA Football Commission head of WAFL Competitions Luke Sander said that while the traditional time slot of Saturday afternoon would continue, the night matches would "help expose the competition to more fans".

Calls to standardise AFL prices

Dynamic pricing means AFL fans in Adelaide are paying double what they would pay for a general admission ticket at the MCG or Docklands Stadium.

Jamie Cripps celebrates a goal for West Coast against Adelaide

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SANFL chief executive Darren Chandler said it was televising two matches in prime evening time slots in the opening three rounds of the season, one on Saturday and one on Good Friday.

"We will look to schedule more broadcast games at night in the second half of the season," Mr Chandler said.

"However, we are limited with the number of grounds that have broadcast-quality lighting."

Commercial media has reported that the VFL was in talks to broadcast live every Saturday night.

A VFL spokesperson did not confirm that arrangement but said all the league's matches would be streamed for free via the AFL website and app, as well as its own VFL website.

"Additional broadcast arrangements would be confirmed shortly," he said.

AFL ends streaming deal

The AFL has this season ended its two-year experiment to live stream WAFL and SANFL games through its website as well, despite continuing it for the VFL.

"A change in the streaming strategy for the AFL won't see this continue in 2025," the SANFL's Darren Chandler said.

"We are, however, continuing to work closely with the AFL to ensure match highlights and other SANFL content is still featured on the AFL website and app, providing strong engagement for fans nationally."

All its games will be available to view live through the league's SANFL Now website, as will the WAFL through the Streamer platform.

The SANFL season starts on March 28, the WAFL on April 5 and the VFL on March 22.

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