AFL Barwon Female Football


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:Bellarine Football League:Geelong Football League:Geelong & District Football League:Colac & District Football League:
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 AFL Barwon announced that the competition would transition from playing mostly on Sundays to scheduling Saturday matches from 2025.

Best and Fairest Award

;Division 1
  • 2018 — Charlotte Thorne 39 votes
  • 2019 — Stephanie Abfalter 19 votes
  • 2021 — Isabella Hill 21 votes
  • 2022 — Alana Tully
  • 2023 — Danielle Sgarbi
  • 2024 — Janessa Fitzgerald 19 votes
  • 2025 — Phoebe Monahan 28 votes
;Division 2
  • 2018 — Emma Allen 23 votes
  • 2019 — Charlotte Thorne 27 votes
  • 2021 — Temikka Beeston 18 votes
  • 2022 — Tara Smith
  • 2023 — Daisy Wilson
  • 2024 — Elara Dillon 19 votes
  • 2025 — Elara Dillon 18 votes
  • 2022 — Maggie Caudullo
  • 2023 — Tara Smith
  • 2024 — Monique Martin ''14 votes''

Leading Goalkickers

;Division 1
  • 2018 — Ashleigh Bond 28 goals
  • 2019 — Ashleigh Bond 23 goals
  • 2021 — Bianca Cheever & Rhianna Arnold 16 goals
  • 2022 — Allesha McLean 25 goals
  • 2023 — Lucy Were 23 goals
  • 2024 — Emily Kenshole 27 goals
  • 2025 — Lillee Barendsen 51 goals
;Division 2
  • 2018 — Teagan Barber 23 goals
  • 2019 — Melissa Egan 61 goals
  • 2021 — Melissa Egan 20 goals
  • 2022 — Bianca Deckker 28 goals
  • 2023 — Emily Kenshole 31 goals
  • 2024 — Bella Gilham 32 goals
  • 2025 — Neave Dickson 41 goals
;Division 3
  • 2021 — Charlotte Simpson, Rebekah Lane & Camille King 21 goals
  • 2022 — Rebekah Lane 28 goals
  • 2023 — Bianca Deckker 24 goals
  • 2024 — Dakota Harrington ''24 goals''

Sponsorship

The divisions has had the following organisations as naming rights partner for each season:2018:2019, 2021–present:

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.