2026 VFL Women's season
| 2026 VFL Women's season | |
|---|---|
| Date | 16 May – 19/20 September 2026 |
| Teams | 13 |
The 2026 VFL Women's season will be the tenth season of the VFL Women's (VFLW), the state-level senior women's Australian rules football competition in Victoria. The season is scheduled to begin on 16 May and conclude with the grand final on the weekend of 19-20 September.
Background
League membership
In September 2025, the Australian Football League (AFL) announced that the Tasmania Football Club would join the VFL Women's in 2026, thereby increasing the number of teams in the competition to 13. Tasmania will field a senior women's team in the VFLW in 2026 and 2027, before graduating to the AFL Women's (AFLW) in 2028, upon which it is expected to field a reserve women's team in the VFLW. Though a Tasmanian team played in the Victorian Football League (VFL) men's competition from 2001 to 2008, this marked the first time a Tasmanian team had competed in the VFLW.[1]
Fixture dates
The competition calendar was shifted for the second consecutive season, with the league to be played between May and September, as opposed to between April and August. In announcing the change, Jennie Loughnan, the AFL's head of state league competitions, said "the decision to push back the VFLW season dates ensures more crossover with the NAB AFLW competition."[2] The fixture dates were confirmed on 11 February 2026.[3] This is the first occasion in which the VFLW grand final will be held on the same weekend as the VFL men's grand final.[4] Though the top six teams still qualify for the finals series, the format of the series was altered, with two elimination finals (3rd vs 6th and 4th vs 5th) held in the first week, followed by the preliminary finals hosted by the top two teams in the second week (1st vs lowest-ranked elimination finals winner and 2nd vs highest-ranked elimination finals winner), and the grand final between the two preliminary finals winners in the third week.[3]
Clubs
Venues and affiliations
| Club | Home venue(s) | Capacity | AFLW affiliation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box Hill | Box Hill City Oval | 10,000 | Hawthorn |
| Carlton | IKON Park | 13,000 | Carlton |
| Casey | Casey Fields | 9,000 | Melbourne |
| Collingwood | Victoria Park | 10,000 | Collingwood |
| Darebin | Preston City Oval | 5,000 | N/a |
| Essendon | NEC Hangar | 3,500 | Essendon |
| Windy Hill | 10,000 | ||
| Geelong Cats | Deakin University | 10,000 | Geelong |
| North Melbourne Werribee | Arden Street Oval | 4,000 | North Melbourne |
| Avalon Airport Oval | 8,000 | ||
| Port Melbourne | ETU Stadium | 6,000 | N/a |
| Sandringham | RSEA Park | 8,000 | St Kilda |
| WS Trevor Barker Beach Oval | 6,000 | ||
| Tasmania | North Hobart Oval | 10,000 | N/a |
| UTAS Stadium | 17,000 | ||
| Western Bulldogs | Mission Whitten Oval | 10,000 | Western Bulldogs |
| Williamstown | DSV Stadium | 6,000 | N/a |
Coach appointments
Incomplete list
| New coach | Club | Date of appointment | Previous coach | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia Walker | Tasmania | 24 November 2025 | N/A | [5] |
Home-and-away season
Round 1
| Round 1 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 16 May (11:05am) | Darebin | v | Carlton | Preston City Oval | |
| Saturday, 16 May (11:35am) | Port Melbourne | v | North Melbourne Werribee | ETU Stadium | |
| Saturday, 16 May (12:05pm) | Sandringham | v | Essendon | Trevor Barker Beach Oval | |
| Saturday, 16 May (12:05pm) | Geelong Cats | v | Williamstown | Deakin University Elite Sports Precinct | |
| Saturday, 16 May (12:05pm) | Tasmania | v | Casey | North Hobart Oval | |
| Saturday, 16 May (4:05pm) | Box Hill | v | Collingwood | Box Hill City Oval | |
| Bye Western Bulldogs |
|||||
Round 2
| Round 2 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 23 May (11:05am) | Sandringham | v | Collingwood | Trevor Barker Beach Oval | |
| Saturday, 23 May (11:05am) | Port Melbourne | v | Darebin | ETU Stadium | |
| Saturday, 23 May (11:05am) | Carlton | v | North Melbourne Werribee | Ikon Park | |
| Saturday, 23 May (12:05pm) | Essendon | v | Geelong Cats | Windy Hill | |
| Saturday, 23 May (1:05pm) | Williamstown | v | Box Hill | DSV Stadium | |
| Sunday, 24 May (2:30pm) | Casey | v | Western Bulldogs | Casey Fields | |
| Bye Tasmania |
|||||
Round 3
| Round 3 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 30 May (11:05am) | Essendon | v | Williamstown | Windy Hill | |
| Saturday, 30 May (11:35am) | Western Bulldogs | v | Collingwood | Mission Whitten Oval | |
| Saturday, 30 May (12:05pm) | Geelong Cats | v | Box Hill | Deakin University Elite Sports Precinct | |
| Saturday, 30 May (2:05pm) | North Melbourne Werribee | v | Darebin | Arden Street Oval | |
| Saturday, 30 May (3:35pm) | Carlton | v | Sandringham | Ikon Park | |
| Sunday, 31 May (2:30pm) | Port Melbourne | v | Tasmania | ETU Stadium | |
| Bye Casey |
|||||
Round 4
| Round 4 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 6 June (10:05am) | Collingwood | v | Casey | Victoria Park | |
| Saturday, 6 June (10:30am) | Tasmania | v | North Melbourne Werribee | North Hobart Oval | |
| Saturday, 6 June (11:05am) | Sandringham | v | Geelong Cats | Trevor Barker Beach Oval | |
| Saturday, 6 June (11:05am) | Darebin | v | Western Bulldogs | Preston City Oval | |
| Sunday, 7 June (10:35am) | Port Melbourne | v | Williamstown | ETU Stadium | |
| Sunday, 7 June (11:05am) | Essendon | v | Carlton | Windy Hill | |
| Bye Box Hill |
|||||
Round 5
| Round 5 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday, 12 June (7:35pm) | Western Bulldogs | v | Geelong Cats | Mission Whitten Oval | |
| Saturday, 13 June (10:05am) | Tasmania | v | Darebin | UTAS Stadium | |
| Saturday, 13 June (11:05am) | Box Hill | v | North Melbourne Werribee | Box Hill City Oval | |
| Saturday, 13 June (4:35pm) | Williamstown | v | Sandringham | DSV Stadium | |
| Sunday, 14 June (11:05am) | Casey | v | Essendon | Casey Fields | |
| Bye Carlton, Collingwood, Port Melbourne |
|||||
Round 6
| Round 6 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 20 June (10:35am) | Western Bulldogs | v | Box Hill | Mission Whitten Oval | |
| Saturday, 20 June (11:05am) | Essendon | v | Collingwood | Windy Hill | |
| Saturday, 20 June (11:05am) | Carlton | v | Port Melbourne | Ikon Park | |
| Saturday, 20 June (12:05pm) | Geelong Cats | v | Darebin | Deakin University Elite Sports Precinct | |
| Saturday, 20 June (6:15pm) | Williamstown | v | Casey | DSV Stadium | |
| Sunday, 21 June (10:05am) | Sandringham | v | Tasmania | Trevor Barker Beach Oval | |
| Bye North Melbourne Werribee |
|||||
- Rounds 7-16 under construction
Ladder
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | PF | PA | PP | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Melbourne Werribee | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | Finals series |
| 2 | Collingwood | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | |
| 3 | Box Hill | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | |
| 4 | Sandringham | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | |
| 5 | Williamstown | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | |
| 6 | Essendon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | |
| 7 | Port Melbourne | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | |
| 8 | Darebin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | |
| 9 | Western Bulldogs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | |
| 10 | Carlton | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | |
| 11 | Geelong Cats | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | |
| 12 | Casey | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | |
| 13 | Tasmania | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for.
Finals series
Elimination finals
| Elimination finals | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5/6 September (TBC) | Third | v | Sixth | TBC | |
| 5/6 September (TBC) | Fourth | v | Fifth | TBC | |
Preliminary finals
| Preliminary finals | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/13 September (TBC) | First | v | Lowest-ranked EF winner | TBC | |
| 12/13 September (TBC) | Second | v | Highest-ranked EF winner | TBC | |
Grand Final
| 2026 VFLW Grand Final | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19/20 September (Time TBC) | Winner PF1 | v | Winner PF2 | ETU Stadium | |
| Q1 Q2 Q3 Final |
Lisa Hardeman Medal: Television broadcast: AFL.com.au | ||||
Representative match
For the second consecutive season, an interstate representative match was arranged against the SANFL Women's League (SANFLW). As was the case with the 2025 fixture, the match has been timed to coincide with the AFL's Gather Round fixtures in Adelaide. The match will be held as part of a double-header with the equivalent men's interstate match.[6]
| 2026 State Game | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 11 April (12:00 ACST) | SANFLW | v | VFLW | Stratarama Stadium | |
| Q1 Q2 Q3 Final |
SANFLW Best on ground & VFLW Best on ground: Television broadcast: TBC | ||||
See also
References
- ^ "Tasmania will field a VFL team in 2026 two years ahead of AFL entry". news.com.au. 5 September 2025.
- ^ "2026 VFL and VFLW season dates". afl.com.au. 27 November 2025.
- ^ a b "2026 Smithy's VFL and VFLW fixtures confirmed". afl.com.au. 11 February 2026.
- ^ "VFL, VFLW fixtures revealed". Star Weekly. 11 February 2026.
- ^ "Devils Name Inaugural VFLW Coach". Tasmania Football Club. 24 November 2025.
- ^ Jake Beddard (10 December 2025). "State leagues exhibition games set for AFL Gather Round 2026". The Sporting News.