Congratulations to all the athletes that have made the 2023 BFNL Junior Representative Netball Teams.

Please see the players named in the McDonald's BFNL 13 & Under team and watch this space as tomorrow we will announce the 15 & Under Squads.

[Pictured: 2022 BFNL 13 & Under Junior Netball Representative Team]

BFNL 13 & Under Championship Team

Hayley Jackson – Ballarat

Evie Palmer – North Ballarat

Taylor Young – North Ballarat

Ella Manley – Storm

Stella Kane – Redan

Ashlee Beseler – North Ballarat

Tiarnee Smith – Darley

Emme Moore – Lake Wendouree

Tahlia Spratling – Sebastopol

Lotti Macdonald – Redan

Milla Rundell – Lake Wendouree

Mackenzie McMahon - Ballarat

Coach: Leah Macdonald

15 & Under Development Team

Brydee Craig-Peters – Redan

Mia Price - Redan

Lyla Sheehan – Lake Wendouree

Charli Ferguson – North Ballarat

Georgie Popple – Bacchus Marsh

Emmy Holloway – Lake Wendouree

Alexandra Harris – Darley

Milly Vallance – Mount Clear

Eleanor Justin – East Point

Allie Kirby – East Point

Emily Mihaljevic – East Point

Emma McConchie – Ballarat

Coach: Lisa Strudwick

15 & Under Championship Team

Ebony Porter – North Ballarat

Maia Murphy – Ballarat

Kate Aikman – North Ballarat

Abby Kinnersly – East Point

Zarli Brudenall – Redan

Amarli Minster – Sebastopol

Eliza Ashby – Ballarat

Audrey Murnane – North Ballarat

Grace Jackson – Ballarat

Keira McDonald - Ballarat

Coaches: Meg Porter & Di McCormack

The McDonald's Ballarat FNL is proud to announce the appointment of our Junior Netball Representative Coaches for 2023.

Congratulations to our 2023 Junior Netball Representative Coaches:

13 & Under Championship Team – Leah Macdonald

15 & Under Development Team – Lisa Strudwick

15 & Under Championship Team – Meg Porter & Di McCormack

17 & Under Championship Team – Prue Douglass & Damien Mullane

Expressions of interest for players to join trials will be announced in the coming days.

The McDonalds Ballarat FNL is excited to announce the Grand Final venues for all competitions to complete the 2024 season.

After an outstanding 2023 finals series, which culminated in a nail-biting grand final in brilliant sunshine at the City Oval we look forward to the 2024 series being just as exciting with the same wonderful weather.

The first of our series will commence with BFLW on Sunday 11th August through and culminate with the Grand Final at the Eastern Oval on Saturday 31st August.

Junior football and netball will kick off on Saturday 24th August, with the Junior Grand Final being held at the City Oval on Sunday 15th September.

After a very competitive and exciting football and netball season the senior football and netball finals series will commence on Saturday 31st August with the Grand Final being hosted at the City Oval on Saturday 21st September.

● 21 finals events across seven weeks
● Eight different finals venues encompassing Darley, Ballarat and surrounds
● In excess of 50,000 people to attend across all competitions during the final’s series.

Through the support of major sponsors, McDonalds Ballarat and finals naming partners Ballarat Toyota, Carlton Draught and McDelivery, the Ballarat FNL can showcase a high standard finals series of football and netball from across the region.

Please see below the table that shows the Top 6 Finals Format:

The McDonalds Ballarat FNL is excited to announce finals venues for all competition to complete the 2024 season.

After an outstanding 2023 finals series, excitement is building towards the finals series that will see Junior and Senior grade grand finals being played at the City Oval.

Three finals series will be held over four weeks commencing with BFL Womens from Sunday 11th August through to the grand final on Saturday 31st August.

Junior football and netball finals will kick off on Saturday 24th of August, with the grand final on Sunday 15th September.

A competitive senior football and netball finals series will commence Saturday 31st August and culminate with the grand final on Saturday 21st September.

Highlights of the final’s series include:
● 21 finals events across six weeks
● Eight different finals venues in Ballarat and Darley / Bacchus Marsh
● In excess of 50,000 people to attend across all competitions during the final’s series.

Through the support of McDonalds Ballarat and finals naming partners Ballarat Toyota, Carlton Draught and McDelivery, the Ballarat FNL can present regional football and netball at the highest level across the region.

Please see the attached table that locates the Top 6 Finals Format.

Please see the table below for the 2024 BFNL Finals Ground Allocations.

*The above venues are subject to change should the ground conditions be affected by weather.

2024 BFNL Senior & Junior and BFLW Finals Admission Prices

The McDonalds Ballarat FNL is pleased to announce its fixtures for the 2024 junior football and netball competitions.

Find full competition dates and fixtures via the downloadable links below:

Football & Netball

Football & Netball

Football

The BFNL celebrated its night of nights for its junior competitions as we crowned all the amazing achievements of our junior footballers and netballers from the 2024 season.

Under 13 Senior Netball Best & Fairest

Winner: Pippa Edwards - Redan FNC

Runners-Up: Keisha Momcilovic - Bacchus Marsh FNC & Ruby Westhead - Darley FNC

Under 13 Senior Netball MVP

Amarni Daws - Sepastopol FNC

Under 13 Senior Football Leading Goal Kicker

Jack Ward - North Ballarat FNC - 24 goals

Under 13 Senior Football Best & Fairest - The Lloyd Sims Trophy

Winner: Jack Ward - North Ballarat FNC

Runner-Up: Joseph Knobel - Redan FNC

Under 13 Senior Football Robert Allen Medal

Jack Ward - North Ballarat FNC

Under 15 Senior Netball Best & Fairest

Winner: Lucy Phyland-McClure - Bacchus Marsh FNC

Runners-Up: Mikayla Tito - Darley FNC & Audrey Murnane - North Ballarat FNC

Under 15 Senior Netball MVP

Lucy Phyland-McClure - Bacchus Marsh FNC

Under 15 Senior Football Leading Goal Kicker

Tyler Borg - Bacchus Marsh FNC - 41 goals

Under 15 Senior Football Best & Fairest - The Keith Rawle Memorial Trophy

Winners: Harrison Welsh - Redan FNC & Tyler Borg - Bacchus Marsh FNC

Runner-Up: Billy O'Kelly - Mount Clear FNC

Under 15 Senior Football Robert Allen Medal

Harrison Welsh - Redan FNC

Under 17 Senior Netball Best & Fairest

Winner: Lily Woodland-Boyanton - East Point FNC

Runner-Up: Elizabeth Morrison - Redan FNC

Under 17 Senior Netball MVP

Ebony Porter - North Ballarat FNC

Under 17 Senior Football Leading Goal Kicker

Lachlan Martin - Redan FNC - 45 goals

Under 17 Senior Football Best & Fairest - The Gordon Wise Memorial Trophy

Winner: Ray Glover - Mount Clear FNC

Runners-Up: Armi Wakefield - Bacchus Marsh FNC & Oliver Pittard - Redan FNC

Under 17 Senior Football Robert Allen Medal

Ray Glover - Mount Clear FNC
Jacob Martin - Bacchus Marsh FNC
Jackson McInerney - North Ballarat FNC

Merv and Mary Howard Memorial Shield for Junior Club Champions

North Ballarat FNC

School Sports Victoria Awards

Embley Jenkins - North Ballarat FNC
Xavier Cummins - North Ballarat FNC
Charlie Clarke - Lake Wednouree FNC
Michael Hughes - North Ballarat FNC

Junior Netball Coach of the Year

Damien Mullane - Redan FNC

Junior Football Coach of the Year

Tim McKay - Redan FNC

Junior Netball Coordinator of the Year

Megan Dunster - Darley FNC

Junior Football Coordinator of the Year

Brodie Doolan - Woady Yaloak FNC

The McDonalds Ballarat FNL is pleased to announce the teams and match schedule for the McDonald’s BFNL Ballarat Toyota Junior Grand Finals.

Matches will be held at City Oval this Sunday 15th September with football and netball starting from 8am.

The full schedule of games across the day can be found below.

FOOTBALL

NETBALL

Registrations for the 2024 BFLW Under 12 Girls Development Program are now open. Find full details for the program below.

DATES & TIMES

• A Precision Football
• A Development Program training T-Shirt
• A Water Bottle

For any questions regarding the program contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The McDonald's Ballarat FNL is pleased to announce the week 1 match schedule for the McDonald’s BFNL Junior Finals Series.

Matches will kick off with the Qualifying Finals at the City Oval on Saturday 24th of August, followed by Elimination Finals at Alfredton Reserve on Sunday the 25th of August.

Once again, the league thanks the City of Ballarat for their support in hosting finals at the premier football and netball venues across the region, and country Victoria.

Football and netball matches for this weekend are as follows:

Football

Netball

The McDonald's Ballarat FNL is pleased to announce the week 2 match schedule for the McDonald’s BFNL Ballarat Toyota Junior Finals Series.

Football and netball matches for this weekend are as follows:

Football

Netball

The McDonald's Ballarat FNL is pleased to announce the week 3 match schedule for the McDonald’s BFNL Ballarat Toyota Junior Finals Series.

Football and netball matches for this weekend are as follows:

Football

Netball

The McDonald’s Ballarat FNL is excited to announce the release of the 2025 BFLW Fixture for the upcoming season.

The 2025 season will kick off on Saturday 22nd March at Marty Busch Reserve in Opening Round where three games will be played in succession featuring all six Senior Women’s teams.

• 11am Bacchus Marsh v East Point
• 12:55pm Lake Wendouree v Carisbrook
• 2:55pm Redan v Darley (Grand Final re-match)

Round 1 will see all grades playing from under 14’s, under 16’s, under 19’s up to Senior Women’s on
Sunday 30th March 2025.

From there the fixture will feature 15 rounds, with finals scheduled in August.

We are looking forward to another year of great competition with games taking place in Carisbrook, Darley, Bacchus Marsh and various grounds in the Ballarat region.

With a majority of matches scheduled for Sundays, there will be some Senior Women’s games to be played following the Senior Mens in the McDonalds Ballarat FNL, after great success and positivity in previous seasons.

Further highlights of the 2025 season include:

• Competition breaks to take place for Easter, the King's Birthday weekend and the middle week of school holidays in July.
• U14 and U16 interleague against the Bendigo JFL, continuing the tradition of the Goldfields
Trophy, with matches to be played in Bendigo on Saturday 5th July
• U19’s interleague will be played against the Hampden League here in Ballarat on the same weekend.

Find full fixtures below.

The McDonalds Ballarat FNL are excited to announce the fixture and details for the BFNL 9s Netball competition commencing on the 2^nd of May and concluding on the 27^th of June 2025

This competition will continue to be an opportunity for clubs to build on and strengthen their relationship with the Net Set Go participants either aligned to their club or held at their venue.

Games will be played in a modified format.

The 9 & Under Competition shall play in an informal competition without scoring or ladders and will not compete in a final’s series.

The emphasis for the 9s Netball continues to be player development and to have lots of fun!

The McDonald’s Ballarat FNL is excited to announce the release of the 2025 Junior Fixtures for the upcoming season.

The 2025 season will feature a 16-round competition, kicking off with the North Ballarat and East Point dual gate clash on Saturday, 12th of April, as part of the Clubs’ annual Pink Round.

All other Clubs will begin their season on Sunday, 13th of April, with Wellness Round, dedicated to raising awareness for a cause chosen by each Club.

This year’s fixture has been structured into multiple components to accommodate our competitions.

The first fixture release is the BFNL Standard Junior Fixture, which will include the following competitions:
• Football – U10 Seniors, U12 Reserves
• Netball – U11 Reserves and Seniors, U13 Reserves and Seniors and U15 Reserves

The Alternate Fixture is in place for the following competitions:
• Football – U10 Reserves, U12 Seniors, U14 Reserves and Seniors
• Netball – U15 Seniors, U17 Reserves and Seniors

Finally, the Under 16 Reserves and Seniors football will have individualised fixtures for each competition.

There’s plenty to look forward to throughout the 2025 season.

The popular Western Bulldogs Under 8 and Under 9 Netball competitions will again take place on Friday nights, with season details to be released in the coming weeks.

The BFNL junior interleague sides hit the road to Bendigo on July 5th, continuing the tradition for the Goldfields Trophy.

The Under 17 Boys will play a curtain raiser to the Under 23 Men against Hampden FNL on home soil
for the Clinton Baulch Cup.

Meanwhile, our BFNL Netballers will compete in the annual Association Championships in Warrnambool on Sunday 1st of June.

Indigenous Round will take place in line with AFL during Rounds 5 & 6, with Ronald McDonald Charity House Round set to round out the themed rounds on Sunday 3rd of August.

The BFNL looks forward to another enjoyable year for all Clubs, players, volunteers and families throughout 2025.

The Ballarat Football Netball League would like to confirm the new age group structure for football competitions in 2025, following the recent approval from the AFL Goldfields Region Council.

After thorough consideration and consultation, the 2025 age groups will be structured as below:

Please note, BFLW and BFNL Netball competitions age group structures will remain unchanged.

The BFNL appreciates club’s valuable feedback since the discussions began in 2023.

The league is excited about the upcoming 2025 season and look forward to working together to make it a success.

The McDonald's Ballarat Football Netball League are delighted to announce the 2024/2025 Representative Netball Coaches for our junior netball program. 

All of our coaches have extensive coaching experience and excited to take on a Junior Representative Netball Team.

Welcome aboard to the following coaches:

• 13 & Under - Angelene Nunn
• 15 & Under – Kirsty McLean and Renee Manley
• 17 & Under – Kyra Miller
• Coach Mentor and Development – Prue Douglass

All coaches are looking forward to trials and meeting potential players.

Player nominations are now open.

Please use the below link to nominate to trial for the 2024/2025 BFNL Representative Netball Teams.

We are looking for players in 13 & Under, 15 & Under and 17 & Under.

Trials will be held in November 2024, further information to come.

Player nominations will close on the 1^st of November 2024.

The strength of the McDonald's Ballarat FNL was on full display at the 2021 NAB AFL Draft, with local talent heading to Richmond, Essendon and North Melbourne.

With five players being drafted - yes, we are clear and proud to claim you too, Paul Curtis - two in the first round, the league congratulates the players, their families and home clubs for the many hours and years of hard work to reach this point. 

BFNL talent drafted and likely to have a long and successful career at the highest level were:

 Pick #9

• Josh Gibcus (East Point FNC)  -  drafted to Richmond FC

Pick #20

• Kai Lohmann (Lake Wendouree FNC)  -  drafted to Brisbane Lions FC

Pick #22

• Josh Goater (Sunbury FNC)  -  drafted to North Melbourne FC

Pick #23

• Sam Butler (Lake Wendouree FNC)  -  drafted to Hawthorn FC

Pick #35

• Paul Curtis (Melton South FNC) - drafted to North Melbourne FC

This is a free event designed for girls to experience playing football in a fun, inclusive and safe environment!

Date:

Sunday February 26th

Time:

10.30am-12:00pm

Venue:

Bacchus Marsh Racecourse and Recreation Reserve (BMRRR)

Information:

This is a free event designed for girls to experience playing football in a fun, inclusive and safe environment! This will be a perfect opportunity for anyone thinking of having a go at Auskick or Junior Footy in 2023. There will be fun footy activities, skill sessions, games and free AFL giveaways on the day!

For further information - please contact Sam Pfeiffer - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Registration Link:

Two more Ballarat prospects entered the AFLW system with Jess Rentsch and Tamara Henry both selected at last night's 2023 AFLW National draft.

Jess Rentsch didn't have to wait long into the evening to realise her AFLW dream when the West Coast Eagles called out her name with the second selection of the draft.

The GWV Rebel skipper was swarmed by friends and family before being presented her jumper by the Eagles' newly appointed senior coach, and female footballing legend, Daisy Pearce.

Rentsch pulled on the jumper for Lake Wendouree twice in the BFLW Under 19s competiton this year, kicking two goals and being named amongst the bests in both fixtures.

At Pick 28, Darley's Tamara Henry was selected by the Adelaide Crows to become the second Ballarat prospect drafted on the night.

Henry featured for the Devils seven times this season alongside her Victorian Metro and Western Jets duties, returning late in the campaign to feature in Darley's famous BFLW Premiership victory in September.

Henry has spent several years at Darley Park after starting her junior career with Bacchus Marsh.

The BFNL wishes Jess and Tamara all the best in the next stage of their footballing journeys, we cannot wait to continue our support from the sidelines during their careers. 

The change in the junior football structure has been delayed in an effort to provide certainty and continuity to clubs, players and families.

The board of the McDonald's Ballarat FNL has met recently and confirmed the junior age structure shall remain as an ‘odd’ structure for season 2022. 

To provide some certainty and continuity, the existing ‘odd’ structure will continue through 2021 and will allow for further assessment to be made based on the ever-changing world we live in 

After consideration of many aspects, not least of which is club feedback and registration data, the league believes it is in the best interest of the competition to delay the change of age groups until season 2023. 

When the decision was made to change the structure of juniors in the Ballarat FNL, COVID had not yet appeared in our daily lives and the disruption currently felt over the past two years was not envisaged by anyone. 

Junior football in 2022 shall consist of: 

• • Under 17 Senior / Reserves Football 
• • Under 15 Senior / Reserves Football 
• • Under 13 Senior / Reserves Football 
• • Under 11 Senior / Reserves Football 
• • Under 9 Senior / Reserves Football (Friday night competition) 

Further to the above, the Under 19’s shall remain as that grade in 2022. 

The board is committed to implementing a structure for junior football that will best cater for the growing demands of our competition and ensure the long-term viability of the Ballarat FNL Juniors moving forward.

End Release