All McDonald's Ballarat FNL competitions are paused under current restrictions as the board considers the next available steps.

With the latest restrictions placed upon regional Victoria at short notice, the board of the McDonald's Ballarat FNL is currently considering the next steps available as we look to the completion of our 2021 premiership seasons. 

As the situation stands, the senior football and netball competition is stopped until such time as restrictions allow metro and regional clubs to compete in the finals series. This also applies to the BFLW Open competition. 

It was anticipated that BFNL Junior and BFLW Youth/Juniors would commence last weekend but that did not occur due to lockdown. 

Both competitions will be paused until clarity is provided around the current restrictions. This will allow the league to consider the timeframes available for the finals series in both competitions. 

There are many factors involving several stakeholders that need to be considered, including ground availabilities and club resources. 

END RELEASE 

The McDonalds Ballarat FNL today announces a number of changes to the 2021 season based upon the recently announced COVID lockdown.

The health and safety of the wider BFNL community is of the utmost importance in any decision that is made regarding competitions, along with the advice provided by health authorities, state government and AFL Victoria.

Given today's announcement, the league wishes to advise the following impacts upon the various competitions:

SENIOR FOOTBALL & NETBALL

• The Round Seven matches scheduled for 29th May 2021 will be abandoned.
• No points or percentage shall be awarded to any team.
• Points previously allocated for a bye will be removed, with no further points awarded for future scheduled byes to ensure ladder integrity.
• The possibility of shifting Round Seven to the Queen's Birthday weekend will be investigated pending discussions with clubs.

JUNIOR FOOTBALL & NETBALL

• The Round Seven matches scheduled for 30th May 2021 will be abandoned.
• No points or percentage shall be awarded to any team.
• Points previously allocated for a bye will be removed, with no further points awarded for future scheduled byes to ensure ladder integrity.

BFLWomens

• The Round Five matches scheduled for 28th - 30th May 2021 will be abandoned.
• No points or percentage shall be awarded to any team.
• Points previously allocated for a bye will be removed, with no further points awarded for future scheduled byes to ensure ladder integrity.

It is anticipated all competitions will resume fixtured games from the weekend of 5th June 2021, pending the ongoing advice from health authorities.

The league would like to thank all our volunteers, officials and players for the tremendous work undertaken to date to ensure the various competitions of the McDonald's Ballarat FNL can be played for our communities.

Further advice and updates will be made available directly to clubs as they come to hand. The league website and social media will also have updates as they are made.

END RELEASE

As was announced through media over the weekend AFL Victoria has received approval on its Return to Play requirements from the Victoria State Government providing the opportunity for community clubs to commence training in a limited form from Monday 25th May.

The McDonald's Ballarat FNL fully supports and welcomes these measures to provide clarity for clubs on how they may take the steps to resume training.

There are steps which the club need to undertake under these protocols before training can start. 

These include:

• Each club must have a nominated Covid Safety Officer, (more than one can help to share the load)
• A maximum of two groups of ten players on an oval at any point in time.
• There is to be no swapping between members of these groups.
• Physical distancing should still be practiced wherever possible.
• Players need to arrive at training ready to train and then leave immediately after training. Get In, train and Get out
• Changerooms are not to be used, access to toilets only.
• Minimal equipment to be used. Footballs should be wiped down as often as possible and after each session.
• A register of participants maintained and retained by the club.
• Permission obtained from Local Government to use the oval.  

To further support the health and wellbeing of our clubs moving forward, a number of other measures have been put in place that include clubs completing a register of trained players with further resources available through the AFL.

There is no length of time announced of how long these restrictions will apply to training before larger group training or full training will be permitted. It will be reliant on state government announcements and then as with this current step preparation on how it will need to be implemented determined with health departments.

Further to the details announced through AFL Victoria, Netball Victoria have also released details that are consistent with this same advice.

Similarly, there is no announcement yet on any possible date to commence seasons and this will not be expected until there is a significant easing of the restrictions which currently remain in place.

It must be stressed the welcome guidelines provided for a return to training do not provide any indication or details around if and how the 2020 McDonald's Premiership Season may commence or look. That will continue to be reviewed based upon the ongoing discussions being held.

The Ballarat FNL will continue to work with our clubs at both senior and junior level through this period to provide the advice and guidance that is required. 

The McDonald's Ballarat FNL is pleased to announce a new partnership with Gawk Outdoor for Season 2022.

Look out for the promotion of various league events on the Gawk digital billboard and other exciting initiatives through 2022.

Gawk Outdoor is an outdoor advertising business with billboards across Regional Victoria. Providing high-quality outdoor advertising to Victorian businesses – both large and small - the newest digital board can be found at the corner of Mair and Humffray Streets, Ballarat.

“We are stoked to be on board for 2022 with BNFL. Our long-term vision has always been to support local business and sporting organisations, so it’s great to get the opportunity to help promote the league with our digital site. To have the flexibility to promote upcoming events, key rounds/games and league partners, we are excited to showcase the capabilities this site has to offer," said James Course, Director of Gawk Outdoor.

Following a recruitment exercise, the board of the McDonalds BFNL is pleased to announce Gemma Murphy has been successful and will be appointed Netball Manager for the league.

Gemma would be familiar to most netball contacts as a current member of the league board. She brings a wealth of knowledge to the role through umpiring across a number of leagues, previous experience as the umpire coordinator for the BFNL her role understanding the strategic direction of the league as we move through change and her desire to enhance the netball competitions in the Ballarat FNL.

With two children playing football and netball in the league, Gemma has a first hand understanding of the challenges facing clubs in this current environment.

Gemma will commence the role on a part time basis (three days per week), commencing February 1^st 2021, but will still continue in her role as a board member until the league AGM. 

The McDonald's Ballarat FNL will introduce an Independent Tribunal for season 2022. Expressions of interest are welcome from suitably qualified applicants to join the Tribunal panel. 

The McDonald's Ballarat Football Netball League will introduce a new Independent Tribunal in 2022 to hear disciplinary matters arising from the various competitions of the league.

Applications are now invited for suitably qualified people to become a member of the Independent Tribunal. Working with the Tribunal chairs, panel members will hear reports and other matters referred according to the guidelines of the AFL, AFL Victoria and Netball Victoria.

This role is ideally suited to a person who has recently retired from the game or who has a passion and interest in football and/or netball.

To express your interest, please email BFNL General Manager Shane Anwyl at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by COB Tuesday 5^th April 2022.

For further information, please contact Shane Anwyl on 0409 072 403.

Adrian Bettio, Chairman of the McDonald's Ballarat Football Netball League, has issued a joint statement alongside President of the Central Highlands Football League, Doug Hobson, asking the local football and netball community to respect and abide by the crowd restrictions put in place by government and health authorities.

 The boards of the Ballarat FNL, Central Highlands FL look forward to finals commencing this weekend after an interrupted season. 

The entire football and netball communities across the wider Ballarat region are to be commended for adapting to the everchanging protocols that are in place to keep us all safe and healthy. 

One of those protocols that are in place is the need to limit the number of people who can attend sporting events. This of course has a profound impact on our competitions, but we understand the need to have such measures to ensure we can move to a more normal environment soon. 

Whilst both leagues would welcome public, family and club members to support their teams competing, the current restrictions do not allow anymore than the minimum number of people to conduct the games of football and netball. There is, however, an allowance for one parent or carer to attend for junior players. 

Across this weekend, we ask that the football and netball community respect the restrictions put in place by government and health experts, that both leagues must abide by. 

Good luck to all teams and clubs competing this weekend and beyond. 

Regards,

Adrian Bettio - Chairman, McDonald's Ballarat FNL

Doug Hobson - President, Central Highlands FL

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

Matches will kick off with the Qualifying Finals at Northern Oval 2 on Saturday 20th August, followed by Elimination Finals at Wendouree Reserve and the Northern Oval on Sunday 21st 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.

View or download the scheduled football and netball matches for this weekend below.

Every match from last weekend's Ballarat Toyota Junior Grand Final Day is now available for purchase on BFNL.com.au. And you can find all the match information, teams lists and more in the Digital Record.

All the matches from Sunday's Ballarat Toyota Junior Grand Final Day are available for purchase. 

You can find the links to each match by clicking the button below or go to the BFNL Media tab and select 2022 BFNLJ Grand Finals.

Each match is available for purchase for $15.

To download the match to keep or to watch online when you want, follow these steps:

1. Click on the match you wish to purchase
2. Click on the video screen
3. Create an account, or log in if you already have an account
4. Follow the payment prompts (credit card and PayPal payments available)
5. Watch the video online 
6. To download, refresh the page or log back in and select the download arrow to keep the match forever!
7. Please note: online viewing is available for 24 months

You can also find the Digital Record under the Football tab and select Junior 2022 Grand Final Record or simply click on the cover below.

The BFNL has a proud tradition in its Junior Netball Representative Program. In preparation for our 2022 engagements the BFNL have declared all coaching positions are open for application.

The BFNL invite suitably qualified people who may be interested in applying for a coaching position in 13 & Under, 15 & Under and 17 & Under Representative Netball Teams to contact BFNL Netball Manager Gemma Murphy at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Note: These appointments will be for a term of 1 year and all representative coaching positions will be assessed at the completion of the 2022 season.

Key Responsibilities and Requirements:

• Minimum certification of Foundation level coaching qualification
• Plan, attend and run all training sessions.
• Current Working with Children Check (WWCC).
• Passion for junior development and ability to build strong training programs and game plans that focus on competitive player development.
• Demonstrated ability to build positive working relationships with participants of junior sport, to foster the optimal sporting potential of individuals
• Attend all representative lead up events (dress presentation, team photos as required).

In 2022 the BFNL Netball Representative teams will be competing at, but not limited to, the following Interleague/tournaments:

• Netball Victoria Western Zone Association Championships – TBA

Please forward all applications, outlining your skills and qualifications that address the criteria outlined above, to:

Gemma Murphy – Netball Manager
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
0401 152 906

With the announcement today of an extension to the current lockdown across Victoria, the McDonald's Ballarat FNL provides an update on all competitions.

SENIOR Competition

The senior football and netball competition will continue to be ‘paused’ at this stage and will resume Round 11 effective from the date of an approved return to competition. This will ensure all clubs have played each other once and the same number of byes. 

JUNIOR Competition

Junior football and netball will have the round scheduled for Sunday 25thJuly 2021 abandoned and removed from the fixture. 

The competitions will restart from the fixtured games as at the date a return to play has been announced. 

BFLW Competitions

As with junior football and netball, all BFLW grades will have the round scheduled for Sunday 25thJuly 2021 abandoned and removed from the fixture. 

The competitions will restart from the fixtured games as at the date a return to play has been announced. 

As further details become available, the league will assess the competitions to ensure the 2021 season can be completed. 

END RELEASE 

The McDonald's Ballarat FNL announces impacts to the various competitions in light of today’s announcement from the Victorian Government. 

The state government has today announced a state-wide lockdown effective from 8:00pm tonight through to 11:59pm Thursday 12thAugust, which will affect the Ballarat FNL competitions from this weekend. 

Detailed below is the impact this lockdown has on the various BFNL competitions and how they will be managed. 

McDONALD'S BFNL SENIOR COMPETITION 

The senior competition will not proceed with round 12 this weekend. This round will be cancelled and not replaced. 

Impacts on further scheduled rounds will be determined as further details are provided by the government over the coming days to indicate a likelihood of when football and netball may return to competition. 

McDONALD'S BFNL JUNIOR COMPETITION 

The junior competition will not proceed with this weekend round of football and netball, which will also be cancelled and not replaced. 

As per the senior competition, the league will await advice on when competition football and netball can return to determine the pathway forward. 

All options will be considered by the league regarding the final home and away round, and finals as further information becomes available. 

McDELIVERY BFLWOMEN'S 

The BFLW competition will not proceed with this weekend round of football, which will also be cancelled and not replaced. 

As per the senior competition, the league will await advice on when competition football can return to determine the pathway forward. 

All options will be considered by the league regarding the final home and away round, and finals as further information becomes available. 

Information will be provided as it is made available and allow us to work towards a conclusion to the 2021 competitions across football and netball. 

The Ballarat FNL is seeking commentators to join the team as part of our exciting, expanded Netball coverage for the 2023 season.

Each week a selected A Grade Netball game will be streamed live as the official BFNL ‘Match of the Round’.

Those interested in commentating should have:

• A passion for community sport
• A good understanding of netball
• The availability to attend games on a Saturday afternoon in the Ballarat and surrounding regions

No previous experience required and all equipment provided!

Remuneration negotiable.

Expressions of interest can be sent to BFNL Netball Manager Gemma Murphy at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 0401 152 906.