News

The McDonald's Ballarat FNL has an opportunity for an Administration Officer to join the team. Applications are now open.

The McDonald's Ballarat FNL is the premier football and netball competition in Ballarat and surrounds and is undergoing a continued period growth.

To cater for this growth, the league is pleased to offer the position of Administration Officer at the league with an immediate start.

Reporting to the various stakeholders, the Admin Officer will work as part of a team providing support to the clubs of the BFNL and other leagues. The role will entail various aspects of competition management and is ideally suited to someone looking to get started in the sports administration field.

Based at Saxon House, Ballarat, the role will be full time for a fixed period through to 31^st October 2022. Expansion of this role to be ongoing as a permanent member of the BFNL staff will be considered beyond this date.

The successful candidate will be flexible in working hours given the nature of football and netball competitions with a remuneration that reflects the experience of the successful candidate.

Interested applicants are requested to email a one-page application outlining your experience and background to the league general manager at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Applications close COB Monday 2^nd May 2022.

Following a successful return to senior finals after a three-year wait, the McDonald's Ballarat FNL is pleased to announce details of Week Two of the Carlton Draught Senior Finals series. 

In football, Semi Final Two, and the chance to progress directly to the 2022 Carlton Draught Grand Final will be held at Macpherson Park, Melton on Saturday 3rdSeptember 2022 following the success of the debut at this venue. Semi Final One will be held at City Oval, Ballarat on Sunday 4thSeptember 2022. 

Netball will see a slight variation with Semi Final One to be held at Macpherson Park, Melton Saturday 3rdSeptember and Semi Final Two, and the chance for Grand Final progression to be held Sunday 4thSeptember. 

Melton will have the chance to grab a Grand Final berth should they win Saturday; however, Sebastopol will be a formidable opponent standing in their way. In the other semi-final, Darley will travel to Ballarat and take on the Swans at City Oval, the scene of their nail-biting one-point win over the reigning premiers last week. 

With a full card of netball across both days and record crowds in Week One, the excitement continues to build as we head towards the 2022 Carlton Draught Grand Final on Saturday 17thSeptember. 

You can see the path to the Grand Final below and find the full schedule for Week Two of the 2022 Carlton Draught Finals Series below. Want to download the schedule? Hit the button at the end of the article or do what we do and make an easy link on our phone by selecting Add to Home Screen under the web address.

The McDonalds Ballarat FNL have tonight confirmed the Western Bulldogs Under 9 competition will not proceed in 2020.

With the current uncertainty around the various aspects of conducting competition sport, the member clubs of the BFNL have unanimously agreed to cancel this season in the interests of the health and wellbeing of the players, their families and club volunteers.

The Western Bulldogs Under 9’s commenced in 2019 with great success and had intended to see the new Woady Yalloak Warriors enter in 2020 to create a nine team competition.

BFNL Manager Shane Anwyl            

“We are disappointed to have to make this decision, but ultimately the safety, health and wellbeing of our players and their families must take precedence during these times”.

“With over 400 players, their family members and volunteers in attendance each Friday night, it is felt that it is not currently practical, or safe to have these numbers attending football”

The Ballarat FNL would like to thank the Western Bulldogs for their ongoing support of the Under 9’s and look forward to Friday night football in season 2021.

With further information expected from AFL Victoria, Netball Victoria and the state government over the coming weeks, the league has set a deadline of June 26^th by which time a final decision will be made as to the commencement or cancellation of the 2020 season for all other grades of junior football and netball.

A special general meeting of the Ballarat FNL member clubs was held last night to address two issues, one of those being a motion to admit the Woady Yallock FNC as an affiliated member club of the league.

The motion to admit Woady Yallock FNC failed as it did not reach the required 75% of votes to pass with a number of clubs not supporting the inclusion.

The board of the BFNL is disappointed in this outcome and endorses the inclusion of the club in the BFNL junior competition and fully support Woady Yallock FNC to be a member club of the league.

A period of growth is being experienced by the league and the need to increase capacity identified as reaching a critical point in the near future.

Woady Yallock FNC have presented a comprehensive plan for sustainability and integration within the BFNL and are to be congratulated on their foresight in planning to meet the needs of the league.

The admittance of Woady Yallock FNC will be to compliment the existing clubs of the league, provide new competition and to provide an avenue for participants in the Ballarat West growth corridor long term.

The board of the Ballarat FNL will continue to work with the Woady Yallock FNC community on facilitating competing in the Western Bulldogs Under 9’s and Under 11 reserves junior football in 2022.

In an historic night for the McDonalds Ballarat FNL, Woady Yaloak Football Netball Club has been admitted as an affiliated club of the league.

After a period of four years planning and support, Woady Yaloak FNC will be the 13th club member of the league and will formally compete in the junior competition from 2023 onwards.

With support from Golden Plains Shire, AFL Victoria and the league, the addition of the club will continue to cater for the growth of junior football and netball across the region.

With junior participation on the rise after the COVID period, Woady Yaloak meets the need of families in the region around Smythesdale and Haddon towards the Ballarat West growth corridor.

Fielding four football and two netball teams participating, the BFNL junior competition continues to grow and place itself as the premier junior competition in the region.

BFNL Chair Adrian Bettio

“It’s fantastic to have Woady Yaloak formally a member of the league after a lot of work to get to this point. Congratulations to Adam and Mark and all the volunteers and families that will be part of the league moving forward.”

The McDonalds Ballarat FNL junior competition will kick off on the 16th April 2023 with ten clubs competing across 10 age groups.

In line with the AFL stance, the BFUA will be adopting a zero-tolerance approach to umpire abuse, disrespect and dissent across all grades of the McDonald's Ballarat Football Netball League.

In line with the AFL’s strict stance against umpire abuse, the BFUA will be adopting a zero-tolerance approach to umpire abuse, disrespect, and dissent from the 2022 season onwards.

Players, coaches, and officials who abuse umpires, dispute decisions or behave in a disrespectful manner towards umpires will be penalised by way of free kicks, 50m penalties, send-offs and reports.

This stance will be adopted across all grades.

Umpires have been instructed to apply a strict interpretation of the rules surrounding umpire abuse and these rules apply to abuse or disrespect towards or in relation to any umpire – field, boundary or goal.

The best policy is to remove your focus away from the umpires to avoid exchanges that could potentially cost your side. As always, umpires are happy to discuss rules or decisions, and we welcome opportunities to engage constructively.

We appreciate the support of club leaders, namely coaches and captains, who have a huge degree of influence in this space.

This change enables us to create a better match-day environment for everyone. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact the league.