Current season, competition or edition: 2024 SANFL Women's League season | |
Sport | Australian rules football |
---|---|
Founded | February 2017 |
First season | 2017 |
Administrator | SANFL |
No. of teams | 8 |
Country | Australia |
Most recent champion(s) | Central District (1st premiership) |
Most titles | South Adelaide North Adelaide (2 premierships) |
TV partner(s) | Seven Network (Grand Final only) |
Official website | www.sanfl.com.au/women |
SANFL Women's League (also known as the SANFLW or the Hostplus SANFL Women's League) is the major state-level women's Australian rules football league in South Australia.
The league was launched in February 2017, initially comprising four clubs from the men's South Australian National Football League (SANFL). The league now features eight teams, and acts as the second primary competition for South Australian female footballers underneath the semi-professional national AFL Women's (AFLW) competition, as well as being one of the three elite leagues in women's Australian rules football (the AFLW, SANFLW and WAFLW).
The SANFLW usually runs from February to May, meaning it partially overlapped with the AFLW season prior to AFLW Season 7, and so has been mostly played by players either not yet drafted by an AFLW club or AFLW listed players not selected for a senior premiership match.
In 2022, the SANFL Commission introduced the SANFL Women's Development League, a seven-week reserves competition providing players from the eight clubs with the opportunity to play at a level beneath the senior competition. [1]
The first season comprised four SANFL clubs: Norwood, Glenelg, North Adelaide and West Adelaide. [2] The following year, Sturt and South Adelaide were admitted to the competition, with Woodville-West Torrens and Central District being admitted in 2019. [3]
Neither of the state's two AFL clubs, Adelaide and Port Adelaide, who field reserves teams in the SANFL, field teams in the SANFLW; Adelaide were a foundation club of the AFLW in 2017, while Port Adelaide entered the league in 2022.
Club Name | Club Colours | Club Nickname | Home venue | Est. | First SANFLW season | SANFLW seasons | SANFLW premierships | Most recent |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Central District | Bulldogs | Elizabeth Oval | 1959 | 2019 | 5 | 1 | 2023 | |
Glenelg | Tigers | Glenelg Oval | 1920 | 2017 | 7 | 1 | 2021 | |
North Adelaide | Roosters | Prospect Oval | 1888 | 2017 | 7 | 2 | 2022 | |
Norwood | Redlegs | Norwood Oval | 1878 | 2017 | 7 | 1 | 2017 | |
South Adelaide | Panthers | Hickinbotham Oval | 1876 | 2018 | 7 | 2 | 2019 | |
Sturt | Double Blues | Unley Oval | 1901 | 2018 | 6 | — | — | |
West Adelaide | Bloods | Richmond Oval | 1892 | 2017 | 7 | -- | -- | |
Woodville-West Torrens | Eagles | Woodville Oval | 1991 | 2019 | 5 | — | — | |
This lists the most recent premiers. For a full list of premiers see List of SANFL Women's League premiers.
This lists the most recent best and fairest winner. For a full list of winners see SANFL Women's League Best and Fairest Award.
The South Australian National Football League, or SANFL, is an Australian rules football league based in the Australian state of South Australia. It is also the state's governing body for the sport.
Georgia Bevan is an Australian rules footballer who played for Adelaide and the Gold Coast in the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition. After playing softball as a teenager she changed sports to football. After playing for Morphettville Park Football Club in the South Australian Women's Football League and winning three consecutive premierships with the club, she was drafted by Adelaide in the inaugural AFLW draft and was a member of their premiership winning team in the 2017 AFL Women's Grand Final. In 2021 she was signed as an injury replacement player by the Gold Coast and was delisted at the end of the season.
Sophie Li is a retired Australian rules footballer. She played in the AFL Women's (AFLW) for Carlton and for Adelaide.
Eloise Jones is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Adelaide Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW). Jones is a two-time AFL Women's premiership player for the Adelaide Football Club, as a member of their 2019 and 2022 (S6) premiership teams.
Courtney Gum is a retired Australian rules footballer who most recently played for the Adelaide Football Club in the AFL Women's competition (AFLW). She previously played two seasons with the Greater Western Sydney before announcing a retirement in 2019, then reneging to reenter the AFLW draft later that same year.
Chloe Scheer is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Geelong Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW).
Hannah Button is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Adelaide Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW).
Nikki Nield is an Australian rules footballer playing for Fremantle in the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition. She previously played for Adelaide.
Nicole Campbell is an Australian rules footballer who played for the Adelaide Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW).
The SANFL Women's League Best and Fairest Medal is awarded to the best and fairest player in the SANFL Women's League (SANFL) during the home-and-away season, as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game. Future Greater Western Sydney and Adelaide player Courtney Gum was the inaugural winner of the award in 2017, with Lauren Young the youngest winner of the award after her win in 2021, aged just 15 years in her winning season.
The 2017 SANFL Women's League season was the inaugural season of the SANFL Women's League (SANFLW). The season commenced on 17 February and concluded with the Grand Final on 1 April 2017. The competition was contested by four clubs, each affiliated with clubs from the men's South Australian National Football League (SANFL).
The 2018 SANFL Women's League season was the second season of the SANFL Women's League (SANFLW). The season commenced on 2 February and concluded with the Grand Final on 25 April 2018. The competition was contested by six clubs, each affiliated with clubs from the men's South Australian National Football League (SANFL).
The 2019 SANFL Women's League season was the third season of the SANFL Women's League (SANFLW). The season commenced on 15 February and concluded with the Grand Final on 26 May 2019. The competition was contested by eight clubs, each affiliated with clubs from the men's South Australian National Football League (SANFL).
The 2020 SANFL Women's League season was the fourth season of the SANFL Women's League (SANFLW). The season commenced on 14 February and concluded with the Grand Final on 23 August. The competition was contested by eight clubs, all of whom were affiliated with clubs from the men's South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Following the fourth round of competition, the season was suspended for over three months due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, though upon resumption in June the season continued uninterrupted and concluded in late August 2020.
The 2021 SANFL Women's League season was the fifth season of the SANFL Women's League (SANFLW). The season commenced on 26 February and concluded with the Grand Final on 5 June. The competition is contested by eight clubs, all of whom are affiliated with clubs from the men's South Australian National Football League (SANFL).
Tahlia Meyer is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Gold Coast in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She has previously played for St Kilda. She was signed by St Kilda as an undrafted free agent selection in October 2020.
The 2022 SANFL Women's League season was the sixth season of the SANFL Women's League (SANFLW). The season commenced on 4 February and concluded with the Grand Final on 28 May. The competition was contested by eight clubs, all of whom are affiliated with clubs from the men's South Australian National Football League (SANFL).
Port Adelaide Football Club (AFL Women's) is a professional Australian rules football team based in Alberton, South Australia. The team plays in the AFL Women's (AFLW) competition. The team is part of the Port Adelaide Football Club.
The 2023 SANFL Women's League season was the seventh season of the SANFL Women's League (SANFLW). The season commenced on 17 February and concluded with the Grand Final on 11 June. The competition was contested by eight clubs, all of whom are affiliated with clubs from the men's South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Central District won their first women's league premiership, defeating South Adelaide by three points.
The 2024 SANFL Women's League season is the eighth season of the SANFL Women's League (SANFLW). The season commenced on 1 March and will conclude with the Grand Final on 6 July.