Victorian Amateur Football Association

Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA)

Sport	Australian rules football
Founded	1892
Divisions	6
No. of teams	61
Country	Australia
Official website	vafa.com.au

The Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) is the largest senior community Australian rules football competition in Victoria. Founded in 1892, it consists of six senior men's and women's divisions ranging from Premier to Division 3.

In addition, the VAFA Under-19s sections and five Thirds sections, primarily made up of either clubs only able to field one team, or clubs from higher sections that can field a third team after their seniors and reserves. The league operates a double promotion and relegation system between sections with various rules dictating which section clubs can play in.

The league's administration base is at Elsternwick Park, a former Victorian Football Association stadium in suburban Elsternwick, that was home to the now defunct Brighton Football Club and is now the home base for Old Melburnians Football Club and Elsternwick Football Club. It was redeveloped in 2017 and has a capacity for around 15,000 spectators.

The Association is made up of private school old boys clubs, university clubs and district clubs. No player payments are permitted, however players can be enticed by offers of employment.

History

Collegians vs Melbourne University Blacks at Collegians home ground at Albert Park

                    Public Schools and Football.
The question of public school boys playing in senior football has recently been raised.
It has been contended that the entry of prominent schoolboy players into the ranks of the senior football teams would be a boon to the game, and it is also reported that some schoolboys are likely to play with senior teams.
In view of these reports, the attitude of the headmasters is of interest.
They have laid down the rule that no boy while at school shall be permitted to play with any League or Association team, but no ban is placed on a boy who may wish to play with an amateur team, provided such games do not interfere with his duty to the school football team.
          Table Talk, 26 April 1923. ^[1]

Metropolitan Junior Football Association (MJFA)

The Victorian Amateur Football Association was founded in 1892 as the Metropolitan Junior Football Association. ^[2] The foundation clubs were: Alberton; Brighton; Collegians; Footscray District; St Jude's; St Mary's; Toorak-Grosvenor; YMCA. ^{[3] [4]}

Metropolitan Amateur Football Association (MAFA)

1912

In 1912, the MJFA became the Metropolitan Amateur Football Association. ^[5]

Prior to World War I, apart from its core function of delivering a competition for amateur footballers, the MAFA also provided a de facto second-level competition for the VFL. ^[6]

The VFL Second XVIII competition began in 1919; ^{[7] [8]} the MAFA competition was not resumed post-war until 1920.

1920

On Monday, 22 March 1920, a meeting of the (then) Metropolitan Amateur Football Association decided to resume the inter-club competition that it had suspended for the duration of World War I at the end of the 1915 season. ^[9] The MAFA announced that the re-formed competition would be between four of the "pre-war" clubs — namely, Collegians Football Club, South Yarra Amateur Football Club, Elsternwick Football Club, and Melbourne University Football Club (later University Blacks) — and four "new clubs" — namely, Old Melburnians, Old Caulfield Grammarians, Melbourne Swimming Club Football Club and the Teachers’ College Football Club. ^[10]

Victorian Amateur Football Association

In 1933 it changed its name to the Victorian Amateur Football Association. ^{[3] [11]}

Movement in and out of senior competition since inception

From a history of the VAFA ^[3]

Year	New clubs admitted	Clubs that left prior to commencement of following season
1892	Alberton, Brighton, Collegians, Footscray Districts, St. Jude's, St. Mary's, Toorak-Grosvenor, YMCA
1893	Olinda, University 2nd, South St. Kilda
1894	Nunawading, Scotch Collegians, Windsor and Caulfield	Olinda, University 2nd, Footscray District, St Jude's
1895	Waltham	Toorak-Grosvenor, YMCA (both disbanded)
1896	Old Melbournians, Malvern	Alberton, Scotch Collegians
1897	Sth Yarra, Booroondara	Old Melbournians, Booroondara, Waltham (disbanded)
1898	Leopold, Beverley	St Mary's (expelled)
1899	Parkville, St Francis Xaviers, Kew	St Francis Xaviers (disbanded; replaced by Kew)
1900	Sth Melbourne Juniors
1902	Hawthorn
1904	Fitzroy District
1905	Melbourne University	Booroondara (merged with Hawthorn)
1906	Fitzroy renamed Collingwood Districts
1908	Oakley	Brighton, Melbourne University (to VFL)
1909	Carlton Districts	Port Rovers
1913	Fitzroy Juniors	Hawthorn (to VFA)
1914	Elsternwick
1915	Caulfield merged with Malvern
1916– 1920		In recess due to WWI
1920	(Limit 8 teams) Old Melburnians, Old Caulfield, Melbourne Swimming Club, Melbourne Teachers College, Collegians, Elsternwick, University B, Sth Yarra
1921	Old Brighton, Old Scotch Collegians, University A, Old Trinity, Sandringham, Hampton	Melbourne Teachers College (expelled)
1922	2 sections (8 each) Old Brighton, Murrumbeena, Elwood, Melbourne Shipping Company, Melbourne Teachers College (readmitted)	Melbourne Shipping Company (disbanded)
1923	2 sections(A 8, B 9) Old Xaverians, Elsternwick B
1924	Burwood, Caulfield City, Old Brighton (readmitted)	Elwood
1925	Old Hailebury, Caulfield City renamed Caulfield FC	Caulfield FC (expelled)
1926	3 sections (A 10, B and C 8 each) Geelong, Sandringham Jnrs, St Paul's Ascot Vale, Old Melburnians B, Teachers College B, Kew Jnrs, Brunswick Amateurs, Sth Caulfield, Gardenvale-Middle Brighton
1927	Glenhuntly B, West Hawthorn, Kingsville Rovers, Oakley Amateurs, Pascoe Vale, Black Rock, Naval Base Flinders, State Savings Bank	Oakley Amateurs (expelled)
1928	Oakley readmitted, Sandringham B, Burwood, Surrey Hills	Old Haileybury & Old Trinity merge, Sandringham, Sandringham B, Oakley (expelled), Pascoe Vale (expelled)
1929	Melbourne Highschool Old Boys, Old Ivanhoe Grammarians, Old Paradians, Bentleigh
1930	Dandenong KSP, Brighton Technical OB, Glenhuntly B	Old Ivanhoe (disbanded), Black Rock (expelled)
1931	Canterbury United Churches
1932	D Section formed: University Highschool OB, Nth Melbourne CBC OB, Ormond, W. Brunswick, Footscray TS OB, St Ignatius, Gardiner, ES&A Bank, Old Brightonians, National Bank
1933	Hampton Rovers, Gardiner renamed Malvern	West Hawthorn, Canterbury United Churches, Surrey Hills
1934	Ivanhoe, Parkdale, Alphington	Dandenong
1935	Carnegie, Coburg	St Ignatius (expelled), Old Haileybury/Old Trinity, Kingsville, National Bank
1936	ES&A merged with National Bank, Fairfield, Mount Carmel OC, West Brunswick	Burwood
1937	Myer, St Camberwell	Bentleigh District
1938	Parkside Amateurs
1939	St Patrick's Ballarat OC, Heidelberg West	National Bank (disbanded), Carnegie, Nth Melbourne CBC OB (expelled)
1940	Pascoe Vale, Powerhouse Season abandoned after R1 due to outbreak of WWII, matches expunged	Geelong, Brighton, Old Brightonians (all disbanded)
1941– 1945		In recess due to WWII
1946	25 clubs resumed in 3 Sections Balwyn Amateurs, Carnegie Church of Christ
1947	34 clubs Elsternwick, Power House, Geelong (all readmitted), Commonwealth Bank, St. Kevins, State Electricity Commission
1948	35 clubs Nth Alphington, University High School OB (readmitted)	State Electricity Commission
1949	39 clubs in 4 sections Glenhuntly Jnrs, Moreland Amateurs, St Andrews
1950	Bellfield, Glenhuntly Jnrs
1951	St Patrick's Ballarat (readmitted)
1952	DS&A Bank	Moreland, Nth Alphington (expelled)
1953	St Columb's
1954	48 clubs in five sections ANZ Bank, Insurance Social Clubs Association, National Bank, Old Carey, Old Geelong Grammarians, Old Trinity, Power House Gold, Preston, Sth Melbourne City, Hawthorn Amateurs	Caulfield
1955	De La Salle, OC, Melburnians, University E	Myer
1956	Port Melbourne Amateurs	Balwyn, St Patricks OC
1957	AJAX	Hawthorn Amateurs (expelled)
1958	Collegians Gold, St Kilda CBC OB	Insurance Social Clubs Associations
1959	Commercial Bank, West Brunswick	Brighton, Huntingdale Jnrs, Sth Melbourne City (disbanded)
1960	Old Camberwell	Port Melbourne Amateurs
1961
1962	Monash University, Pharmacy College
1963	St Bernards OC, Nth Melbourne CBC OB (readmitted), Kooyong, AMP Society	Murrumbeena
1964	RAAF Cadets (Point Cook), Old Ivanhoe Grammarians, Cassie, Monash University Whites, Assumption OB, St Patricks Ballarat (readmitted)
1965	Australian Postal Institute, Reservoir OB, Patricians	Pharmacy College (expelled)
1966		Bellfield, API, Monash University Whites, RAAF Cadets, Cassie, Kooyong (refused readmission)
1967
1968	Old Mentonians
1969
1970	Old Essendon Grammarians, Dookie, Longernong OC, La Trobe University, ES&A merged with ANZ
1971	Marcellin OC, North Brunswick, La Trobe University Reds, Monash University Whites (readmitted)
1972	St Bedes OC
1973	Fawkner, Thornbury, University Reds (readmitted)	Fairfield (expelled for paying players)
1974	Glenroy, Beverley Hills
1975	Bullen United, Heatherton, Bullen-Templestowe
1976
1977	State Savings Bank renamed State Bank, Glenroy renamed Therry CC OB	St Patricks Ballarat
1978		Reservoir OB
1979	St Pius, Clayton, Princes Hill	National Bank
1980	St John's OC, Peninsula OB, Coolaroo Rovers, Thomastown, Banyule
1981
1982	AMP Society renamed Balaclava	Geelong Amateurs
1983	Williamstown CMYS	Assumption OC, Alphington (suspended for 2 years)
1984	Old Essendon Grammarians (readmitted), Preston MB OB	Thornbury
1985	St Andrew, St Leonards OC, Whitefriars OC (on probation), GTV-9, Eltham Collegians
1986	Alphington (readmitted)
1987	Aquinas OC, Bloods, Port Colts, Richmond Central
1988	Footscray TS OB renamed FIT	Coburg Amateurs, Clayton (merged with Waverley (VFA) to become Waverley Amateurs)
1989	Mazenod OC, Salesian OC, Waverley Amateurs
1990	Boronia Park, St Mary's	FIT, Port Colts
1991	St John's OC, Old Westbourne Grammarians, Monash Gryphons, St Patricks-Menton, Balaclava renamed Glen Huntly	Waverley Amateurs, State Bank & Commonwealth Bank (merged to become State Commonwealth Bank), St Kilda CB OC (merged with Murrumbeena to become St Kilda Sth Caulfield)
1992	State Commonwealth Bank renamed Commonwealth Bank (C), St Kilda Sth Caulfield (C), St Leo's-Wattle Park, Camberwell	Albanvale, Kontias (disbanded R3, record expunged)
1993	Yarra Valley Old Boys
1994	Eley Park, Newlands Coburg, Commonwealth Bank renamed Southbank	Boronia Park, Brunswick, Camberwell (disbanded)
1995	Beaumaris, Hawthorn Citizens, Swinburne University, Eltham OC, Ivanhoe, Kew	Fawkner, Doveton, St Andrews-Coburg.
1996	ANZ Bank renamed ANZ Albert Park, St. Leo's Wattle Park renamed St.Leo's Emmaus Wattle Park, Thornbury Cougars	Balwyn Combined, Bulleen United & Canterbury North Balwyn (merged to become Bulleen Cobras), Bloods (merged with Old Brighton to become Old Brighton Bloods)
1997	Mt. Lilydale, Syndal Tally-Ho admitted, Therry CCOB renamed Therry Penola OB	Newlands Coburg
1998	Werribee Amateurs (from FDFL), Hawthorn Citizens renamed Hawthorn Amateurs, University Reds renamed Fitzroy Reds
1999	Brunswick (readmitted), Southbank renamed Prahran, ANZ Albert Park renamed Albert Park, Ivanhoe renamed Ivanhoe-Assumption	Glenhuntly and St. Kilda Sth. Caulfield (merged to become Glen Eira)
2000	St. Pats Mentone renamed Mentone Amateurs, Bentleigh, South Melbourne Districts	Monash Whites merged with Monash Blues, Chirnside Park
2001		Thomastown
2002	Box Hill North, University Highschool OB renamed University Highschool-Victoria University	Eley Park, Parkside (to DVFL)
2003	Mentone Amateurs renamed Mentone Vultures, Balwyn Combined, Canterbury North Balwyn, Yarra Valley OB, Brunswick Power	Preston MB OB, St Bedes OC (merged with Mentone to become St Bede's Mentone Tigers)
2004	St Bede's Mentone Tigers, St. Leos Emmaus Wattle Park renamed Emmaus St. Leos OC	Mentone Vultures (merged with Parkdale (SFL) to become Parkdale Vultures), Brunswick Power (to WRFL)
2005	Parkdale Vultures (C)	Mt Lilydale (D4)
2006
2007	South Mornington (D4) (from SFL)
2008	St Francis Xavier (D4)	St Marys Amateurs & Salesian OC AFC (merged to become St Mary's Salesian AFC)
2009	St Mary's/Salesian AFC
2010	Point Cook
2012	Northern Blues (became a senior side out of a 19s)
2012	Masala	Rupertswood (moved to RDFNL)
2018		Point Cook ( moved to WRFL), Old Eltham Collegians (moved to NFNL)
2019		South Mornington (returned to SFNL), St Francis Xavier reconstituted as Narre South Saints (moved to SFNL)
2023		Ivanhoe, Old Paradians (moved to NFNL)

Inter-league and Inter-state games

1925

In June 1925 a MAFA Representative XVIII defeated the South Australian 21.22 to 8.10 at the MCG in the first amateur Interstate representative game. ^[3]

1948

Players in the 1948 Perth Carnival included: R. B. Small, K. N. C. Rollanson, G. V. Byrne, C. P. Daley, J. C. Stock, V. G. Miller, E. Jane, W. J. Backhouse, W. T. Taggart, J. P. Sheehan, R. L. Rouse, K. F. Lewis, J. W. Grainier, W. Reynolds’s, N. P. Airmen, G. W. McTaggart, D. B. White, (Deputy Manager) E. L. Macklin, B. F. Judd, V. W. Paxton, M. J. Davidson, D. W. Arnold, (Capt.) G. T. Moore, (Manager) M. K. Fitcher, (Vice-Capt.) A. H. C. Richard’s, E. M. MacGregor.

1951

The Australian Amateur Jubilee Football Carnival was held in Melbourne in July 1951.

The Victorian team included: J. Kelly (Coach), K. Clarke, G. W. Gibbons, A. T. Shiel, D. Bills, J.D. Anderson, M.T. Hastie, A. D. Morning, G. Harris. G.T. Moore (Manager), A. E. Parley, W. B. Thomas, M. Mathewson, A. Ferguson, J. Stock, J. B. Jolley, J. Likely, B. F. Judd, W. M. Judd, P. McLaughlin, . Bedford, S. Bottles, D. W. Arnold (Capt.), P. M. Cox (V-Capt.), H. A. Meredith, A. F. Mellors, E. Donaldson.

1954

On 14 June 1954, the Queen's Birthday holiday, a Victorian representative team defeated a South Australian team 12.14 (86) to 10.15 (75) at the Junction Oval. The match was preceded by the Grand Final of a "lightning premiership" that involving sixteen teams playing knock-out matches of two 10 minute halves. Four of the first round matches were played at the Junction Oval, and the other four were played (simultaneously) at the Ross Gregory Oval at the other end of Albert Park Lake. The quarter final, semi final, and the Grand Final matches were all played at the Junction Oval. The sixteen teams involved were: ^[12]

• Alphington Football Club, Hampton Rovers Football Club, Melbourne High School Old Boys (M.H.S.O.B.), Old Melburnians, and Ormond Amateur Football Club from A Section.
• Brunswick Amateurs Football Club, Caulfield Grammarians Football Club, Coburg Amateurs Football Club, Collegians Football Club, and Ivanhoe Amateur Football Club from B Section.
• Balwyn Football Club, East Malvern Football Club, and Parkside Football Club from C Section.
• Parkdale Football Club from D Section.
• South Melbourne City Football Club, and Preston Amateurs Football Club from E Section.

Parkside (the team that would later go on to have its twenty-ninth consecutive win in the 1954 C Section Grand Final), having beaten Balwyn in the first round, Preston in the quarter finals, and Ivanhoe in the Semi-finals, defeated Alphington in the Grand Final to win the lightning premiership. ^[13]

1956

In 1956 a VAFA XVIII beat the combined VFL/VFA Amateurs in an Olympic demonstration game, 12.9 (81) to 8.7 (55).

1957

Of some considerable historical significance, the VAFA vs. South Australian Amateur Football League interstate match, played at Olympic Park on 17 June 1957 — which Victoria won 15.9 (99) to 8.3 (51) ^[14] — was the first ever uninterrupted telecast of a complete Australian rules football game (viz., it was a direct broadcast of the entire four quarters of the match, rather than just the last quarter) . ^{[15] [16] [17] [3]}

1971

In 1971 a VAFA Representative side beat a VFA XVIII for the inaugural Victorian Football Cup 23.12 to 19.17. ^[3]

Growth

The inaugural season of the then MJFA comprised fixtures between 8 teams. By 1922 the association divided into 2 sections of 8. Only 4 years later three sections were established; Section A with 10 clubs and Section B and C with 8 clubs each. ^[3]

Competition was ceased for the Second World War (as it had after the Great War). ^[18] Restarting in 1946 with 27 clubs in three sections, by 1947 34 clubs were competing over three sections. 1948 saw 35 clubs spread over four sections. In 1954 the MAFA established a fifth section for its 48 senior clubs. ^[3]

1960 saw 74 clubs over 7 sections, but the association then dwindled and lost two sections. Section F was reintroduced in 1971. Section G was introduced in 1986. By 1987, there were 68 clubs over 8 sections.

Between 1995 until the end of the 1999 season, there was a geographic split in some VAFA divisions with 'E South' (later 'E White'), 'E Central' (later 'E Blue') and 'E East' (later 'F Section').

Starting in 2017, the VAFA has operated a women's competition in addition to the men's. ^[19]

At the end of the 2023 season, Division 4 was abolished after Ivanhoe and Old Paradians were accepted into the Northern Football Netball League. Starting in 2024, each section has 10 teams with the exception of Division 3, which has 11. ^[20]

Premiers

Main article: List of Victorian Amateur Football Association premiers

Men's Seniors clubs

William Buck Premier

Club	Colours	Moniker	Location	Home venue	Est.	Joined VAFA	Premierships
							Total	Recent
Collegians		Lions	Albert Park	Harry Trott Oval	1892	1892	21	2023
Fitzroy		Roy Boys	Fitzroy	Brunswick Street Oval	1883	2009	1	2018
Old Brighton Grammarians		Tonners	Brighton	Brighton Beach Oval	1921	1957	5	2017
Old Melburnians		Redlegs	Elsternwick	Elsternwick Park	1896	1920	15	2009
Old Scotch		Cardinals	Camberwell	Camberwell Sports Ground	1894	1921	12	1978
Old Xaverians		Old Xavs	Armadale	Toorak Park	1923	1923	20	2016
St Bernard's		Snowdogs	Essendon	St Bernard's College	1963	1963	10	2023
St Kevin's Old Boys		SKOB	Kooyong	T H King Reserve	1947	1947	7	2022
University Blacks		Blacks	Parkville	Main Oval, Melbourne University	1928	1928	21	2014
University Blues		Blues	Parkville	Main Oval, Melbourne University	1928	1928	9	2019

Premier B

Club	Colours	Moniker	Location	Home venue	Est.	Joined VAFA	Premierships
							Total	Recent
Beaumaris		Sharks	Beaumaris	Banksia Reserve	1962	1995	5	2016
Caulfield Grammarians		Fields	Caulfield North	Glenhuntly Oval	1920	1920	10	2019
De La Salle		DLSOC	Malvern	Waverley Park	1955	1955	11	2003
Old Camberwell		Wellers	Balwyn North	Gordon Barnard Reserve	1960	1960	6	2007
Old Geelong		OGs	South Yarra	Como Park	1954	1954	6	2016
Old Haileyburians		Bloods	Caulfield South	Princes Park	1925	1961	9	2022
Old Ivanhoe Grammarians		Hoers	Ivanhoe	Chelsworth Park	1929	1964	8	2023
Old Trinity Grammarians'		T's	Bulleen	Daley Oval	1923	1954	7	1999
St Bedes/Mentone Tigers		Tigers	Mentone	Mentone Reserve	1992	1993	4	2008
Williamstown CYMS		CYs	Williamstown	Fearon Reserve	1886	1983	5	2019

Premier C

Club	Colours	Moniker	Location	Home venue	Est.	Joined VAFA	Premierships
							Total	Recent
AJAX		Jackas	St Kilda	Gary Smorgon Oval	1957	1957	6	2011
Glen Eira		Gryphons	Carnegie	Packer Park	1999	1999	1	2023
Hampton Rovers		Rovers	Hampton	Boss James Reserve	1933	1933	9	2014
Marcellin Old Collegians		Eagles	Bulleen	Oval 1, Marcellin College	1971	1971	9	2008
Mazenod Old Collegians		Nodders	Glen Waverley	Central Reserve	1978	1989	5	2016
Monash Blues		Blues	Clayton	Frearson Oval	1962	1962	5	2022
Oakleigh		Krushers	Oakleigh	W.A. Scammell Reserve	1991	1991	5	2007
Old Carey Grammarians		Panthers	Bulleen	Carey Sports Complex	1954	1954	4	2010
Parkdale Vultures		Vultures	Parkdale	Gerry Green Reserve	1991	1991	2	2012
PEGS		Bombers	Keilor East	Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School	1970	1984	4	2022

Division 1

Club	Colours	Moniker	Location	Home venue	Est.	Joined VAFA	Premierships
							Total	Recent
Kew		Bears	Kew	J.J. Higgins Reserve	1900	1949	9	2015
Old Peninsula		Pirates	Mount Eliza	Peninsula College	1980	1980	0	−
Old Yarra Cobras		Cobras	Bulleen	Koonung Park	2022	2022	0	−
Ormond		Monders	Ormond	E.E. Gunn Reserve	1932	1932	14	2018
Parkside		Devils	Alphington	Pitcher Park	1938	2015	6	2023
Prahran		Two Blues	Toorak	Toorak Park	1886	2011	2	2017
Preston Bullants		Bullants	Preston	Ruthven Reserve	2009	2009	2	2019
Therry Penola		Lions	Oak Park	JP Fawkner Reserve	1977	1977	4	2013
UHS-VU		Vultures	Parkville	Brens Oval	1932	1933	6	2018
West Brunswick		Magpies	Parkville	Ransford Oval	1932	1959	8	2015

Division 2

Club	Colours	Moniker	Location	Home venue	Est.	Joined VAFA	Premierships
							Total	Recent
Aquinas Old Collegians		Bloods	Ringwood	Aquinas College	1981	1987	4	2019
Brunswick		NOBS	Brunswick	Alec Gillon Oval	1932	1963	3	2012
Bulleen Templestowe		Bullants	Templestowe Lower	Ted Ajani Reserve	1975	1975	6	2012
Elsternwick		Wickers	Elsternwick	Graham Holmes Oval, Elsternwick Park	1914	1947	7	2023
Hawthorn		Hawks	Hawthorn East	Rathmines Road Reserve	1954	1995	1	1998
Melbourne High School Old Boys		Unicorns	South Yarra	Melbourne High School	1928	1928	10	2009
South Melbourne Districts		Bloods	Albert Park	Lindsay Hassett Oval	1912	2000	4	2022
St Mary's Salesian		Saints	Glen Iris	Ferndale Park	2008	2008	0	−
Wattle Park		Animals	Burwood	Bennettswood Sports Ground	1992	1992	3	2002
Whitefriars Old Collegians		Friars	Donvale	Whitefriars College Oval	1986	1986	6	2022

Division 3

Club	Colours	Moniker	Location	Home venue	Est.	Joined VAFA	Premierships
							Total	Recent
Albert Park		Falcons	Albert Park	Beaurepaire Pavilion	1954	1954	0	-
Box Hill North		Demons	Box Hill North	Elgar Park	1983	2002	0	−
Canterbury		Cobras	Canterbury	Canterbury Sports Ground	1881	2014	1	2016
Chadstone		Synners	Chadstone	Jordan Reserve	1983	1987	0	−
Eley Park		Sharks	Box Hill	Whitehorse Reserve	1992	1994	1	1999
La Trobe University		Trobers	Bundoora	Tony Sheehan Oval, La Trobe University	1967	1970	7	2022
North Brunswick		Bulls	Brunswick	Allard Park	1970	1971	4	2023
Power House		Slushies	St Kilda	Ross Gregory Oval	1940	1940	5	2006
Richmond Central		Snakes	Richmond	Kevin Bartlett Reserve	1987	1987	1	1994
St John's Old Collegians		JOCS	Doveton	Thomas Carroll Reserve	1991	1991	2	2011
Swinburne University		Razorbacks	Hawthorn	St. James Park	1996	1996	1	2003

Thirds Only

Colours	Club	Moniker	Location	Home venue	Est.	Joined VAFA	Premierships
							Total	Recent
Masala Dandenong		Tigers	Dandenong	Fotheringham Reserve	2013	2013	0	−
Mentone		Panthers	Cheltenham	Le Page Park	1968	1968	1	1990

Women's Seniors clubs

William Buck Premier

Colours	Club	Moniker	Location	Home venue	Est.	Joined VAFA	Premierships
							Total	Recent
Caulfield Grammarians		Fields	Caulfield North	Glenhuntly Oval	1920	1920	1	2019
Coburg		Lions	Coburg	Piranha Park	2021	2023	-	-
Collegians		Lions	Albert Park	Harry Trott Oval	1892	1892	-	-
Kew		Bears	Kew	J.J. Higgins Reserve	1900	1949	-	-
Melbourne University		Mugars	Parkville	Melbourne Uni, Main Oval	1996	2017	1	2018
Monash Blues		Blues	Clayton	Frearson Oval	1962	1962	1	2023
Old Scotch		Stars	Camberwell	Camberwell Sports Ground	1894	1921	2	2022
Old Yarra Cobras		Cobras	Doncaster	Doncaster Reserve	1993	1993	-	-
St Kevins		Saints	Kooyong	T H King Reserve	1947	1947	3	2023
West Brunswick		Magpies	Parkville	McAlister Oval	1932	1959	-	-

Premier B

Colours	Club	Moniker	Location	Home venue	Est.	Joined VAFA	Premierships
							Total	Recent
Aquinas		Bloods	Ringwood	Aquinas College	1981	1987	-	-
Beaumaris		Sharks	Beaumaris	Banksia Reserve	1962	1995	1	2022
Fitzroy		Roy Girls	Fitzroy North	Brunswick Street Oval	1883	2009	-	-
Mazenod		Nodders	Glen Waverley	Central Reserve	1978	1989	1	2017
Old Geelong		OGs	South Yarra	Como Park	1954	1954	-	-
St Bede's Mentone		Tigers	Mentone	Mentone Reserve	1972	1972		2022
Westbourne Grammarians		Warriors	Truganina	Westbourne School Ground	2014	2014	1	2018
Williamstown CYMS		CYs	Williamstown	Fearon Reserve	1886	1983	1	2023

Division 1

Colours	Club	Moniker	Location	Home venue	Est.	Joined VAFA	Premierships
							Total	Recent
Brunswick		Renegades	Brunswick	Alec Gillon Oval	1932	1963	-	-
Marcellin Old Collegians		Eagles	Bulleen	Oval 1, Marcellin College	1971	1971	2	2023
Old Brighton		Tonners	Brighton	Brighton Beach Oval	1921	1957	-	-
Old Camberwell		Wellers	Balwyn North	Gordon Barnard Reserve	1960	1960	1	2017
Old Haileybury		Hearts	Caulfield South	Princes Park Reserve	1925	1961	1	2018
Old Melburnians		Redlegs	Elsternwick	Elsternwick Park	1896	1920	-	-
Old Xaverians		Old Xavs	Armadale	Toorak Park	1923	1923	-	-
Parkdale Vultures		Vultures	Parkdale	Gerry Green Reserve	1991	1991	-	-

Division 2

Colours	Club	Moniker	Location	Home venue	Est.	Joined VAFA	Premierships
							Total	Recent
Glen Eira		Gryphons	Carnegie	Packer Park	1999	1999	1	2019
Hampton Rovers		Rovers	Hampton	Boss James Reserve	1933	1933	1	2022
Hawthorn		Hawks	Hawthorn East	Rathmines Road Reserve	1954	1995	2	2018
MCC Women's		Demons	Beaumaris	Beaumaris Secondary College	2018	2018	1	2023
Oakleigh		Krushers	Oakleigh South	W. A. Scammel Reserve	1991	1991	-	-
Old Trinity Grammarians		T's	Bulleen	Daley Oval, Trinity Grammar Playing Fields	1923	1954	-	-
Power House		Slushies	Albert Park	Ross Gregory Oval	1940	1940	-	-
Richmond Central		Snakes	Richmond	Loughnan Oval	1987	1987	-	-
St Mary's Salesian		Saints	Glen Iris	Ferndale Reserve	2008	2008	2	2018
Whitefriars		Friars	Donvale	Whitefriars College Oval	1986	1986	1	2018

Division 3

Colours	Club	Moniker	Location	Home venue	Est.	Joined VAFA	Premierships
							Total	Recent
Box Hill North		Demons	Box Hill North	Elgar Park	1983	2002	-	-
De La Salle Old Collegians		DLSOC	Malvern	Waverley Park	1955	1955	-	-
La Trobe University		Trobers	Bundoora	La Trobe University	1967	1970	-	-
North Brunswick		Bulls	Brunswick	Allard Park	1970	1971	-	-
Old Carey		Panthers	Bulleen	Carey Sports Complex	1954	1954	-	-
Parkside Football Club		Devils	Alphington	Pitcher Park	1938	2015	-	-
Preston Bullants		Bullants	Preston	W. R. Ruthven V.C. Reserve	2009	2009	1	2019
Therry Penola		Lions	Oak Park	John Pascoe Fawkner Reserve	1977	1977	1	2019
UHS-VU		Vultures	Parkville	Brens Oval	1932	1933	1	2023
Wattle Park		Animals	Burwood	Bennettswood Sports Ground	1992	1992	-	-

Division 4

Colours	Club	Moniker	Location	Home venue	Est.	Joined VAFA	Premierships
							Total	Recent
Albert Park		Falcons	Albert Park	Beaurepaire Pavilion	1954	1954	-	-
Canterbury		Cobras	Surrey Hills	Canterbury Sports Ground	1881	2014	-	-
Collegians		Lions	Albert Park	Harry Trott Oval	1892	1892	-	-
Elsternwick		Wickers	Elsternwick	Graham Holmes Oval, Elsternwick Park	1914	1947	-	-
Kew		Bears	Kew	J.J. Higgins Reserve	1900	1949	-	-
Old Xaverians		Old Xavs	Armadale	Toorak Park	1923	1923	-	-
Old Yarra Cobras		Cobras	Doncaster	Doncaster Reserve	1993	1993	-	-
South Melbourne Districts		Bloods	Albert Park	Lindsay Hassett Oval	1912	2000	-	-
St Kevins		Saints	Kooyong	T H King Reserve	1947	1947	3	2023
West Brunswick		Magpies	Parkville	McAlister Oval	1932	1959	-	-

Former clubs

	Years in VAFA	Fate
Albanvale	1989-92	Moved to WRFL
Alphington	1934-83	Folded
AMP Society	1963-81	Changed name to Balaclava
ANZ Bank Football Club	1950-69	Merged with Albert Park in 1970
Army Apprentices	1966-70	Folded
Assumption OC	1964-82	Were part of Combined Country Colleges from 1978-81. Merged with Prahran in 2010 to form Prahran Assumption
Australian Postal institute	1965	Folded
Balaclava	1982-90	Changed name to Glen Huntly in 1991. Later became part of Glen Eira
Balwyn	1946-55	Moved to ESFL (now in EFNL)
Balwyn Combined	1993-95	Moved to EFNL, folded in 1996
Banyule	1979-2014	Moved to NFNL
Bellfield	1950-65	Moved to ESCFL. Folded in 1993
Bentleigh	2000-10	Moved to SFNL
Bentleigh Districts	1929-37	Moved to CODFL. Folded in 1956
Beverley	1898-1915	Folded
Beverley Hills	1972-81	Moved to EFNL, changed name to Doncaster East in 1990
Black Rock	1922, 1927-30	Moved to YCWFL. Now in SFNL
Bloods	1987-98	Merged with Old Brighton in 1996 to form Old Brighton Bloods. Changed name to Old Brighton in 1998.
Boronia Park	1990-94	Moved to SFNL then YRFNL before folding in 2001
Boroondara	1897, 1903-04	Merged with Hawthorn in 1905
Brighton	1892-1907	Moved to VFA
Brighton	1952-58
Brighton TSOB	1930-40	Folded
Brightonvale	1926-39	Folded
Brunswick	1926-94, 1999-2003	Changed name to Brunswick Power and moved to WRFL
Bulleen United	1975-95	Merged with Canterbury North Balwyn to form Bulleen Cobras (now Manningham Cobras)
Burwood	1928-36	Folded
Camberwell	1992-95	Folded
Canterbury North Balwyn	1993-95	Merged with Bulleen United to form Bulleen Cobras (now Manningham Cobras)
Canterbury United Churches	1931-32	Folded
Carlton Districs	1909-15	Folded
Carnegie	1935-38	Moved to CODFL then SFNL before folding in 1999
Cassie	1964-65	Folded
Caulfield	1884-1915	Ended up in Federal Football League. Folded in 1976
Caulfield City	1924-25	Moved to ESFL, then CODFL before folding in 1958
Celtic	1900-02	Folded
Chirnside Park	1990-99	Moved to EFNL
Clayton	1979-89	Merged with Waverley to form Waverley Amateurs in 1989.
Coburg	1935-87	Folded
Collingwood District	1906-15	Moved to VJFL/VFL seconds. Folded in 1938
Commercial Bank	1959-66	Folded
Commonwealth Bank	1947-94	Merged with State Savings Bank to form State Commonwealth Bank
Coolaroo Rovers	1980	Moved to Panton Hill Football League. Folded in 1988
Combined Country Colleges	1978-81	Separated in 1981
Dandenong KSP	1930-32	Folded
Dookie Longerenong	1970-74	Folded
Doveton SJOC	1981-95	Changed name to Doveton Eagles. Moved to SFNL
East Caulfield	1947-51	Moved to ESFL. Folded in 1962
East Malvern	1929-64	Moved to SFNL. Folded in 1985
Edlington	1892	Folded
Elwood	1922-23	Folded
ES & A Bank	1932-35, 1952-69	Absorbed by ANZ Bank
ES & A Bank/National Bank	1936-37	Temporary merger with National Bank
Fairfield	1936-73	Moved to ESCFL, SFNL, and NFNL before folding in 1996
Fawkner	1973-95	Merged with Moomba Park to form Fawkner Park in 1996. Now part of Northern Saints in EDFL
Fitzroy Districts	1904-05
Fitzroy Juniors	1912-15	Folded
Fitzroy Reds	1998-2008	Changed name to Fitzroy in 2009
Flinders Naval Base	1927-28	Moved to MPFL, FFL, and NPL. Folded in 1975
Footscray Districts	1892	Folded
Footscray TSOB	1932-90	Folded
Gardenvale-Middle Brighton	1926	Moved to ESCFL. Merged with St Kevin's Ormond in 1992 to form Caulfield Bears
Gardiner	1932	Folded
Geelong Amateurs	1926-40, 1947-82	Moved to GDFL. Now in Bellarine Football League
Glenhuntly	1926-73	Folded
Glenhuntly	1991-98	Merged with St Kilda South Caulfield and St Kilda CBC Old Boys to form Glen Eira in 1999
Glenroy	1974-77
GTV 9	1986	Folded
Hampton	1923-27	Merged with various clubs to form Sandringham in VFA
Hawthorn	1954-57
Hawthorn	1902-13	Moved to VFA in 1914
Heatherton	1975-89	Moved to ESCFL. Now in SFNL
Heidelberg West	1939-40	Moved to NFNL
Huntingdale	1956	Folded
Insurance Companies' Social Clubs	1954-58	Folded
Ivanhoe	1932-2023	Moved to NFNL
Kew Districts	1926	Folded
Kingsville	1927-35	Moved to WRFL and changed name to Yarraville in 1996. Now part of Yarravile-Seddon
Kontias	1989-91	Folded
Kooyong	1963-65	Folded
La Trobe University Reds	1971-1977	Folded
Leopold	1898-1915	Folded
Malvern	1896, 1933-64	Changed name to Tooronga Malvern in 1964
Manningham Cobras	1996-2022	Merged with Yarra Old Grammarians to form Old Yarra Cobras
Melbourne Shipping Companies	1922	Folded
Melbourne Swimming Club	1920-23	Folded
Monash Whites	1964-75,1971-2001	Became Club XVIII team of Monash Blues in 2001
Moreland	1949-51	Folded
Mt Carmel OC	1936-40	Folded
Mt Lilydale	1997-2018	Merged with Croydon North to form Croydon North MLOC. Moved to EFNL
Murrumbeena	1923-62	Folded
Myer	1937-54	Folded
National Bank	1932-38, 1954-79	Folded
Newlands Coburg	1994-96	Folded
North Alphington	1948-52	Folded
Nunawading	1894-96	Folded
Oakleigh	1908-11, 1927-28	Folded
Oakleigh Clayton	2003-06	Merger between Oakleigh Districts and Clayton to form an U/19s side. Disbanded after 2006.
Old Haileybury-Old Trinity	1928-35	Folded
Old Eltham Collegians	1986-2019	Moved to NFNL
Old Paradians	1929-2023	Moved to NFNL
Old Scotch Collegians	1894-95	Folded
Olinda	1893	Folded
Parkdale	1934-54	Moved to FFL, then SFNL. Rejoined VAFA in 2003 after merging with Mentone Vultures to form Parkdale Vultures
Parkville	1899	Folded
Pascoe Vale	1927-28, 1940	Moved to VFL Sub-District football league. Now in EDFL
Patricians	1965-69	Folded
Pharmacy College	1962-65	Folded
Point Cook	2010-17	Moved to WRFL
Port Colts	1987-89	Folded
Port Melbourne	1956-59	Folded
Port Rovers	1903-08	Folded
Postal Institute	1965	Folded
Prahran	1999-2010	Merged with Assumption Old Collegians to form Prahran Assumption in 2011
Prahran-Caulfield	2007
Preston	1954-69	Folded
Preston Marist Brothers Old Boys	1983-93	Folded
Princes Hill	1979-81	Folded
RAAF Cadets	1964-65	Folded
Reservoir Old Boys	1965-77	Folded
Rupertswood	2000-2012	Moved to RDFL. Now in EDFL
Salesian OC	1989-2007	Merged with St Mary's at the start of 2008
Sandringham	1921-28
Sandringham B	1928
Sandringham Juniors	1926-27
South Camberwell	1937-40	Folded
South Caulfield	1926-40	Moved to CYMSFA, then FFL. Merged with Brighton to form Brighton-Caulfield in VFA. Folded in 1987.
Southern Dragons	2013-14	Moved to SFL
South Melbourne City	1954-59	Folded
South Melbourne Juniors	1900	Folded
South Mornington	2006-2019	Moved to SFNL
South St Kilda	1892-1899	Folded
South Yarra	1897-1921
Southbank	1994-98	Changed name to Prahran in 1999
St Andrews-Coburg	1986-95	Folded
St Colomb's	1953	Folded
St Francis Xavier	1899	Original Xavier College alumni club. Successor, Old Xaverians, formed in 1923.
St Francis Xavier OC	2007-2019	Moved to SFNL, changed name to Narre South Saints
St Ignatius's	1900-02, 1932-34	Folded
St Jude's	1892-1893	Folded
St Kilda CBC Old Boys	1958-1991	Merged with Glen Huntly and St Kilda-South Caulfield to form Glen Eira in 1999.
St Leonard's	1986-89	Folded
St Mary's	1990-2007	Merged with Salesian OC at the start of 2008
St Mary's	1892-98	Folded
St Patrick's Ballarat OC	1939-40, 1951-55, 1964-75	Now part of Brunswick NOBSPC
St Patricks Mentone	1991-2000	Folded
St Paul's (Ascot Vale)	1926-40	Folded
St Peter's Clayton	1991-92
St Pius's	1979-82	Folded
St Andrew's (Brighton)	1949-51
St Kilda-South Caulfield	1992-98	Merged with Glen Huntly and St Kilda CBC Old Boys to form Glen Eira in 1999.
St Patrick's Monivae	1976	Folded
State Commonwealth Bank	1991-94	Changed name to Southbank in 1994
State Electricity Commission	1947	Folded
State Savings Bank	1927-90	Merged with Commonwealth Bank to form State Commonwealth Bank. Now part of Prahran Assumption
Surrey Hills	1928-32	Moved to ESFL, then CFGFL, then EFNL. Merged with East Camberwell to form Surrey Park.
Teachers College	1920-57	Folded
Thomastown	1975-2000	Moved to DVFL (now NFNL)
Thornbury	1973-83	Moved to NFNL. Merged with Reservoir Rovers in 1988 to form Thornbury Rovers. Folded in 1991.
Thornbury Cougars	1996-99	Folded
Toorak Grovesnor	1892-94	Folded
Tooronga-Malvern	1964-72	Folded
Waltham	1895-97	Folded
Waverley Amateurs	1989-90	Moved to EFNL. Now part of Waverley Blues.
Werribee Districts	1998-2013	Moved to WRFL
West Hawthorn	1927-33	Folded
Windsor	1894-1898	Folded
Wyndham Suns	2014	U/19s only. Moved to WRFL at the end of 2014
Yarra Old Grammarians	1993-2022	Merged with Manningham Cobras to form Old Yarra Cobras
YMCA	1892-93	Folded

A VAFA match featuring Old Melburnians at the Junction Oval

See also

• Australian rules football in Victoria

References

1. Schools & Colleges: Public Schools and Football, Table Talk, (Thursday, 26 April 1923),p.24.
2. Metropolitan Juniors Football Association, The Independent, (Saturday, 7 May 1892), p.3.
3. A Brief History of the VAFA Victorian Amateur Football Association
4. Metropolitan Junior Football Association The Australasian 1 October 1892 page 18
5. [https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/241498857 Football: Amateur Players: Move by Juniors The Herald (Melbourne) 24 April 1912 page 5
6. Riley, M., "Class and Warfare: The MAFA and the VFL Seconds", Boyles Football Photos, 4 April 2014.
7. The Sporting World: A Look Ahead The Age 12 March 1919 page 11
8. Smith, W.H. & Ogilvey, A., The Football Season (Letter to the Editor) The Age 13 March 1919 page 6
9. In late 1915, the Metropolitan Amateur Football Association announced that it had suspended its competition, and would not resume the competition until the war had ended: Old Boy, "District Football: The League's Preparations", The Argus, (Wednesday, 8 December 1915), p.13.
10. Football: Metropolitan Amateur Association, The Argus, (Friday, 26 March 1920), p.11.
11. Amateur Association: Change of Name Adopted The Age 25 October 1932 page 10
12. de Lacy, H., "Amateurs knock-out title on two grounds", The Sporting Globe, (Wednesday, 2 June 1954), p.18).
13. "Late burst saves State amateurs", The Argus, (Tuesday, 15 June 1954), p.13.
14. Amateurs: Third Term Burst Wins, The Age, (Tuesday, 18 June 1957), p.14.
15. "Football has Trial TV Run . . But League says 'No!'", The Argus, (Wednesday, 27 June 1956), p.22.
16. Inter-State Football in TV Week-end Cover,The Age Radio/TV Supplement, (14-20 June 1957), p.1.].
17. Monday Television: ABV-Channel 2 (2:15), The Age Radio/TV Supplement, (14-20 June 1957), p.9.].
18. Amateurs Conclude, The Age, (Monday, 24 June 1940), p.6.
19. "VAFA women's competition could feature 30 teams in debut season as interest skyrockets". Herald Sun.
20. "VAFA set to undergo competition restructure in 2024". Herald Sun.

External links

• Official Site
• Brief History
• VAFA Records and History at Full Points Footy