Vic blind and wheelchair leagues underway in ‘24

It has been an action-packed month across AFL Victoria’s inclusion footy program, with the Victorian Wheelchair Football League (VWFL) and Victorian Blind Football League (VBFL) seasons starting up for another year.

See below for a summary of how each competition is going so far.

For younger players keen to get involved in the sport, AFL Victoria runs a Wheelchair Auskick Centre every Sunday at 12pm at the State Netball and Hockey Centre, prior to the VWFL and CWFL games. Click here for more information or to register for Wheelchair Auskick, with registrations open until June 12. For kids with vision impairment, AFL Victoria is soon to launch a Blind Auskick program. Follow AFL Victoria on Instagram and Facebook for updates on the launch of this new program.

VICTORIAN WHEELCHAIR FOOTBALL LEAGUE

In the VWFL, Richmond and Collingwood have both had a dominant start to the 2024 season, with Richmond sitting top of the ladder after the first four rounds, being the only team to knock off Collingwood so far this year.

The season was launched with a 2023 VWFL Grand Final replay on April 28, with reigning premiers Hawthorn going down by 117 points to Richmond, who succeeded in their grand final redemption after the 2023 loss. The Hawks had only two players from their 2023 Grand Final squad, whilst Richmond had the experience of five. Teisha Shadwell was dominant in the centre for Richmond, giving James Weinert first touch out of the middle as he streamed out of the backline, setting up his forwards in Angelo Mavroudis & Chris Kotsanas beautifully all day.

St Kilda’s VWFL team also started off 2024 with an impressive victory over Essendon, with debutants Shaun Groenewegen and Campbell Message finding their groove in their new team. Michael Milton scored a hat trick in the third quarter to put the Saints comfortably in front at the final break, with captain Ryan Smith scoring 12 goals for the day. The Saints copped their first defeat of the year a week later, as they faced a strong Richmond side who put up a 48 point victory despite a close margin just after half time. James Weinert was immaculate in defence once again for Richmond, and Angelo Mavroudis continued his hot start to the season, sitting equal first with Ryan Smith (St Kilda) on the goal scoring leaderboard after 18 goals in two games.

After a first round bye, Collingwood kicked off their 2024 campaign with a strong 37 point win against Essendon, with Patrick McKay scoring 10 goals in his debut game for the Pies. Arnold Razon was a beast in defence, keeping Essendon to just seven goals throughout the game. Hayden Farley and Louis Rowe of Essendon did their best to stop the scoring, and Rowe was one of the best on for the Dons. Despite the loss, Caleb Logan scored six of Essendon’s seven goals, but it wasn’t enough to hold off the high scoring Pies.

Round 3 saw some hope for Hawthorn fans, with the Hawks starting off strong with three of the first four goals against Essendon, though this was short-lived as the Dons pulled out 15 goals in a row to steal a comfortable lead back. Caleb Logan was in exceptionally good form, with 17 goals and many highlight reel moments as he propelled himself to the top of the VWFL Goal scoring list with 31 for the season.

Collingwood’s success continued in their Round 3 clash, with another strong personal performance from Patrick McKay who had five goals. The Saints struggled to find their flow offensively with only two goals to half time, a credit to the superb defence of Collingwood star Will Crooks. St Kilda’s Ryan Smith and Shaun Groenewegen did everything they could do bring their team back into it, but they left the comeback too late as the Pies moved to second on the VWFL ladder. It wasn’t until Round 4 when the Pies were dealt their first loss of the season, going down to Richmond in a match that felt tighter than the scoreboard reflected. Angelo Mavroudis had 10 goals for the Tigers, and the Teisha Shadwell and James Weinert connection is proving very hard to stop.

In another high scoring affair, St Kilda put on a masterclass against the Hawks, defeating them by over 120 points. Ryan Smith single-handedly dominated the Saints’ scoreline, with an unbelievable 21 goals to put him back on top of the leading goals award with 43 for the season already! Nick Briant was also excellent for the Saints. Campbell Message and Shaun Groenewegen have found their groove, and so have the Saints as they move to 2nd on the VWFL Ladder. The return of Yassin Hill wasn’t enough for the Hawks as they remain winless in their premiership defence.

VWFL Results
Round 1
Hawthorn 3.4 (22) def by Richmond 22.7 (139)
Essendon 11.5 (71) def by St Kilda 15.3 (93)

Round 2
Collingwood 14.6 (90) def Essendon 7.11 (53)
Richmond 15.6 (96) def St Kilda 7.6 (48)

Round 3
St Kilda Football Club 8.6 (54) def by Collingwood Football Club 13.2 (80)
Essendon 23.11 (149) def Hawthorn 5.5 (35)

Round 4
Richmond 16.4 (100) def Collingwood 9.4 (58)
Hawthorn 3.6 (24) def by St Kilda 24.6 (150)

Round 5 of the VWFL kicks off this Friday 24 May when Essendon host Richmond at the NEC Hangar.

Victorian Wheelchair Football League – Round 5
Friday 24 May – NEC Hangar
7:00pm – Essendon v Richmond

Sunday 26 May – Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports Stadium
1:00pm – Collingwood v Hawthorn

For full fixtures visit PlayHQ.

Read more about the 2024 VFWL teams here.

VICTORIAN BLIND FOOTBALL LEAGUE

The Victorian Blind Football League (VBFL) has had an exciting start to the season with the announcement of Port Melbourne joining the league, making them the first VFL club in history to have a blind team competing in the VBFL.

Port Melbourne immediately cemented their place in the league with two dominate wins in Round 1, defeating Hawthorn by 21 points and St Kilda by 88, whilst Hawthorn’s second team put up a convincing performance against St Kilda, defeating them by 46 points in their first match of the season.

In the second round of the VBFL, reigning premiers Hawthorn got the better of Port Melbourne with a 71 point victory. Andrew Close & Cebby Johnson were the stars in the forward line, as they combined for over 90 points. While Travis Zimmer did everything he could to keep the Borough in it with six goals for himself. There was a change of pace for St Kilda as well, who recorded a big victory over Port Melbourne for their first win of the season. Beau Jones had five goals in his first game for the Saints, and David Steeds, Jasper Steeds and Stephen Palmer looked as dangerous as ever in what was a well-rounded team performance from the Saints. St Kilda v Hawthorn turned out to be a high scoring affair for both teams, with Johnny Boland impressive yet again for the Hawks while Andrew Close & Cebby Johnson had a day to remember in the forward line. The Hawks managed to hold on by 15pts in what was an early season contender for match of the year!

VBFL Results
Round 1
Hawthorn 8.9 (98) def St Kilda 5.3 (53)
Hawthorn 8.4 (85) def by Port Melbourne 9.7 (106)
St Kilda 7.10 (60) def by Port Melbourne 10.3 (148)

Round 2
Hawthorn 11.11 (154) def Port Melbourne 7.6 (83)
St Kilda 14.9 (150) def Port Melbourne 5.2 (51)
St Kilda 6.9 (117) def by Hawthorn 10.7 (132)

Round 3 of the VBFL kicks off on Saturday June 1 at Action Indoor Sports Centre Tullamarine.

Victorian Blind Football League – Round 3
Saturday 1 June – Action Indoor Sports Centre Tullamarine
9:00am – St Kilda v Port Melbourne
10:00am – Hawthorn v St Kilda
11:00am – Port Melbourne v Hawthorn

Read more about the VBFL here.