French
Deutsch2025 VFL season
| 2025 VFL season | |
|---|---|
| Date | 22 March − 21 September 2025 |
| Teams | 21 |
The 2025 VFL season is the upcoming 143rd season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), a second-tier Australian rules football competition played in the states of Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland.[1] The season is scheduled to begin on 22 March and conclude on 21 September, featuring 21 clubs.[2][3]
Background
[edit]Death of Dale Tapping
[edit]On 4 February 2025, Essendon coach Dale Tapping died, two years after he was diagnosed with myeloma, an aggressive form of blood cancer.[4][5] Essendon had appointed Tapping as its VFL coach for the 2025 season only several months prior on 11 October 2024.[6] He had previously served as Collingwood's VFL coach from 2013 until the end of the 2016 season, and was named VFL Coach of the Year in 2016.[7][8]
Cameron Joyce, who coached Gold Coast in the AFL Women's (AFLW) from 2022 season 6 until he was dismissed at the end of the 2024 season, was announced as Essendon's new VFL coach on 24 February 2025.[9][10]
Practice matches
[edit]Clubs have held practice matches beginning on 15 February 2025.[11][12] There was speculation that the Tasmania Football Club would enter the VFL in 2025, but it is expected that they will instead join the competition in 2026.[13][14] Instead, AFL Tasmania will manage a Senior Talent Academy, which will include representative games against Frankston and Sandringham on 22 March 2025 and 4 May 2025 respectively.[15][16]
Broadcast rights
[edit]In September 2022, the Australian Football League (AFL) announced a seven-year, $4.5 billion broadcast rights deal with the Seven Network, Foxtel and Telstra, effective from the 2025 season.[17] This included Saturday matches (outside of marquee matches) becoming exclusive to Foxtel and Kayo for the first eight rounds of the season, while all Saturday night matches in the last eight rounds of the season would be exclusive to Seven.[18]
As a result, Seven is expected to broadcast move its VFL coverage from Sunday afternoon to 7pm on Saturdays, airing in Victoria on 7mate.[19][20] The games will be played at a single venue, with Port Melbourne's home ground ETU Stadium considered.[19][21]
Coach appointments
[edit]| New coach | Club | Date of appointment | Previous coach | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew Primus | Southport | 7 August 2024 | Steve Daniel | [22] |
| Andy Otten | Collingwood | 19 August 2024 | Josh Fraser | [23] |
| Brendan McCartney | Port Melbourne | 19 August 2024 | Adam Skrobalak | [24] |
| Jake Batchelor | Richmond | 23 September 2024 | Steven Morris | [25] |
| Dale Tapping | Essendon | 11 October 2024 | Blake Caracella | [26] |
| Brendon Goddard | Sandringham | 11 October 2024 | Jake Batchelor | [27] |
| Jarrad McVeigh | Sydney | 21 October 2024 | Damian Truslove | [28] |
| Cameron Joyce | Essendon | 24 February 2025 | Dale Tapping | [29] |
Club leadership
[edit]| Club | Coach | Leadership group | Ref | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Captain(s) | Vice-captain(s) | Other leader(s) | |||
| Box Hill | Zane Littlejohn | ||||
| Brisbane | Ben Hudson | ||||
| Carlton | Luke Power | ||||
| Casey | Taylor Whitford | ||||
| Coburg | Jamie Cassidy-McNamara | ||||
| Collingwood | Andy Otten | ||||
| Essendon | Cameron Joyce | Xavier O'Neill | Jackson Hately | [30] | |
| Footscray | Stewart Edge | ||||
| Frankston | Jackson Kornberg | [31] | |||
| Geelong | Mark Corrigan | [32] | |||
| Gold Coast | Tate Kaeslar | ||||
| Greater Western Sydney | Wayne Cripps | ||||
| North Melbourne | Tom Lynch | ||||
| Northern Bullants | Rohan Welsh | [33] | |||
| Port Melbourne | Brendan McCartney | ||||
| Richmond | Jake Batchelor | ||||
| Sandringham | Brendon Goddard | ||||
| Southport | Matthew Primus | ||||
| Sydney | Jarrad McVeigh | ||||
| Werribee | James Allan | ||||
| Williamstown | Justin Plapp | ||||
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Season dates confirmed for 2025 VFL and VFLW seasons". AFL.com.au. 20 December 2024. Archived from the original on 20 December 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
- ^ Cellini, Aidan (20 December 2024). "VFL and VFLW 2025 start dates confirmed, fixture details revealed". ZeroHanger. Archived from the original on 21 December 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
- ^ "Dates revealed for VFL, VFLW seasons". Star Weekly. 6 January 2025. Archived from the original on 6 February 2025. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
- ^ "Essendon VFL senior coach Dale Tapping dies following myeloma illness". ABC News. 4 February 2024. Archived from the original on 6 February 2025. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
- ^ "Vale Dale Tapping". Prahran Football Club. 4 February 2025. Archived from the original on 6 February 2025. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
- ^ Smith, Martin (4 February 2025). "Vale, Dale Tapping: 'Outstanding' coach dies after cancer battle". AFL.com.au. Archived from the original on 6 February 2025. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
- ^ "Dale Tapping". Demonwiki. Archived from the original on 6 February 2025. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
- ^ "Vale Dale Tapping". Essendon Football Club. 4 February 2025. Archived from the original on 6 February 2025. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
- ^ Beveridge, Riley (2 December 2024). "Suns sack AFLW coach Joyce after missing finals". AFL.com.au. Archived from the original on 21 February 2025. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
- ^ "Suns sack AFLW coach Joyce, captain Bohanna wants trade". ESPN. 2 December 2024. Archived from the original on 9 December 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
- ^ "Dogs v Dons: Pre-season tickets on sale". Western Bulldogs. 6 February 2025. Archived from the original on 6 February 2025. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
- ^ Rhodes, Brendan (10 February 2025). "2025 Smithy's VFL practice match schedule". AFL.com.au. Archived from the original on 10 February 2025. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
- ^ "Tasmania granted 19th AFL team licence with 2028 slated for men's start date". The Guardian. 3 May 2023. Archived from the original on 17 August 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
- ^ Tuxworth, Jon (25 October 2024). "VFL: The northern talents who could wear 'The Map' in 2026". The Mercury. Archived from the original on 23 November 2024. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
- ^ Doole, Jacob (15 July 2024). "Tasmania Senior Talent Academy to launch in 2025". AFL Tasmania. Archived from the original on 16 July 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
- ^ May, Brayden (24 January 2025). "Tasmania Senior Academy to face VFL teams, Queensland and Sydney-Canberra". Herald Sun. Archived from the original on 26 January 2025. Retrieved 26 January 2025.
- ^ Twomey, Callum (6 September 2022). "Seven years, $4.5b: AFL reveals huge new broadcast rights deal". AFL.com.au. Archived from the original on 30 October 2024. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
- ^ Mottram, Seb (6 September 2022). "All the details of the AFL's new broadcast rights deal". SEN. Archived from the original on 15 November 2024. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
- ^ a b Ralph, Jon; Amy, Paul (17 February 2025). "Channel 7 set to broadcast VFL games on Saturday nights to combat Fox Footy". Herald Sun. CODE Sports. Archived from the original on 17 February 2025. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
- ^ Vinall, Marnie (21 February 2025). "'Angry and frustrated': VFLW player payments cut across women's programs". ABC News. Archived from the original on 21 February 2025. Retrieved 21 February 2025.
- ^ Knox, David (17 February 2025). "Report: Seven looks to VFL for Saturday sport". TV Tonight. Archived from the original on 17 February 2025. Retrieved 22 February 2025.
- ^ "VFL COACHING ANNOUNCEMENT". Southport Sharks. 8 August 2024. Archived from the original on 8 August 2024. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
- ^ Amy, Paul [@PaulAmy375] (19 August 2024). "VFL: a change of coach at Collingwood, with development coach Andy Otten taking over from Josh Fraser, who has been in charge since 2023" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 10 February 2025. Retrieved 10 February 2025 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Brendan McCartney appointed Port Melbourne VFL Head Coach". Port Melbourne Football Club. 19 August 2024. Archived from the original on 6 February 2025. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
- ^ "Jake Batchelor to coach Richmond VFL". Richmond Football Club. 23 September 2024. Archived from the original on 27 November 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
- ^ "Tapping to lead VFL Bombers". Essendon Football Club. 11 October 2024. Archived from the original on 25 October 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
- ^ "Goddard confirmed as VFL coach for 2025". St Kilda Football Club. 11 October 2024. Archived from the original on 17 December 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
- ^ "Football Department Update". Sydney Swans. 21 October 2024. Archived from the original on 22 November 2024. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
- ^ "Joyce appointed as VFL Senior Coach". Essendon Football Club. 24 February 2025. Archived from the original on 24 February 2025. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
- ^ "VFL: Hately, O'Neill sign on for 2025". Essendon Football Club. 12 September 2024. Archived from the original on 6 October 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
- ^ "2025 VFL Coaching Staff". Frankston Football Club. 5 February 2025. Archived from the original on 6 February 2025. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
- ^ "Corrigan Talks Through the VFL Season and Previews 2025". Geelong Football Club. 27 December 2024. Archived from the original on 6 February 2025. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
- ^ Amy, Paul [@PaulAmy375] (15 August 2024). "VFL: Rohan Welsh has shaken hands with the Northern Bullants and he's coaching on in 2025, important stability for the club" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 6 February 2025. Retrieved 6 February 2025 – via Twitter.