2025 VFL season
| 2025 VFL season | |
|---|---|
| Date | 22 March − 21 September |
| 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][7] 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.[8][9]
Practice matches
[edit]Clubs will hold practice matches beginning on 15 February 2025.[10] 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.[11][12] 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.[13][14]
Coach appointments
[edit]| New coach | Club | Date of appointment | Previous coach | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew Primus | Southport | 7 August 2024 | Steve Daniel | [15] |
| Brendan McCartney | Port Melbourne | 19 August 2024 | Adam Skrobalak | [16] |
| Jake Batchelor | Richmond | 23 September 2024 | Steven Morris | [17] |
| Brendon Goddard | Sandringham | 11 October 2024 | Jake Batchelor | [18] |
| TBA | Essendon | TBA | Blake Caracella |
Club leadership
[edit]| Club | Coach | Leadership group | Ref | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Captain(s) | Vice-captain(s) | Other leader(s) | |||
| Box Hill | |||||
| Brisbane | |||||
| Carlton | |||||
| Casey | |||||
| Coburg | |||||
| Collingwood | |||||
| Essendon | Xavier O'Neill | Jackson Hately | [19] | ||
| Footscray | |||||
| Frankston | Jackson Kornberg | [20] | |||
| Geelong | Mark Corrigan | [21] | |||
| Gold Coast | |||||
| Greater Western Sydney | |||||
| North Melbourne | |||||
| Northern Bullants | Rohan Welsh | [22] | |||
| Port Melbourne | Brendan McCartney | ||||
| Richmond | Jake Batchelor | ||||
| Sandringham | Brendon Goddard | ||||
| Southport | Matthew Primus | ||||
| Sydney | |||||
| Werribee | |||||
| Williamstown | |||||
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.
- ^ "Tapping to lead VFL Bombers". Essendon Football Club. 11 October 2024. Archived from the original on 25 October 2024. 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "VFL COACHING ANNOUNCEMENT". Southport Sharks. 8 August 2024. Archived from the original on 8 August 2024. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.