Ballarat Football League

In 1880, a Ballarat and Western Districts Football Association was formed, but it appears no teams were entered or a draw was made up.^[2]

Between 1883 and 1892, there was an unofficial Ballarat / Western Districts football competition, with local Ballarat papers recording a list of premierships teams during this period.^[3]

The Ballarat Football Association (BFA) was established in 1893^[4] with three member clubs: Ballarat, South Ballarat, and Ballarat Imperial.^[1][5][6] The latter was the dominant club in the BFA, winning the first premiership in 1893 and eleven premierships between 1893 and 1906. In 1908, the BFA changed its name to the Ballarat Football League (BFL) and Golden Point Football Club joined the competition.^[6] Maryborough and Ararat joined in 1924, followed by Daylesford and Bacchus Marsh several years later.^[5]

The BFL briefly amalgamated with the four clubs of Wimmera Football League from 1934 to 1936, when it was known as the Ballarat-Wimmera Football League.^[1][5]

The league was restructured into six teams in 1938 when it merged with the Ballarat District Football League, with several club mergers taking place.^[7] Ballarat Imperials FC then merged with the East Ballarat FC and played as Ballarat Imperials, finishing runner up to Sebastopol.^[8] Ballarat FC and North Ballarat FC also merged in 1938, to represent the "Lake Ward" of the new football competition.^[9][10]

Sebastopol played in the Clunes Football Association in 1939 and Ballarat CYMS teams pulled out of the Ballarat FL in 1939.^[11] The Ballarat Imperials went into recess just prior to the start of the 1939 Ballarat District Football League season.^[12]

World War II brought Redan Football Club and the RAAF and Army teams into the league.^[5]

The Henderson Medal is the league's seasonal best and fairest award. It was established in 1954 in honour of W. L. Henderson, who served as President from 1943 to 1959.^[6]

The BFL is now known as the Ballarat Football Netball League (BNFL), and consists of eleven football netball clubs and nine junior football netball clubs.^[13] In 2023, the Herald Sun dubbed North Ballarat Football Club "country footy's most dominant club over the last several decades"; the club had played in the Victorian Football League and the Bendigo Football Netball League before rejoining the BNFL in 2006.^[14]

Competition Timeline

• 1880 - Ballarat and Western Districts Football Association
• 1883 - 1892: Unofficial Ballarat / Western Districts Football Competition
• 1893 - 1907: Ballarat Football Association
• 1908 - 1914: Ballarat Football League
• 1915 - 1918: In recess due to World War One
• 1919 - 1933: Ballarat Football League
• 1934 - 1936: Ballarat - Wimmera Football League
• 1937 - Ballarat Football League^[15]
• 1938 - 1940: Ballarat District Football League^[16]
• 1941: In recess due to World War Two^[17]
• 1942 - 2019: Ballarat Football League
• 2020: In recess due to COVID-19
• 2021 - 2024: Ballarat Football League

The league features 11 senior clubs. The BFL is a strong league for grass roots football with 9 junior clubs consisting of 63 teams from U/10 through to U/16.5 (Ballarat, Bacchus Marsh, Darley, East Ballarat, Lake Wendouree, Mount Clear, North Ballarat, Redan and Sebastopol).

The Ballarat Football League season normally commences in early April with the regular season matches finishing in late August.

Upon Daylesford's withdrawal from the competition at the end of the 2005 season competing clubs played the opposition clubs twice in the regular season, once at home, once away. This reverted upon North City's admission to the competition in 2008.

The finals series is conducted in September with the Grand Final to decide the premiers for season having been historically held at the Ballarat City and Eastern Ovals. The match attracts crowds of 5000 to 9000 people, with notable attendances of 14602 at the Ballarat City Oval and 8,800 at the Eastern Oval for the 1949 and 1977 Grand Finals respectively.

In 2017, the BFL announced that from 2017 the Grand Final would be played at Mars Stadium with other finals series games remaining at the Eastern and City Ovals.

The management of the BFNL is overseen by an independent board of directors. The 2024 chairman is Adrian Bettio.

In 2024, the operations manager is Gemma Murphy, while the general manager is Shane Anwyl, along with two other staff members.

7km
4.3miles

Woady
Yaloak

Mount Clear

Sunbury

Sebastopol

Redan

North Ballarat

Melton

Lake Wendouree

East Point

Darley

Bacchus Marsh

Ballarat,
Ballarat Storm

   

Locations of the 2025 BFL clubs. Red clubs field senior teams, black clubs only field juniors. Carisbrook play 57km north of Ballarat.

More information Club, Colours ...

Club	Colours	Nickname	Home Ground	Former League	Est.	Years in BFNL	BFL Senior Premierships
							Total	Years
Bacchus Marsh		Cobras	Maddingley Park, Maddingley	–	1979	1979-	1	2016
Ballarat		Swans	Alfredton Recreation Reserve, Alfredton	VFA	1860	1893-	19	1897, 1898, 1908, 1923, 1928, 1930, 1932, 1933, 1940, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1951, 1954, 1955, 1962, 1971, 1988, 2008
Darley		Devils	Darley Park, Darley	RDFNL	1919	1997-	4	2015, 2017, 2023, 2025
East Point		Kangaroos	Eastern Oval, Ballarat East	–	2001	2001-	2	2018, 2019
Lake Wendouree		Lakers	C.E. Brown Reserve, Wendouree	–	1994	1995-	1	2010
Melton		Bloods	MacPherson Park, Harkness	RDFNL	1879	1997-	5	2000, 2001, 2005, 2022, 2024
North Ballarat		Roosters	Eureka Stadium, Wendouree	VFL	1882	1951	17	1963, 1970, 1973, 1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996 [note 1]; 2013, 2014 [note 2]
Redan		Lions	City Oval, Lake Wendouree	–	1871	1943-	11	1946, 1952, 1975, 1976, 1977, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011
Sebastopol		Burras	Marty Busch Reserve, Sebastopol	CFL, BBMFL	1893	1893-95, 1938, 1940, 1978-	0	-
Sunbury		Lions	Clarke Oval, Sunbury	RDFNL	1879	1997-	5	1997, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2012

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Notes

*Won in the Ballarat FL B-grade/District League competition, which ran separately from the A-Grade competition

BFL Women's

More information Club, Colours ...

Club	Colours	Nickname	Home Ground	Former League	Est.	Years in BFNL	BFL Senior Premierships
							Total	Years
Bacchus Marsh		Cobras	Maddingley Park, Maddingley	VWFL	1979	1979-	0	-
Ballarat		Swans	Alfredton Recreation Reserve, Alfredton	VFA	1860	2026-	0	-
Carisbrook		Redbacks	Carisbrook Recreation Reserve, Carisbrook	–	c.1900s	2023-	0	-
Darley		Devils	Darley Park, Darley	–	1919	1997-	3	2023, 2024, 2025
East Point		Dragons	Eastern Oval, Ballarat East	–	2001	2001-	0	-
Lake Wendouree		Lakers	C.E. Brown Reserve, Wendouree	–	1994	1995-	0	-
Redan		Lions	City Oval, Lake Wendouree	–	1871	1943-	1	2022

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Junior-only clubs

More information Club, Colours ...

Club	Colours	Nickname	Home Ground	Est.	Years in BFNL
Mount Clear		Mounties	Mount Clear Recreation Reserve, Mount Clear	1997	1997-
Woady Yaloak		Warriors	Woady Yaloak Recreation Reserve, Smythesdale	2019	2019-
Alfredton		Storm	Lucas Recreation Reserve, Lucas	2021	2021-

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More information Club, Colours ...

Club	Colours	Nickname	Home Ground	Former League	Est.	Years in BFNL	BFL Senior Premierships		Fate
							Total	Years
Ararat		Rats	Alexandra Oval, Ararat	WDFL	1871	1924-1928, 1934-1936	0	-	Moved to Wimmera FNL following 1936 season
Bacchus Marsh		Tigers	Maddingley Park, Maddingley	WBMFA	1881	1929-30[18]	0	-	Moved to Geelong Junior FA in 1931
Ballarat CYMS			City Oval, Lake Wendouree[19]	–	c. 1894[20]	1938[21]	0	-	Folded prior to 1939 season[22]
Ballarat Imperial		Imps		VFA	1876	1893-1938	16	1893, 1894, 1895, 1896, 1899, 1900, 1901, 1902, 1903, 1905, 1906, 1922, 1929, 1935, 1936, 1937	Entered recess in 1939, re-formed in Ballarat FL B Grade in 1948
Ballarat Storm		Storm	Alfredton Recreation Reserve, Alfredton	–	2017	2017-2024	Juniors only		Integrated with Ballarat Swans from 2025.
Beaufort		Cats	Goldfields Recreation Reserve, Beaufort	LFL	1880s	1966-1993	1	1969	Moved to Central Highlands FL following 1993 season
Daylesford		Demons	Victoria Park, Daylesford	CFL	1919	1929-1931, 1952-2005	1	1961	Moved to Central Highlands FL following 2005 season
East Ballarat		Bulldogs	Eastern Oval, Ballarat East	BDFA	1885	1945-2000	6	1949, 1950, 1964, 1989, 1990, 1993	Merged with Ballarat Imperials in 1938,[23] then later merged with Golden Point to form East Point following 2000 season
Geelong West		Roosters	West Oval, North Geelong	GDFNL	1878	1946-1962	4	1956, 1957, 1958, 1959	Moved to Victorian Football Association following 1962 season
Golden Point		Kangaroos	Eastern Oval, Ballarat East	–	1902	1905-2000	15	1910, 1914, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1939, 1945, 1947, 1948, 1953, 1966, 1967, 1980, 1981, 1987	Merged with East Ballarat to form East Point following 2000 season
Horsham		Demons	Horsham City Oval, Horsham	WDFL	1892	1934–1936	0	-	Moved to Wimmera FNL following 1936 season
Maddingley		Spiders	Maddingley Park, Maddingley	BBMFL	1909[24]	1978	0	-	Merged with Bacchus Marsh following 1978 season
Maryborough		Magpies	Princes Park, Maryborough	–	1872	1924-1928, 1931, 1946-1991	9	1924, 1925, 1927, 1931, 1960, 1965, 1968, 1972, 1974	Moved to Bendigo FL following 1991 season
Melton Centrals		Blues	Arnolds Creek Recreation Reserve, Melton West	VWFL	1996	2021	0	-	Women's team only, in recess
Melton South		Panthers	Melton Recreation Reserve, Melton	RDFNL	1973	1997-2024	0	-	Returned to Riddell District FNL in 2025
RAAF				–	1940	1940–1945	0	-	Folded
Smeaton			Smeaton Football Ground, Smeaton		1910s	1944–1945	0	-	Moved to Clunes FA following 1945 season
South Ballarat				VFA	1877	1893–1939	9	1904, 1907, 1909, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1926, 1934, 1938	Merged with Sebastopol in 1940[25]
South Sebastopol				–	1940[26]	1940	0	-	Merger of South Ballarat & Sebastopol in 1940
Stawell		Redlegs	Central Park, Stawell	WDFL	1874	1934–1936	0	-	Moved to Wimmera FNL following 1936 season
St. Patrick's				–	1939	1939-1940	0	-	Folded
Warracknabeal		Lions	Anzac Park, Warracknabeal	WDFL	1870s	1934–1936	0	-	Moved to Wimmera FNL following 1936 season

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Notes

*Won in the Ballarat FL B-grade/District League competition, which ran separately from the A-Grade competition

Seniors^[27]

Source^[78]

Reserves

• No available records to post?

Between 1946 and 1972, the Ballarat Football League ran a B-grade competition alongside the main Ballarat Football League. This competition consisted of smaller clubs based in Ballarat and the small towns surrounding it. The B-grade competition ran separately from the "main" BFL, with no yearly promotion or relegation between the two competitions. In 1959, the competition changed its name to the Ballarat District Football League.^[79]

The BDFL wound up after the 1972 season, merging with the Bacchus Marsh Football League to form the Ballarat and Bacchus Marsh Football League.^[79]

Clubs

Final

More information Club, Colours ...

Club	Colours	Nickname	Home Ground	Former League	Est.	Years in BFNL	BDFL Senior Premierships		Fate
							Total	Years
Buninyong		Bombers	Buninyong Recreation Reserve, Buninyong	BFL	1920s	1948-1972	3	1960, 1968, 1970	Formed Ballarat and Bacchus Marsh FL following 1972 season
Dunnstown		Towners	Dunnstown Recreation Reserve, Dunnstown	DDFL	1894	1953-1972	4	1956, 1957, 1958, 1964	Formed Ballarat and Bacchus Marsh FL following 1972 season
Gordon		Eagles	Mount Egerton Recreation Reserve, Mount Egerton	DDFL	1890s	1962-1972	1	1966	Formed Ballarat and Bacchus Marsh FL following 1972 season
Meredith		Swans	Meredith Recreation Reserve, Meredith	EC	1890s	1953-1972	3	1959, 1961, 1962	Formed Ballarat and Bacchus Marsh FL following 1972 season
Sebastopol		Burras	Marty Busch Reserve, Sebastopol	BBMFL	1893	1947-1972	7	1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1965, 1967, 1969	Formed Ballarat and Bacchus Marsh FL following 1972 season
Wendouree			C.E. Brown Reserve, Wendouree	Ballarat FL U/21s comp	1913	1946-1972	5	1947, 1949, 1963, 1971, 1972	Moved to Clunes FL in 1973

Close

Former

More information Club, Colours ...

Club	Colours	Nickname	Home Ground	Former League	Est.	Years in BDFL	BDFL Senior Premierships		Fate
							Total	Years
Ballarat Imperial		Imps		BFL	1876	1948-1954	0	-	Folded after 1954 season
Ballarat YCW			White Flat Oval, Ballarat Central	–	1945	1946-1951	0	-	Folded. Junior club played until 1994 when they merged with Wendouree to form Lake Wendouree
Burrumbeet			Burrumbeet Lake Park, Burrumbeet	CFL	1910s	1946-1951	0	-	Folded
Carngham	Light with dark sash		Carngham Recreation Reserve, Snake Valley	WPFL	1919	1962-1968	0	-	Merged with Linton to form Carngham Linton in Western Plains FL following 1968 season
Creswick		Wickers	Hammon Park, Creswick	CFL	1900s	1946-1949	0	-	Moved to Clunes FL following 1949 season
East Ballarat seconds		Bulldogs	Eastern Oval, Ballarat East	BDFA	1885	1946	0	-	Moved to reserves competition in 1947
Elaine			Elaine Recreation Reserve, Elaine	EC	1919	1957-1968	0	-	Folded after 1968 season
Golden Point seconds		Kangaroos	Eastern Oval, Ballarat East	–	1902	1946	0	-	Moved to reserves competition in 1947
Korweinguboora			Korweinguboora Recreation Reserve, Spargo Creek	DDFL	1920s	1955-1956	0	-	Moved to Clunes FL following 1956 season
Langi Kal Kal			Langi Kal Kal Prison Oval, Langi Kal Kal	–	1950s	1957-1958	0	-	Moved to Lexton FL following 1958 season
Mount Clear			Mount Clear Recreation Reserve, Mount Clear	–	1946	1947-1958	2	1954, 1955	Folded after 1958 season
North City		Roosters	Eureka Stadium, Wendouree	VFL	1882	1946-1951	2	1946, 1948	Moved to Ballarat FL in 1952
Redan seconds		Lions	City Oval, Lake Wendouree	–	1871	1946	0	-	Moved to reserves competition in 1947
RSL				CFL	1946	1948-1949	0	-	Folded

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Seniors - W L Henderson Medal

The Ballarat FL's initial best and fairest award in senior football was the George McKenzie^[80] Memorial Medal, first awarded in 1933, which ran from 1933 to 1937. George McKenzie was captain of Ballarat Imperial Football Club when they won six consecutive premierships between 1891 and 1896 and were runners up in 1897 and 1898.^[81]

In 1938, the award was called the Angus Gold Cup, then the award was not awarded between 1939 and 1945, due to World War Two. The Ballarat FL Gold Medal ran from 1946 to 1953 and match day votes were allocated by the Ballarat Courier newspaper football journalists. The Henderson Medal is the league's current and seasonal best and fairest award and the medal was first named in honour of W. L. "Bill" Henderson in 1954,^[82] who served as President from 1943 to 1959.^[6] Henderson was a VCFL delegate for 30 years and is a life member of the VCFL and the Ballarat FNL.

In 2010, the Ballarat FNL awarded retrospective best and fairest medals to the following footballers, who originally polled the same number of votes as the winner, but finished second in the award, on the countback system - 1952: Stan Wallis, 1965: Tom Simpson and Lindsay Tucker.

It appears that the 1933 runner up, W.T. "Webber" Jackson,^[83][84] of the Ballarat Football Club does not appear on the official BFNL Honourboard as a co-winner and his club and family was not awarded a retrospective best and fairest medal in 2010.

The BFA leading goal kicking award was initially donated by the former publican of the Union Hotel, Ballarat between 1893 and 1903, Mr. Con Burrow^[100]

The BFNL leading goal kicking award was named the Tony Lockett Award in 1988, after the former North Ballarat player, who went onto kick 1360 goals in the AFL between 1983 and 2002, with St.Kilda and the Sydney Swans.

Seniors

There is very little Ballarat Football Netball League netball history, premierships, league best and fairest winners, etc available on the internet to reference back to for inclusion on this page at present.

The Ballarat FNL netball competition commenced in ?.

In 2024, there were 55 senior and 54 junior netball teams across all grades of the BFNL.

As of 2024, the BFNL netball section hosts the following netball competitions -

• A. Grade, B. Grade, C. Grade, D. Grade & E. Grade
• 19 & Under
• 17 & Under Seniors & 17 & Under Reserves
• 15 & Under Seniors & 15 & Under Reserves
• 13 & Under Seniors & 13 & Under Reserves
• 11 & Under Seniors & 11 & Under Reserves
• 9 & Under