Breakaway women’s local footy team with no league to call home

When a successful Victorian women’s footy team broke away from its club, they didn’t realise they might be left without a league to play in. The club president and league give their sides of the story.

Kyneton won the inaugural RDFNL Women’s premiership. Picture: Josh Chadwick

A fight for female footy risks leaving no winner.

The Riddell District Football Netball League and newly-founded club Kyneton Women’s Football Club are at odds over its right to play in 2025.

The club was founded after Kyneton’s women’s team – which has played in the last two RDFNL Women’s grand finals, winning the inaugural title in 2023 – decided to break away and form its own identity.

While talks with the RDFNL regarding playing options had been ongoing, the club was only officially established in January.

AFL Victoria has a deadline of December 1 for new clubs, although that can be waived at the discretion of the head of AFL Victoria.

Kyneton players ready for the first RDFNL Women’s grand final in 2023. Picture: Josh Chadwick

As such, the Ballarat and Central Victoria leagues rejected Kyneton Women’s applications, while the RDFNL voted against accepting the club earlier this month.

The Riddell District offered Kyneton Women’s five options to be accepted into the competition but the club has so far declined.

Talks had been ongoing for some months as the women’s team tried to solve issues it had with equality at Kyneton.

Kyneton Women’s president Natalie Korinfsky said the playing group felt the only way to ensure equal access was to form its own club.

“We don’t have a league to play in, we’re looking at our options to appeal the decision of the RDFNL.

“We made intentions to separate from Kyneton as we were trying to resolve some issues that we were struggling with.

“The team indicated they didn’t want to play under that banner anymore so we looked at forming our own club.

“We tried a few different ways of working with the Riddell District, going under another independent women’s club’s banner – as a second team – but wanted retain our identity as Kyneton.

“After that we became full incorporated, so us to hold our identity and attract sponsorship, and that happened on January 3rd.”

The proposal, which the RDFNL says is still on the table, would see the former Kyneton players play as Mt Alexander Falcons’ second team this season before potentially being accepted in 2026.

A statement from the league said the RDFNL was a leader in equality among metropolitan football leagues.

“The RDFNL has been working with the KWFC for months to ensure that there is a place for the players formerly of the Kyneton FNC senior women’s team to play in 2025,” the statement said.

“The RDFNL has workshopped five different solutions with the KWFC committee and it has altered their approach on multiple occasions meaning that the process has been drawn out.

“The RDFNL has been working with other clubs for this team to have a place to play in 2025 and has agreed in writing to work with the KWFC committee on their new club proposal for 2026.

“The RDFNL is committed to running a sustainable senior women’s competition and has been an industry leader in how this competition has run over the first two seasons.

“The RDFNL is also working with Sunbury Cobaw Community Health on a Gender Equity and Inclusion Action Plan, this is being finalised at the moment and the RDFNL will be only the second league in Victoria to have one in place.

“In addition, the RDFNL is one of only two leagues across all ten metropolitan leagues to have sign off by AFL Victoria on our Women and Girls Charter.”

Before the issues arose at Kyneton, the club was awarded AFL Victoria’s Community Club Inclusion Award in 2021.

Korinfsky said there were no issues regarding the new club’s stability and sustainability having already secured a range of sponsors and raised $8000 since establishing itself.

“They don’t think we’ll be financial, sustainably financial, and were worried about getting enough volunteers.

“There were also concerns with our club name, with the population of our town they think you can’t have two clubs, but I don’t think you can have ownership of a town name.

“Our identity, our mascot, our colours, our emblem are completely different and we’d also consider adding a West Kyneton on there if that would help.

“Joining another club as its second team isn’t financially feasible, we can’t ask Mt Alexander for example to fund our team and we would likely lose our sponsors if we don’t play as Kyneton.

“What we’re seeing in Victoria is, there’s a lot of women’s teams folding, and they’re not in a position like us to call it out.”

The RDFNL had a six-team women’s competition in 2024 and is looking to give Kyneton the opportunity to rebuild its women’s program.

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A position may open up if the Tigers can’t attract enough players for 2025.

Kyneton Women’s said Ballarat was also a possibility but travel was an issue.

“There’s still a pathway open with Ballarat but, from our perspective, the values that drive our club is accessible sport,” Korinfsky said.

“For our players to drive and hour or more to games, we see that as a barrier, so we’re open to Ballarat because we want or players to be able to play.”