How the Port Melbourne Chargers were established in six weeks

At the start of the year, the VAFA’s newest club didn’t exist, it was just an idea. Here’s how the Port Melbourne Chargers were built from the ground up.

The Port Melbourne Chargers are a new women’s footy who will compete in the VAFA for the upcoming season. Picture: Jason Edwards

The thought of a new local footy club in Melbourne’s inner south almost feels surreal in 2025.

But the Port Melbourne Chargers Women’s Football Club has arrived and the club is dreaming big.

The Chargers have been accepted into the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) for the upcoming season where they’ll field two sides.

At the start of 2025, the Chargers didn’t even exist, let alone have a name or identity. It took just six weeks from the application form to be completed and the club is ready to hit the ground running.

Now they’re less than a week away from playing their first game on Saturday, April 5 at JL Murphy Reserve against Old Melburnians.

“It is a massive logistical exercise,” president Kerry Ashbrook said.

“I think it’s record speed from going and getting the application form to getting a club up.

“We had to hunt down the head of AFL Victoria and ask if we could still put this in.

“There was a lot of negotiation with stakeholders. It was an opportunity which came up (and) in hindsight, if we didn’t have such a short space of time it probably wouldn’t have happened.”

A new era for women’s footy has arrived in Port Melbourne. Picture: Jason Edwards

The club has been established with an eye to creating a complete pathway for aspiring female footballers from Auskick through the Port Melbourne Junior Football Club and into a senior women’s program.

Ashbrook played a key role in establishing youth girls footy at PMJFC in 2016 when there were 33 players across two teams. By 2019, there were 145 girls across all age groups.

And when junior footy was over, Port Melbourne VFL launched its own team to play in the South East Women’s league before earning a VFLW licence. Locals were soon on the move to other clubs.

“Late last year, some of the junior girls who are now adults approached me to see whether we could get a senior women’s team back in Port Melbourne,” Ashbrook said.

“There was really nowhere locally for them to go. Some of their mates have still played the whole time but there are others who are coming back to footy.

“For the guys, they’ve always had the option to keep playing with their mates at Port Melbourne, but with the women there have been stops and starts.”

The decision to join the VAFA was an easy one for both parties.

VAFA boss Jason Reddick said “with a well-organised committee, exponential population growth forecast for the Port Melbourne area, and strong female pathway connections to teams at both local junior girls and VFL level, we are confident that Port Melbourne Chargers will make a positive contribution to our VAFA community for many years to come.”

L-R: Georgia Harris, Alex Hose, Harriet Cooper (coach), Zara Wilson, Chloe Kamberis. Front: Maegan Harrison. Picture: Jason Edwards

Ashbrook said the level of competition was attractive to the players.

And the names of those ready to make history with the Chargers is there for all to see with clearances into the club coming thick and fast.

“Some of these women have known each other for years and they saw an opportunity to come back to Port Melbourne,” Ashbrook said.

“They were very specific about wanting it to be in the VAFA because of the quality of the competition and the program.

“They wanted to train at that higher level where you have the strength of competition.

“A lot of our junior girls, once they came out of the underage footy, were going to VAFA clubs.

“Because they’ve played football from day dot, the skill level of so many of these competitions is increasing as well.”

While the Chargers are determined to continue allowing people to keep developing on the field, they are just as focused about what they can offer off it.

At a recent gathering, the club settled on five key values including community, excellence, integrity, respect and passion.

All five are about individual and group development.

“Everyone was really excited about being involved in a club where they feel valued and wanted. And where they can make a difference and be the priority,” Ashbrook explained.

“I think seeing what we have been able to achieve in six weeks, shows that you can achieve things you didn’t think you might be able to.

“We’ve got this community and cohort around footy which is very close knit and very supportive. It’s a great community to be part of.

“When I was going through the information for our application, Port Melbourne 3027, is the biggest urban development in Australia.

“Getting the team in now, for when we get new people into the area, I think is a great thing.”

The Chargers will compete in the VAFA’s Premier B and Division 5 women’s competitions.