Why an even season of VAFA footy awaits

The 2025 Victorian Amateur Football Association season is shaping up as a thriller with coaches predicting even battles across all six divisions. Here’s a look at the year ahead.

Old Scotch is the team to the beat. Picture: Valeriu Campan

Old Scotch climbed the Victorian Amateur Football Association mountain last season — winning the men’s and women’s top divisions.

In the process, Mark Gnatt’s senior men ended a 46-year premiership drought and now they’ve become the hunted ahead of what shapes as another exciting season.

The Cardinals have managed to retain most of their playing list and have been bolstered by some handy ins — throw in the further development of the kids and there’s no limit on what they can achieve.

“It’s been a different pre-season for us, obviously a bit shorter but it feels like the guys are fitter and quicker,” Gnatt said.

“Everything has been going really well and I can’t wait to see how the rest of the competition is going to stack up.

“It’s going to be super exciting and I think we’re going to see some really close games every week.”

Old Brighton went down in last season’s season to Gnatt’s side and while they aren’t “saying its a redemption season”, coach Marcel Bruin wants to see improvement from his side.

“It’s a really strong competition. From team one to 10 it’s really even,” he said.

“We got that opportunity last year on the back of a lot of hard work. If we can keep improving compared to last season, hopefully we can give ourselves another shot of being in the mix right at the end of the season.”

Those won’t be the only sides at the pointy end of the ladder with. Perennial contenders St Kevin’s are sure to be right in the mix after reaching another preliminary final last season. Ex-North Melbourne and Gold Coast Suns small forward Jack Mahony is a exciting inclusion for SKOB.

In year two under the great Dan Donati, Old Xaverians will be desperate to rise up the ladder and have been bolstered by big name inclusions including Campbell Lane who has returned from the VFL full-time.

The two University sides — Blues and Blacks — were in the lower half of the ladder last season and both have recruited well in the off-season which should seen them improve.

Old Haileybury and De La Salle are the new comers in the competition’s top tier after reaching the second tier grand final last season. De La have been busy in the off-season in particular and will be looking to solidify their place.

Premier B shapes as a thrilling division of its own and could lay claim to being the most competitive in the entire VAFA. Old Ivanhoe have welcomed back Patrick Naish as they look to continue their ascent up the grades.

Old Trinity is shaping as a contender in Premier B. Picture: Valeriu campan

But you can’t afford to count out the likes of Fitzroy, Old Carey, Old Melburnians and Old Trinity. But as we saw in this division last season, every game is a 50-50.

Parkside are one of the key storylines to follow in Premier C as it chases a fourth straight promotion. But will the Devils be able to match it with the likes of Ajax and Parkdale Vultures who are the red hot premiership favourites.

From the top of Division 1 to the bottom of Division 3, exciting storylines are going to emerge from the 30 clubs who are aiming to climb the grades. Elsternwick, in D1, have flown up the tiers and are now eying a place in the Premier grades.

Many of those clubs are always daring to believe and you can understand why.

For the third-straight year the VAFA and KommunityTV have partnered to broadcast an exclusive double header each round from the VAFA Premier competitions. Weekly coverage will include a mix of Premier Men’s and Premier Women’s games throughout the season live and exclusive across News Corp Australia’s digital mastheads including the Herald Sun.