Where every club sits in promotion, relegation standings at the end of BFNL home-and-away season

We are halfway through the two-year cycle in the BFNL, and there is just three rounds left of GFNL action. See which clubs are in the promotion and relegation zone.

See where your club sits in the standings. Picture: Mark Wilson

The Bellarine Football Netball club championship is officially halfway through its two-year cycle, with Geelong Amateur currently having first dibs on a promotion opportunity.

AFL Barwon introduced non-mandatory promotion and relegation every two years on the eve of the 2024 season based on club championship points in the BFNL and the Geelong Football Netball League.

The club championship model takes into account a club’s performance in senior and reserves football, and A and B grade netball: in the 12-team GFNL, 12 points is awarded to the first-placed team and one to the last-placed side.

The peak body has confirmed that the club championship standings do not include finals, meaning that the Ammos will remain on 36 points – one ahead of Torquay (35) in second spot – one year into the current cycle, which closes at the end of the 2025 season.

As part of AFL Barwon’s restructure, the first and second team on club championship are offered the opportunity to be promoted into the GFNL — and can pass up the opportunity — at the end of each cycle and replace the last ranked GFNL side.

If the first and second ranked sides on club championship both decline the offer — which appears likely — then there will be no teams promoted or relegated.

This publication reported in June that Geelong Amateur expressed no desire to join the GFNL.

North Shore is currently in the GFNL relegation zone with three rounds to go in the season, mostly down to the fact it did not enter an A or B grade netball side.

This means the Seagulls have tallied just three points, four behind St Albans with seven.

At the midway point of the season just six points separated last-placed North Shore and Grovedale in 10th, but that gap has widened to 11. Grovedale (14) and Lara (14) are now well outside the relegation zone.

North Shore had five points after round nine but they have since slid from ninth to 11th on the GFNL senior football ladder.

St Joseph’s currently tops the club championship tally with 40 points, narrowly ahead of South Barwon (39), with St Mary’s (35), Bell Park (32) and Newtown & Chillwell (30) all inside the top five.

Anglesea and Ocean Grove, who has ambitions on joining the GFNL, rank equal-third in the BFNL club championship standings with 25 points, while Queenscliff (22) rounds out the top five.

Newcomb is last with just nine points, with Portarlington (12) second last.

Originally published as Where every club sits in promotion, relegation standings at the end of BFNL home-and-away season