VAFA goes big with Big Screen Video
The Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) is excited to announce Big Screen Video (BSV) as a corporate partner and the preferred supplier of electronic scoreboards for the VAFA competition. “Their
“We’re keen to help girls across the western suburbs. They don’t have to play for Westbourne but can join our Academy, come down and do one session a week with us for additional development while still training the other night with their local club.”
After a year in recess due to decreased player numbers, Westbourne Grammarians returned to VAFA ranks in 2024 with a re-launched Women’s team led by Western Bulldogs champion Chris Grant.
Grant had been co-coach of the Spotswood women’s team since 2016, and after eight years in the WRFL, he and his players were searching for a new challenge – and the VAFA Women’s competition represented the ideal opportunity.
“We had a core group that had come through together from Under 15s, and the VAFA was the perfect challenge for us,” said Chris, as he prepares for his second season in the Ammos.
“As the years went by, we had more and more local girls join our development program, but the flipside was that we weren’t getting tested enough each week as a group. But we weren’t sure how to make that change.
“Dave Hudson co-founded Westbourne in the early ‘90s, and we struck up a conversation about us re-establishing their women’s program first and potentially acting as a catalyst for the return of their men’s program in the future.
“Westbourne had the club, the history and the link to the competition. We had the players and development program. So, bringing the two together made complete sense. We wanted to give the VAFA a presence in the western suburbs and give our local girls the chance to play in a higher standard local comp.
“Geographically, we can represent the Inner and Outer West. We want to cater for girls with aspirations of accessing the elite pathways, through to girls who want to play with their friends and have fun.”
Numbers swelled across the summer of ’23-24 – so much so that Westbourne ended up with two women’s teams and a place in Premier B for 2024.
“We train at Westbourne Grammar and the football facility is great. We also play at the school and the surface is unbelievable,” smiles Grant.
“We entered 2024 hopeful of winning a couple of games at senior level, but really had no idea what this was all going to look like early on.”
The rise in standard was immediately noticeable.
“It was a significant step up from where we’d been. Every game was hard. We were tested every week. Even our high performers found it a great learning curve against talented opponents that included ex-AFLW and current VFLW players.”
The Warriors lost 6 of their first 7 senior matches as Grant and his co-coach Ian ‘Scratcher’ Allen managed expectations and focused on the little wins along the way.
“It was a real test for many of our girls, who suddenly felt like they weren’t performing well due to the scoreboard. In the early stages, there was some talk that we should have stayed where we were, so we could be winning more.
“But we kept reminding them that the challenge is exactly what we signed up for – we have to embrace it. Every time we get knocked down, we’ll learn something.
“And we did. Each player had to work through that, eventually reaching the point when they realised they were capable at this level. That realisation came at a different time of the season for each player, but once enough of us had that critical moment of belief, we grew as a team.”
After winning 2 of their first 11 matches, the Warriors started to click and won 3 of their next 4.
“We got a couple of extra players mid-year, which helped. Our girls adjusted to the step up in speed and started to feel comfortable. Our performance improved across the board, and by the end of the season, we believed that we could do this.
“And while we weren’t winning games in the run home, we weren’t getting blown out either. We were far more competitive as we’d closed the gap. By the end of the season, our mindset had changed and the girls would rather win 5 hard-fought games in the VAFA than another flag in the WRFL because we’d improved so much across the year.”
Westbourne’s Reserves team defied the odds (and plenty of weeks when they lined up a player short or fielded the minimum number) to make the finals.
Wins over St Bede’s/Mentone Tigers and Old Xaverians saw them make the Grand Final in their first season and, despite being outclassed by minor premiers Fitzroy in the decider, took plenty of positives from their finals experience.
“It was a great reward for the girls and gave our whole program a shot of confidence,” Chris reflects.
“Winning two finals allowed us to say to the group ‘Look what you’ve achieved in Year 1. What a great first year!’
“It’s given us confidence that we’re delivering the right program, and we’ve attracted local girls to our club because they can see there’s something good happening here. So that finals series has been great for recruitment.”
Recruitment remains top of mind as Westbourne continues to build its base.
“We’re always looking for new players. There’s so much talent here in the West and we’ve attracted local girls who didn’t quite make the Western Jets program or are coming to us post-Draft because they want to play at the higher level but aren’t ready for VFLW just yet.
“We’re keen to give local girls the opportunity to chase their dream.”
That thinking has led Chris, Ian and the club to launch the Chris Grant Youth Girls & Women’s Football Academy at Westbourne Grammarians, an elite development program designed to bridge the gap between local footy and the elite levels.
This program provides an opportunity for girls aged 16 years and over who feel they are:
“This program is designed to enhance and fast-track the development of female footballers with AFLW/VFLW aspirations. We’ve had three players come through the development program we created who now play AFLW – Izzy Pritchard, Izzy Grant and Kristie Weston-Turner. So, we know what it takes.
“We’re keen to help girls across the western suburbs. They don’t have to play for Westbourne but can join our Academy, come down and do one session a week with us for additional development while still training the other night with their local club.”
Chris is looking forward to VAFA season 2025 with great optimism.
“Twelve months on, we now know what we know about the competition and how much better we can play. I feel we’ll be very competitive each week.
“Quite a few girls who played in the Reserves Grand Final are young and only had a brief taste of senior experience last year. They’ll be ready to push up to become core senior players this season. We’ll improve at the bottom end, and we’ve also managed to bring in a couple of top-end girls.
“It’s about building year-on-year. We’re hopeful of adding to our senior numbers from last year and would love to create an Under 19 team too. That might take us another year or so.
“We’ve got great people involved. Lauren Houston has swapped roles with Dave this year. She’s taken over as Club President and Dave is now looking after our Footy Ops.
“Lauren is also a Project Manager at Westbourne Grammar, which helps us continue to build our connection with the school. Principal Adrian Camm is really keen on girls footy, and the school team is coming along well.
“Our club ethos mirrors the school ethos, which is based around giving your best at everything you choose to do, whatever stage of development you might be at. Get involved and do it as well as you can – we lean on that at training and in games. What new level can you find?
“We’re also conscious of catering for different personalities and value diversity and inclusion, as does the school. We haven’t lost anyone and we feel like we’ve created an environment where all our girls feel safe.”
Having stepped away from his senior role overseeing the Western Bulldogs’ football department late last year, Chris is now channelling all of his footballing focus into Westbourne Grammarians and the new Academy.
“My personal experience with Westbourne and the VAFA has been tremendous. It’s given all of us another shot of enthusiasm and energy. With the nature of the competition being so strong, we know we need to do more to help these girls.
“I’m really enjoying it. I started coaching because of my daughter Izzy and I’m still doing it, even though she hasn’t been in our program for five years. That’s a testament to how much enjoyment I get out of it.
“Scratcher and I put our hands up to help out in that first year at Spotswood because there was no one else to do it. But we’re still involved and loving it more than ever.”
More information on the Chris Grant Youth Girls & Women’s Football Academy at www.wgfc.tidyhq.com.
Contact Dave Hudson (Westbourne Grammarians Head of Football) to express your interest at [email protected] or call/text Dave at 0403 119 364.
The Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) is excited to announce Big Screen Video (BSV) as a corporate partner and the preferred supplier of electronic scoreboards for the VAFA competition. “Their
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