Darebin Falcons
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The Darebin Women's Sports Club, nicknamed the Falcons, is a
sports club A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...
based in the northern suburbs of
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
that is primarily notable for its
Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
team which competes in the highest-level
Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...
state league A state league is a level of competition in Sport in Australia, Australian sport directly below that of a national league. Most of these competitions are based in a single States and territories of Australia, state or territory, and from this the te ...
– the
VFL Women's VFL Women's (VFLW) is the major state-level women's Australian rules football league in Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The league initially comprised the six premier division clubs and the top four division 1 clubs from the now-defunct Victori ...
(VFLW). It is the only VFLW club that is not affiliated with a side from the national
AFL Women's AFL Women's (AFLW) is Australia's national semi-professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football competition for women's Australian rules football, female players. The 2017 AFL Women's season, first season of the l ...
(AFLW) competition or the
Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...
(AFL). Founded in 1990, the club originally competed in the
Victorian Women's Football League The Victorian Women's Football League (VWFL) was the oldest and largest Australian rules football league for women in the world, consisting of 47 clubs from Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia across seven divisions with a total of over ...
(VWFL). Darebin dominated the 2000s, appearing in every
grand final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Synonymous with a championship game in North Ameri ...
from 2005 to 2015 and winning eight premierships. The inception of the AFLW in 2017 brought changes and difficulties; the club won two premierships in the newly established VFL Women's but had to rely on a council grant to raise the necessary funds to play in the increasingly professional competition and struggled against better-resourced opponents. ''
Guardian Australia ''Guardian Australia'' is the Australian website of the British global online and print newspaper, ''The Guardian''. Available solely in an Online newspaper, online format, the newspaper's launch was led by Katharine Viner in time for the 201 ...
'' notes Darebin's "long... reputation for developing star talent and setting the bar for the women's game", having produced AFLW players such as Katie Brennan,
Daisy Pearce Daisy Pearce (born 27 May 1988) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club#AFL Women's team, Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW) and is the current AFLW senior coach of the West Coast Eagle ...
and Darcy Vescio. The club also fields football teams in the Northern Football Netball League, youth and masters sides, as well as soccer, cricket and
eight-ball Eight-ball (also spelled 8-ball or eightball, and sometimes called solids and stripes, spots and stripes, bigs and smalls, big ones and little ones, or rarely highs and lows) is a discipline of Pool (cue sports), pool played on a billiard tabl ...
teams. Now with twenty-nine
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
teams, the club currently has the largest number of girls and women playing soccer in Victoria. , an estimated 550 players represent the club across the sports.


History


1990–2004: Origins and early years

The club originated in 1990 after the Fairfield Falcons, a VWFL team, lost almost all their players to retirement or rival clubs and was about to dissolve after three seasons in the competition. A group of women from Northcote, inexperienced but wanting to play football, revived the club under the same name, training for a year at Fairfield Park with around 30 players. In 1991, the Falcons rejoined the VWFL and began playing at McDonell Park, which Northcote Council (now City of Darebin) had made a women's sporting field. After steady on- and off-field improvements, the Falcons finished atop the ladder in 1996 after a streak of wins in the second part of the season. After defeating the St Kilda Sharks in the semi-final, the club faced the Spurs in the grand final and recovered from a 36-point half-time deficit to win their first premiership by 13 points. In 1997, the club expanded to field a soccer team in the second division of the Victorian Women's Soccer Association (now
Football Victoria Football Victoria is the state governing body for soccer in Victoria, Australia. It is affiliated with Football Australia, the sport's national governing body. History Football Victoria began operation in 1884 under the name Anglo Australian F ...
), claiming to be the first Australian women's sports club to field Australian rules football and soccer teams. Despite the side's mix of novices and experienced players, the team won a final in its first season. By 2000, the Falcons added a second team, competing in the fourth division, and the second-division team had won a premiership. The club changed its name from the Fairfield Falcons to Darebin Women's Sports Club, reflecting the new variety of sports available and its change in location since its origins. In the following years, the club introduced cricket (2001), football reserves (2002) and eight-ball pool (2004) sides, and affiliated itself with a
Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...
team. The cricket side, competing in the Victorian Women's Cricket Association western competition, won the B-division competition in the 2003/04 season and advanced to A-division.


2005–2015: VWFL dominance

In July 2005, the club moved to AH Capp Reserve; a purpose-built venue including football, soccer and cricket grounds, training facilities and a two-storey building for change rooms and social events, where the club were sole tenants. The site, located alongside the
Merri Creek Merri Creek is a waterway in southern parts of Victoria, Australia, which flows through the northern suburbs of Melbourne. It begins near Wallan and flows south for 70 km until joining the Yarra River at Dights Falls. The area where th ...
, was developed as part of an upgrade of sporting facilities for the
2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were an International sport, international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Melbourne ...
, which were hosted in Melbourne. Darebin returned to the grand final in 2005 but lost to their opponents
Melbourne University The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state of Victoria. Its ...
. Darebin again progressed to the finals in 2006, but suffered a 35-point loss to University in the semi-final. However, the Falcons still managed to progress to the grand final, setting up a rematch of the previous year's decider at
Whitten Oval Whitten Oval (also known as Mission Whitten Oval under a naming rights agreement) is a stadium in the inner-western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located in Barkly Street, Footscray. It is the training and administrative headquart ...
. Darebin started as underdogs due to a string of losses to University during the season, but won 13.7 (85) to 5.7 (37) after a tight first-half contest gave way to a streak of nine straight goals from Darebin, ensuring their first premiership in a decade. Despite the 48-point difference on the scoreboard, the match was still reported as a close and exciting game, characterised by skilled and contested play, pack marks and attacking forays effected by the teams' centre half-forwards. Kathy Zacharopoulos, a Darebin midfielder, won the Lisa Hardeman Medal as
best on ground Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporatio ...
, while Alisha Habib, Julia Boyle and Moana Hope kicked multiple goals apiece for the Falcons. The match was attended by roughly 1000 people. Darebin dominated the 2007 season, finishing unbeaten atop the ladder and conceding a mere 387 points in their 14 wins. The club defeated University by 10 points in the semi-final, but for the third consecutive year, the rivals faced off in the grand final. At Preston City Oval (then known as NAB Oval), in front of a 1000-strong crowd, University enjoyed a fast start, kicking 7.0 (42) to take a 13-point lead into half-time. However, in the third quarter the Falcons answered with four consecutive goals while keeping their opponents scoreless, and went on to win 10.10 (70) to 8.0 (48). Hope kicked three goals for the Falcons while Roi Boutsikakis, a Darebin back, was named best on ground. In 2008, the Falcons continued their unbeaten streak and returned to the grand final at Trevor Barker Oval, again playing University. With 2000 in attendance, Darebin won by a comfortable margin of 68 points, 15.10 (100) to 4.8 (32). Hope was the Lisa Hardeman Medallist after kicking six goals for the Falcons. Darebin faced a new opponent in the 2009 grand final – Diamond Creek – at Box Hill City Oval. Advantaged by the direction of the wind, the Falcons took a 16-point lead into half-time, which would have been greater if not for inaccurate kicking. Darebin went on to win their fourth consecutive premiership by 44 points, breaking the VWFL record previously held by the Parkville Scorpions, which won premierships in 1987, 1988 and 1989. Sarah Hammond, who had competed at the 2000 Sydney Olympics in handball, won the Lisa Hardeman Medal as a Darebin midfielder. The Falcons implemented a zone defence system in 2010, in an attempt to counteract younger teams' pace. It proved effective – the club continued its winning streak, defeating Diamond Creek again in the grand final at Northcote Park, 9.9 (63) to 4.7 (31). Aasta O'Connor was the Lisa Hardeman Medallist. Late in 2010, having coached the club to five consecutive premierships, Peta Searle moved on to coaching the
Western Jets The Western Jets is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Victorian premier U19 competition, the Talent League, since its inception in 1992. The club have developmental squads in the U16, however much of the attention is towards it ...
. Anna McIllroy, previously the team's co-captain, began coaching the side. When the 2011 season began, Darebin's unbeaten run was finally broken by the St Albans Spurs in round 4, which defeated the Falcons by 48 points. The streak had stretched from the 2006 semi-final, totalling sixty-five games without a loss. Darebin recovered to win seven of their first eight matches, averaging a 106-point winning margin. A number of Falcons played for Victoria at the AFL Women's National Championships in South Australia – O'Connor, Shevaun Hogan,
Daisy Pearce Daisy Pearce (born 27 May 1988) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club#AFL Women's team, Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW) and is the current AFLW senior coach of the West Coast Eagle ...
, Anna Schwager, Samantha Smith and
Natalie Wood Natalie Wood (née Zacharenko; July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was an American actress. She began acting at age four and co-starred at age eight in ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (1947). As a teenager, she was nominated for an Academy Award f ...
. However, the Spurs overcame Darebin again in round 15, by 22 points. In the semi-final, Darebin recovered to defeat their new rivals by three goals, but faced them again in the grand final at Coburg City Oval. St Albans kicked eight of the first ten goals to enter half-time with a comfortable 33-point lead and continued to dominate in the second half, finishing 79-point winners (16.6 (102) to 3.5 (23)). Karen Paxman, the Lisa Hardeman Medallist, muted Darebin captain Pearce's impact. McIllroy stepped down as coach in 2012 due to her work commitments and was replaced by Richard Dal Pos, who previously coached the youth team. Darebin progressed to the finals, defeating St Albans in a semi-final by six points in
extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...
. The Falcons faced Diamond Creek in the grand final, again held at Coburg City Oval, where they started as favourites having only lost one match for the season. The sides were difficult to separate in the first half; Diamond Creek held Darebin to a single goal in 36 minutes but inaccurate kicking and another goal conceded to O'Connor close to half-time meant the club's lead was only 17 points going into the break. The Falcons kicked the next three goals and took the lead, but Diamond Creek regained momentum and held on for a five-point victory – 5.9 (39) to 5.4 (34). It was the club's first victory over Darebin in their decade-long history. In May 2013, the inaugural AFL women's draft was held. 50 players were selected to make up and sides, which played an
exhibition game An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the playe ...
for the Hampson–Hardeman Cup. Ten Darebin players were recruited, the most of any club: An eleventh Darebin player, Nicole Callinan, was named as an emergency. The Falcons were undefeated in the 2013 home-and-away season and again faced Diamond Creek in the grand final. Darebin were considered favourites, having defeated their opponents by 144 points during the regular season and 68 points in the semi-final. After a close first half, O'Connor kicked two goals in two minutes for Darebin at the start of the third quarter; after eight minutes the Falcons' lead was 17 points. Darebin increased their advantage to 28 points at three-quarter-time and continued to score heavily in the final quarter, finishing 49-point victors. The Lisa Hardeman Medallist was Darebin's Melissa Hickey. A second AFL women's draft for the Hampson–Hardeman Cup exhibition match was held in May 2014. 24 players were drafted; twelve by Melbourne, twelve by the Western Bulldogs. The rest of the squads were made up of players from the 2013 teams. Two Darebin players were drafted, both to the Western Bulldogs: Darcy Vescio (no. 3) and Stephanie Simpson (no. 18). Jessica Dal Pos was the only Darebin player from the 2013 teams that was not retained for 2014. For the 2014 home-and-away season, the Falcons again went undefeated, facing Diamond Creek for the third consecutive year in the grand final at Coburg, which 1812 people attended. The margin at half-time was only eight points, but Darebin kicked away in the third quarter, keeping their opponents scoreless while scoring three goals themselves. The club finished 30-point winners, 10.15 (75) to 6.9 (45). Pearce was named best on ground while Katie Brennan scored four goals. The Falcons had two players out of 34 selected in the 2015 AFL women's draft in April for the Hampson–Hardeman Cup: Elise O'Dea (no. 8, Melbourne) and
Lauren Arnell Lauren Arnell (born 15 March 1987) is a retired Australian rules footballer and senior coach of the Port Adelaide Football Club in the AFL Women's competition, having previously played for Carlton and the Brisbane Lions. She served as Carlton' ...
(no. 15, Western Bulldogs). The clubs also chose to retain Brennan, Hickey, O'Connor, Pearce and Vescio from the previous year's squads. Additionally, Dal Pos was selected by Melbourne with the 10th and final pick in a subsequent mini-draft in July. In June, Darebin received council funding for lighting upgrades at their home grounds – AH Capp and WH Robinson reserves. The club and the council had collaborated to apply for an $80,000 grant, on the understanding the Falcons would contribute $10,000 and the council $330,000; however, the arrangement had been overlooked by the council in a draft budget. In the 2015 season, Darebin's two-season unbeaten run was stopped by University in round 2, but the Falcons went on to win the rest of their games for the home-and-away segment and won through to the grand final, against Diamond Creek once again. Several Darebin players were affected by injury – O'Connor was unavailable after hurting her knee, while Brennan played with a
stress fracture A stress fracture is a fatigue-induced bone fracture caused by repeated stress over time. Instead of resulting from a single severe impact, stress fractures are the result of accumulated injury from repeated submaximal loading, such as running ...
in her foot. Shannon Egan stepped in to O'Connor's ruck role and Vescio played at centre half-forward to cover Brennan's change to a stay-at-home forward. Darebin kept Diamond Creek goalless in the first half, leading by 30 points going into half-time. The Falcons went on to kick seven more goals, winning 11.15 (81) to 2.6 (18) – a 63-point margin. Vescio was the Lisa Hardeman Medallist after kicking two goals, while Brennan managed to score three despite her injury. Post-season, Richard Dal Pos stepped down as coach.


2016–2019: Entry into VFLW and financial troubles

Ahead of the planned introduction of a national women's league in 2017 – the
AFL Women's AFL Women's (AFLW) is Australia's national semi-professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football competition for women's Australian rules football, female players. The 2017 AFL Women's season, first season of the l ...
(AFLW) –
AFL Victoria AFL Victoria (formerly Football Victoria) is the state-level sport governing body for Australian rules football in the state of Victoria, Australia. Responsibility AFL Victoria, as part of the sport's national governing body the Australian Fo ...
instituted the
VFL Women's VFL Women's (VFLW) is the major state-level women's Australian rules football league in Victoria (Australia), Victoria. The league initially comprised the six premier division clubs and the top four division 1 clubs from the now-defunct Victori ...
in 2016, a women's
state league A state league is a level of competition in Sport in Australia, Australian sport directly below that of a national league. Most of these competitions are based in a single States and territories of Australia, state or territory, and from this the te ...
aligned with the existing men's
Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football competition in Australia operated by the Australian Football League (AFL) as a second-tier, regional, semi-professional competition. It includes teams from clubs based in east ...
, to replace the VWFL. The competition included all six VWFL teams in the premier division (Darebin, Diamond Creek, Eastern Devils, Melbourne University, St Kilda Sharks and the Western Spurs) and the best four sides from a lower division ( Cranbourne, Geelong Magpies, Knox and Seaford). In July,
marquee player A marquee player is an athlete who is considered exceptionally popular, skilled, or otherwise outstanding, especially in professional sports. Its name comes from theater marquees, on which the names of the stars of productions in said theater a ...
s for the AFLW were named, including four Darebin players: Brennan (who would play for the ), Hickey and Pearce (both ), and Vescio (). The beginning of the AFLW proved troublesome for many VFLW teams; its commencement made elite-level women's football more professional – increasing the expected standards of clubs' staff, programs and venues. These new standards, in turn, increased the funding required to operate a VFLW club. For example, after the
Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...
(AFL) introduced smaller footballs for women's leagues, Darebin had to
crowdfund Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance, to fund projects "without standard financial ...
$8800 for 100 new balls. As a volunteer-operated club, it was also difficult for Darebin to compete with teams such as
Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...
and Box Hill that were endowed with improved facilities and financial support by their wealthy AFL counterparts. As a result of these pressures, three fellow foundation VFLW clubs left the competition after the 2017 season. The alternatives to departure were affiliating with an AFL club, which Darebin members wanted to avoid in the hope of maintaining their name and independence, or finding external funding. In 2018, a $300,000 grant from Darebin City Council allowed the club to continue in the VFLW and reach the new requirements over the next years. On the field, the Falcons' new coach was Jane Lange, who also represented the side as a player in 2016. Darebin won the inaugural VFLW premiership, defeating University in front of roughly 4000 people at Coburg. For the second consecutive year, Vescio was best on ground, kicking a goal at the end of the third quarter to extend a Darebin lead to five goals. The comfortable margin ensured a fourth-quarter comeback from University was not enough for victory. Darebin won through to the grand final again in 2017, losing to Diamond Creek by 25 points in the semi-final but recovering to defeat St Kilda by five points in the preliminary final, 4.4 (28) to 3.5 (23). The Falcons faced Diamond Creek at
Docklands Stadium Docklands Stadium, known by naming rights sponsorship as Marvel Stadium, is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment stadium in the suburb of Docklands, Victoria, Docklands in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Construction started in October 199 ...
(then known as Etihad Stadium) in the decider. Darebin kept their opponents goalless in the first half, and amassed a 20-point lead close to three-quarter-time. The margin dropped to eight points in the final quarter, but the Falcons held on for a close victory, 5.5 (35) to 4.4 (28). Darebin midfielder Karen Paxman won the Lisa Hardeman Medal. Post-season, Lange expected some AFLW-listed players to leave Darebin for their clubs' VFLW affiliates. For 2018, the Falcons retained the majority of their squad, but Carlton-listed players Vescio and
Lauren Arnell Lauren Arnell (born 15 March 1987) is a retired Australian rules footballer and senior coach of the Port Adelaide Football Club in the AFL Women's competition, having previously played for Carlton and the Brisbane Lions. She served as Carlton' ...
played for their club's VFL affiliates and other AFLW-listed players were expected to play fewer games. Pearce, Darebin's captain, rested for a season. Among the new players for 2018 was Hannah Mouncey, a
transgender woman A trans woman or transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity and may experience gender dysphoria (distress brought upon by the discrepancy between a person's gender identity and their ...
who the AFL had barred from participating in the AFLW for 2017. The Falcons finished fifth in 2018, missing the grand final for the first time since 2004. By 2019, Darebin's only AFLW-listed players were Arnell, Elise O'Dea,
Lauren Pearce Lauren Pearce (born 12 January 1993) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's competition. She was drafted by Melbourne with their fourth selection and twenty-fifth overall in the 2016 AFL Wom ...
, and Jamie Stanton, and the side finished 11th. Michael Ericson was the team's coach for 2019, but only led the club for one season; Mitch Skelly was appointed for 2020.


2020–present: Power imbalance and on-field struggles

The 2020 VFLW season was scheduled to begin in May, but was initially postponed due to the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
before eventually being cancelled the following month. A planned four-team 'super series', in which Darebin players had the chance to compete to audition for a place on an AFLW list, was then announced and also subsequently cancelled in August. Competitive VFLW football finally returned in February 2021, with Darebin's opening round match ending in a low-scoring 2-point loss to Williamstown. Skelly was buoyant about his side's chances pre-season, explaining that the new league format – which restricted AFLW players from taking part until the second half of the year – would give the Falcons "a chance to be really competitive". Despite this optimism, Darebin would ultimately record just one win (over
North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne Local government ar ...
in round 6) and one draw (in their return match against Williamstown) from its 14 matches in the 2021 VFLW season. The club soon appointed former Falcon player and four-time premiership winner Kate Tyndall to the role of senior coach for 2022 and beyond. Darebin's 2022 season would get off to an improved start under Tyndall, when the Falcons recovered from a scoreless first quarter and 32-point deficit against Williamstown to prevail by 3 points in what was described as "a famous win to rival any of arebin'sgreat performances of the pre-AFLW era". The remainder of the season could best be described as a year of two halves; after losing their next two matches, the Falcons hit form to record four consecutive victories and sit in fourth place on the ladder after seven rounds. Yet in the weeks to come, Darebin struggled against its more favoured opponents and ultimately failed to win another game for the rest of the season, finishing the year in eighth place. Season seven of the AFLW began less than two months after the conclusion of the 2022 VFLW season, and for the first time featured all 18 AFL clubs. This would impact Darebin more than any other VFLW club as they could no longer access any AFLW-listed players, and by virtue of being the only independent team in the league, had the smallest talent pool to select from for the upcoming 2023 VFLW season. This was reflected on-field as the Falcons suffered through possibly their least successful season in history; the team finished with its first VFLW wooden spoon, losing every match for the season by an average of 47 points. Darebin won just five of 56 individual quarters across the year, and managed to kick more than three goals in a game on only one occasion. After season's end, the Falcons announced a new senior coach for the 2024 VFLW season, with Lache Walker to take the reins after previously being assistant coach at North Melbourne.


Honours


Leadership


1991–2015: VWFL


Records

*Premierships: 9 (1996, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015) *Grand final appearances: 12 (1996, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015) *Premierships (reserves): 4 (2007, 2009, 2010, 2011)


Individual awards

*Helen Lambert Medallists (league
best and fairest In Australian sport, the best and fairest award recognises the player(s) adjudged to have had the best performance in a game or over a season for a given sporting club or competition. The awards are sometimes dependent on not receiving a suspensi ...
): Kris Gardiner (1992), Bronwyn Hutchinson (1997),
Daisy Pearce Daisy Pearce (born 27 May 1988) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club#AFL Women's team, Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW) and is the current AFLW senior coach of the West Coast Eagle ...
(2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015) *Rohenna Young Medallists (leading goalkicker): Moana Hope (2006, 2007, 2008), Jane Lange (2010) *Lisa Hardeman Medallists (
best on ground Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporatio ...
in grand final): Kathy Zacharopoulos (2006), Roi Boutsikakis (2007), Moana Hope (2008), Sarah Hammond (2009), Aasta O'Connor (2010), Melissa Hickey (2013),
Daisy Pearce Daisy Pearce (born 27 May 1988) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club#AFL Women's team, Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW) and is the current AFLW senior coach of the West Coast Eagle ...
(2014), Darcy Vescio (2015) * Debbie Lee Medallists (best first-year player):
Daisy Pearce Daisy Pearce (born 27 May 1988) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club#AFL Women's team, Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW) and is the current AFLW senior coach of the West Coast Eagle ...
(2005), Katie Brennan (2013)


2016–present: VFL Women's

''Correct to the end of the 2019 season.''


Records

* Premierships: 2 (2016, 2017) *Grand final appearances: 2 (2016, 2017) *Highest score: 18.8 (116) vs. , 2016 *Lowest score: 0.1 (1) vs. , 2019


Individual awards

* Lambert–Pearce Medallists (best and fairest):
Daisy Pearce Daisy Pearce (born 27 May 1988) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club#AFL Women's team, Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's (AFLW) and is the current AFLW senior coach of the West Coast Eagle ...
(2016), Katie Brennan (2017),
Lauren Pearce Lauren Pearce (born 12 January 1993) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the AFL Women's competition. She was drafted by Melbourne with their fourth selection and twenty-fifth overall in the 2016 AFL Wom ...
(2019) *Rohenna Young Medallists: Katie Brennan (2017), Monique DeMatteo (2024) *Lisa Hardeman Medallists: Darcy Vescio (2016), Karen Paxman (2017) * Debbie Lee Medallists: None


Silver Jubilee team

In 2015, a four-member club panel selected a
Silver Jubilee Silver Jubilee marks a 25th anniversary. The anniversary celebrations can be of a wedding anniversary, the 25th year of a monarch's reign or anything that has completed or is entering a 25-year mark. Royal Silver Jubilees since 1750 Note: This ...
team, made up of the best Darebin coach and players from their twenty-five years of football.


Notes


References


External links

* {{VWFL Victorian Women's Football League clubs Northern Football Netball League clubs Australian rules football clubs in Melbourne Women's cricket teams in Australia 1990 establishments in Australia Sports clubs and teams established in 1990 Women's soccer clubs in Australia Women's Australian rules football clubs in Australia Sport in the City of Darebin