Southern Saints was the name of an

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 ...

club that played in 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), the major state-level

women's Australian rules football Women's Australian rules football (in areas where it is popular, known simply as women's football or women's footy or women's AFL), is the female-only form of Australian rules football, generally with some modification to the laws of the game. ...

league in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. It was affiliated with both the

St Kilda Football Club The St Kilda Football Club, nicknamed the Saints, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier league. The club's name originates fro ...

, which competes in 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), and the

Sandringham Football Club The Sandringham Football Club, nicknamed the Zebras, is an Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Sandringham, Victoria, Sandringham. It currently competes in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and the VFL Women's (VF ...

, which competes in the

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 ...

(VFL). The club competed in the VFLW from

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

until its brand was consolidated with Sandringham at the end of the 2024 season.

History

The Southern Saints entered the VFLW in 2018, after the

Seaford Football Club The Seaford Football Netball Club, nicknamed the ''Tigers'', is an Australian rules football and netball club based in the south eastern region of Australia, first organised in late 1921. Formation meetings were held at Armstrong's Grocery Stor ...

left the competition and had its licence transferred to the

. In its first season, the club had an agreement with the

Frankston Football Club The Frankston Football Club, nicknamed the Dolphins, is an Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Frankston, Victoria, Frankston. The club was formed in 1887 and has played in the Victorian Football League (VFL), forme ...

. It finished 8th on the ladder at the end of the season. In 2019, St Kilda and its VFL affiliate,

Sandringham Sandringham can refer to: Places Australia * Sandringham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Sandringham, Queensland, a rural locality * Sandringham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne **Sandringham railway line **Sandringham railway station * ...

, co-managed the club. After St Kilda entered 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 ...

competition in 2020, Sandringham took over the Southern Saints team licence and full responsibility for the commercial and operational management of the team. The club's best season came in 2022, when it finished fifth on the home-and-away ladder. They lost in the grand final to

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club, in the Australian Football League *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington United Kin ...

, going down by 35 points. On 28 October 2024, Sandringham announced that the Southern Saints would be known as the Sandringham Zebras (as of 1 November 2024), consolidating both identities under the one club for the 2025 season.

Seasons

References

{{VFL Women's St Kilda Football Club Australian rules football clubs in Melbourne 2018 establishments in Australia Australian rules football clubs established in 2018 2024 disestablishments in Australia Australian rules football clubs disestablished in 2024 Women's Australian rules football clubs in Australia