It’s finals time in the Hampden FNL, and we are in for one mighty month of football. The home and away season finished in thrilling fashion, with Portland securing the final spot inside the top five. The Tigers faithful were honking their horns after Terang Mortlake’s loss in the final round confirmed their place in another finals campaign.
For five clubs, the season has come to a close, but there is plenty of optimism heading towards 2026. Hamilton Kangaroos have already made headlines, unveiling the return of Tom Feely to his home club. Feely, who has played in the SANFL, VFL and Geelong League, is a major recruit who will add polish and experience to the Kangaroos’ midfield. Meanwhile, Port Fairy have announced Jayden Brennan as their playing assistant coach for next year. Brennan, who was part of Koroit in the early 2010s, will be a huge addition both on and off the field, bringing leadership to a young and developing Seagulls group.
Attention now turns to the business end of the year. Wilsons DC Farran Oval will host this weekend’s Qualifying Final between arch-rivals South Warrnambool and Koroit. These two powerhouses have delivered some memorable contests over the years, and this clash promises to be another first-class battle. Both sides will enter with very different line-ups compared to their last encounter, ensuring plenty of intrigue and tactical adjustments. Expect a fierce, high-quality contest with a direct path to the second semi-final up for grabs.
The Elimination Final shapes as just as intriguing, with Warrnambool and Portland set to renew hostilities. The two teams only met three weeks ago, when little separated them across four quarters. Warrnambool’s structured, methodical approach contrasts with Portland’s run-and-gun game style, setting the scene for another tight and enthralling contest. The loser bows out, while the winner lives to fight another day – finals footy at its finest.
The stage is set, and the Hampden FNL community is buzzing with excitement.
Port Fairy has wasted no time in locking in its senior coach for the 2026 Hampden Football Netball League season, appointing Tyrone Ross to the role. A decorated footballer with a wealth of experience, Ross is widely regarded as a strong leader and an outstanding people person — qualities that should make him a perfect fit for the Seagulls as they continue to build both on and off the field.
He takes over from Dusty McCorkell, who has been a terrific servant to the club over the past three seasons. McCorkell’s tenure has been marked by commitment, player development, and a deep passion for the Port Fairy jumper, and he departs the role with the respect of players, officials, and supporters alike.
In more positive news for the league, one of its brightest young talents will take centre stage this weekend on the national stage. Camperdown’s Lenny Stephens has earned selection in an AFL Futures match — a competition that showcases the next wave of elite footballers. At just 17, Stephens has already enjoyed a strong year, holding his own in the Hampden Seniors while also making an impact with the Greater Western Victoria Rebels in the Coates Talent League. His selection is well deserved and will be a valuable opportunity to test himself against the best young talent in the country.
Meanwhile, the focus locally this weekend will also turn to the next generation, with the HFNL Junior Finals kicking off at Gardens Oval. Four matches are on the card, with all grades promising to deliver high-quality football. Junior finals are always a highlight of the season.
From the senior coaching announcements to emerging talent and grassroots finals action, it’s another reminder of the HFNL’s strong football heartbeat — one that continues to nurture its stars of today while preparing the champions of tomorrow.
This weekend, South Warrnambool product Hugh McCluggage will notch up his 200th AFL game for the Brisbane Lions — a milestone that reflects not only durability, but consistent brilliance at the highest level. The silky midfielder has been in red-hot form again this season, widely regarded as one of the most in-form players in the competition. A key figure in Brisbane’s premiership success, McCluggage has built a career that already boasts individual accolades, finals experience, and a reputation for class and composure — and, at just 26, he’s far from done. With plenty more chapters left to write, he continues to inspire the next wave of Hampden League talent.
Meanwhile, back in the Hampden Football Netball League, the senior competition remains as unpredictable as ever. Round 12 threw up more surprises, further scrambling the top five and setting up a thrilling final stretch.
Cobden were at their explosive best, toppling Terang Mortlake in a performance that reminded everyone of their potential when they click into gear. It was a statement win.
Koroit, the sleeping giant of the competition, keeps building momentum. The Saints knocked off South Warrnambool last week, quietly and efficiently, they’re cementing their position inside the five — and nobody will want to face them come finals time.
Warrnambool’s young brigade delivered one of the wins of the season, edging out North Warrnambool by a single point in a classic local derby. Luke Cody continues to dazzle, with another six-goal performance underlining his breakout season. The Blues’ youthful exuberance is starting to translate into genuine results.
As we look to Round 13, tipping becomes near impossible. The ladder is tight, form lines are inconsistent, and upsets have become the norm. In a season defined by its evenness, every match carries weight — and with finals only weeks away, the stakes couldn’t be higher.
If there’s one lesson from the past fortnight, it’s this: don’t bother forecasting. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.
While there was no local action in the Hampden Football Netball League over the weekend due to the scheduled bye, the league made a big impression on the interleague stage in Ballarat. Taking on the Ballarat Football Netball League across three matches at Mars Stadium, Hampden proudly fielded 66 players across Under 17 Boys, Under 19 Girls and Under 23 Men’s teams — all proudly wearing the Bottle Green jumper.
The U17 Boys and U19 Girls both claimed impressive victories in front of a strong crowd, showcasing the depth and future of Hampden football talent. The U23 Men’s team, despite their best efforts, were outclassed by a very talented and polished Ballarat outfit. Still, there were plenty of positives, including individual performances that earned major honours.
Cobden’s Luke Smith was outstanding through the midfield and was awarded the Richard Nixon Medal for Best on Ground in the U23 match. South Warrnambool Warrnambool forward Sam Conboy was in sensational form, kicking five goals to claim the Stephen Anderson Medal. Meanwhile, Hamilton’s Ruby Cleaver was a standout in the U19 Girls match, a clear and deserving winner of the Best on Ground Medal for her commanding performance. Days like these provide an excellent opportunity to showcase the league’s strength against other high-calibre competitions across Victoria. A huge thank you goes to all the interleague coaches and support staff who put in countless hours of work preparing these squads — your commitment doesn’t go unnoticed.
In club news, North Warrnambool supporters received a boost with the announcement that coach Nathan Vardy has signed on for the 2026 season. Vardy has been a brilliant addition to the Eagles, offering leadership, strategy, and on-field presence. His reappointment is a clear sign the club is building something strong for the future, both on and off the field.
Lastly, a moment of pride for the entire Hampden community came on the weekend with George Stevens’ AFL debut for Geelong. A product of South Warrnambool, George showed he belonged at the top level with an outstanding performance: 21 disposals, 14 score involvements, 8 clearances and a goal. His composure and strength around the contest were evident, and it’s clear this is just the beginning of a promising AFL career. Well done, George!
This weekend is the penultimate round in the Hampden Football Netball League, and there is still so much work to be done to clearly identify who our teams will be that finish in the 4th and 5th positions. Terang Mortlake, Koroit and Cobden are all fighting for the final two positions, and all have hard opposition over the next two weeks in their endeavours to consolidate a position. It is a great conclusion to the HFNL 2024 season, we might know who the top five will be this week or there is even a chance it will come down to the final round.
Sully 100th Seagulls Game
One of the competition’s best players this decade, Matthew Sully, will suit up for the Port Fairy Seagulls this weekend for the 100th time. Matt since returning from the NEAFL and VFL competition, he has been a real barometer for the purple and gold, whether it’s in defence, midfield or forward. The number 19’s strength around the contest and in the air is hard to stop along with his fitness, which sees him run out games strongly. Matt, a multiple team of the year member, has had another great 2024 season and I know he is keen to help Port Fairy rise up the ladder again.
Crawley’s 150th Game
One of the Bloods most reliable defenders will play a major milestone match this weekend, with Sam Crawley to line up in his 150th senior game. The Crawley name is synonymous with Terang Mortlake and Sam has been one of the team’s most consistent contributors in recent years. Sam always seems to get one of the harder tasks in the defence end of the ground, and is a very hard match up as his aerial defence work is sound, he’s great with the ground ball and can also rebound with good run and carry. A big milestone in a big clash for the team, and all of his Bloods team-mates will be hoping to get the job done for the #29.
Junior Finals
Congratulations to Koroit (U16) and South Warrnambool (U14) for booking their spot in the 2024 HFNL Junior Grand Finals last weekend at Bushfield. Both sides deserve their chance and will now have to wait to see who their opposition will be. The Preliminary Final will be staged at the picturesque Leura Oval in Camperdown, with South Warrnambool and Terang Mortlake locking horns in the U16 game, while North Warrnambool and Warrnambool will battle it out in the U14 game. The quality of the junior finals thus far has been exemplary and we expect another game day on Sunday.
Round 17 Matches
Hamilton vs Koroit (Dunkeld)
Portland vs Camperdown (Hanlon Park)
Port Fairy vs South Warrnambool (Gardens Oval)
Terang Mortlake vs Warrnambool (Ridley Reserve)
North Warrnambool vs Cobden (Bushfield)
See you at the Footy
The Hampden League will welcome a new coach into the ranks in 2025, with Camperdown appointing Clinton Thomas as its new senior coach. Clinton comes to Camperdown, having worked with AFL coach Brendan McCartney the past two seasons in the Ballarat FNL. The Hamilton based mentor, also brother of Brad (Hamilton’s coach), has outstanding knowledge of the game, is big in the use of data and understands there needs to be hard work completed for the Magpies to progress further in 2025. Great to have another Thomas in the competition, and like many people, the Camperdown and Hamilton games have a little extra motivation for both sides and coaches.
So far this season, we know that Lewis Taylor, Brody Mahoney, Brad Thomas, Lachie Hupputz and Dusty McCorkell will continue in 2025, which is great news.
Draft Combine
The Hampden FNL has some exceptional talent running around in the competition and across the Coates Talent League. As expected, Koroit’s Finn O’Sullivan will be attending the three day AFL Draft combine, as well as Cobden’s Rhys Unwin, whose form has been excellent this season. What a great opportunity for both young men, and hopefully, both players will impress the AFL recruiters and potentially get an opportunity next season.
Junior Finals
The South West Tafe Junior Finals begin this weekend and it will be an extravaganza of football. Portland’s Hanlon Park will host week one of the finals, with seven teams competing and vying for an opportunity in week two of the series. Gates open from 8.45am and action kicks off at 10am with the U14 elimination final. Good Luck to all involved.
Round 15 Matches
South Warrnambool vs Cobden (Friendlies Society Park)
Portland vs Warrnambool (Hanlon Park)
Camperdown vs Port Fairy (Leura Oval)
North Warrnambool vs Koroit (Bushfield) – Playing for the Connect Cup
Terang Mortlake vs Hamilton Kangaroos (DC Farran Oval)
See you at the Footy
The Hamilton Kangaroos are already planning for 2025, with the re-appointment of senior coach Brad Thomas. ‘Thommo’ has been an important figure at the Hamilton Kangaroos this season, guiding this young group and teaching them to play a brand of football that is required to be successful at Hampden League level. Whilst Hamilton have only won two games this season, the win/loss ratio is not how ‘Thommo’ is determining success, he is looking at other elements, both on and off field. Brad had the opportunity to be a part of the interleague U23 campaign, and hopefully that experience assisted with his coaching journey. A great appointment, more importantly an important one, in hope of pushing the Hamilton Kangaroos in an upward trajectory.
WVFFL Finals
The Western Victoria Female Football League will stage their Grand Finals at the DC Farran Oval in Mortlake on Sunday. There will be five teams represented during the three games, including Hampden League teams, South Warrnambool, Hamilton Kangaroos and North Warrnambool. Hamilton and North Warrnambool will play in the U15 decider. The Eagles have been dominant all season, whilst Hamilton are taking great later season form into the game. South Warrnambool will head into the U18 Grand Final as favourites. The Roosters are a very well-drilled outfit and were outstanding in Week 1 of the finals. The Roosters will have representation in the Senior Women’s Grand Final, they play archrivals Horsham. South Warrnambool have been the envy of many opposition teams over the past few seasons and will back themselves in this game. They are well coached and play a fun and attacking brand. It has been a great season to date, and hopefully the best is still to come this weekend in Mortlake.
Bloods Milestones
Terang Mortlake defender Dylan Jones, ruckman Darcy Hobbs and gun midfielder Ryley Hutchins will all play milestone games this weekend against North Warrnambool. Dylan, will line up in his 100th senior match and what a great key position player he has been. He has built a great connection with the like of Alex Moloney, Joey Arundel and Gus Bourke over the past few seasons, making the Bloods a tough unit to score against. ‘Hobbsy’, the son of star HFNL ruckman Peter Hobbs, is making his mark in the competition as a class ruckman. Still young in age, Darcy will play his 50th game and looks set to be a great ruckman for many years. Ryley Hutchins will also play his 50th game. A classy player who has recently played Geelong VFL. A midfielder who is dangerous up forward and hits the scoreboard. Congratulations to all three players on their milestone.
Round 13 Matches
Hamilton vs Portland (Dunkeld)
Cobden vs Port Fairy (Cobden Rec Reserve)
Koroit vs South Warrnambool (Victoria Park)
Terang Mortlake vs North Warrnambool (Ridley Rec Reserve)
Camperdown vs Warrnambool (Leura Oval)
It was a great day for local football last weekend, with the Reid Oval hosting Interleague Football.
The Hampden Football Netball League had three sides take on the Ballarat Football Netball League, with the Bottle Greens registering one and two losses.
Whilst the results are important, the biggest benefit to come out of the day was the exposure given to 67 male and female footballers to play at the next level.
The U18 Female side was well coached and drilled under Chris Meade and his coaching staff. The team played a great brand of football, and it resulted in a big winning margin. Scarlett O’Donnell and Lila Evans were outstanding, along with young midfielder Leayla Pohl.
The U17 squad came up against a well-organized Ballarat team. Our boys competed well and had strong periods of the game but were outplayed by an impressive Ballarat team. Ben Parkinson and Justin Impey were great coaches on the day.
The Jonathan Brown U23 squad statistically matched it with the Ballarat squad, but our efficiency in front of goal and moving the ball forward hurt the team at times. The match showcased some great talent in Archie Stevens, Jackson Grundy, Toby Jennings and may more. We would love the opportunity to get one back on the Anthony Koutoufides led squad.
A great day of football and thank-you to all of the volunteers, club officials, coaches and players for a making it a great day at the Reid Oval.
Round 12 Matches
Port Fairy vs North Warrnambool (Gardens Oval)
Warrnambool vs Cobden (Reid Oval)
South Warrnambool vs Hamilton (Friendlies Society Park)
Terang Mortlake vs Portland (Ridley Recreation Reserve)
Koroit vs Camperdown (Victoria Park)
Part 2 of the Hampden Football Netball League season will kick off this weekend with a return round of matches occurring. All clubs are set to enter Round 10 with healthier lists available due to the bye round last weekend. Clubs will play two games before the interleague bye round and the next fortnight promises to be extremely important for those sides wishing to play finals this season. There are a number of eight-point games coming up.
Milestone Men
Three terrific servants of the Hampden Football Netball League will play in significant milestones this weekend. North Warrnambool star Jarryd Lewis will play in his 200th senior game. What a recruit ‘Chopper’ has been since arriving from Coleraine. He is the ultimate team player, a beautiful user of the football and a real hard competitor. Jarryd is one of the favourite sons at the Eagles and will be heavily supported at Bushfield this weekend. Terang Mortlake duo Ryan O’Connor and Matthew Arundell will play their 150th and 100th senior games respectively. Both big men bleed royal blue and red and have been the ultimate club players. Each Saturday, both Ryan and Matthew play the game in great spirit and are important players in the Terang Mortlake line-up. Congratulations to Jarryd, Ryan and Matthew on their outstanding contribution to the North Warrnambool Eagles and Terang Mortlake.
Interleague
We are two weeks away from interleague football at the Reid Oval. The Bottle Greens will be training twice during the week of the game at Mortlake and the Reid Oval with coach Jonathan Brown leading the way. Members of the victorious 1991 Division One VCFL championship will be in attendance on the Thursday night jumper presentation, sharing their interleague experiences with the current crop of players. All is shaping up to be a great day at the Reid Oval on July 6th.
Round 10 Matches
North Warrnambool vs South Warrnambool (Bushfield Oval)
Hamilton Kangaroos vs Cobden (Hawkesdale)
Koroit vs Warrnambool (Victoria Park)
Terang Mortlake vs Camperdown (Mortlake)
Port Fairy vs Portland (Gardens Oval)
See you at the Footy.
The Hampden Football Netball League this week announced its U23 Interleague Training Squad, ahead of its July 6th appointment with the Ballarat Football Netball League. The coaching staff selected a 38 man training squad, they will spend a day together at an AFL Match before two training sessions in the week of the interleague fixture. South Warrnambool have the strongest representation with eight players, names such as Will White, Archie Stevens and Jay Rantall have been included. It was rewarding to see some new exciting players get the opportunity to train and potentially make the final squad, such as Cobden’s Ben Berry, Hamilton’s Will Povey and Ethan Knight and Port Fairy’s Ollie Myers. The HFNL is very excited about this group and hopefully a win against the BFNL is on the cards.
Camperdown – Zach Sinnott, Sidney Bradshaw, Hamish Sinnott
Cobden – Luke Smith, Ben Berry, Ben McGlade
Hamilton Kangaroos – Hamish Cook, Will Povey, Ethan Knight, Vincent Huf
Koroit – Paddy O’Sullivan, Tom Baulch, Mac Petersen, Jack Block, Clem Nagorka, Connor Byrne
North Warrnambool Eagles – Jackson Grundy, Jett Bermingham
Port Fairy – Ollie Myers, Oscar Pollock
Portland – Toby Jennings, Will Hunter
South Warrnambool – Isaac Thomas, Riley Thomas, Will White, Max Irving, Archie Stevens, Jay Rantall, Bailey
Osborne, Myles McCluggage
Terang Mortlake – Ryley Hutchins, Darcy Hobbs, Kane Johnstone, Xavier Vickers
Warrnambool – Harry Ruan, Fletcher Timms, Amon Radley, Reggie Mast
Vic Country Selection
Outstanding to see four more names from the Hampden Football Netball League included in the Vic Country team for the AFL National Championships.
Koroit’s Finn O’Sullivan and Mitch Lloyd along with Cobden pair Flynn Penry and Rhys Unwin will mix it with the best junior talent in Australia. All four players are extremely exciting to watch and have enormous potential, hopefully enough to make it onto an AFL List. All the best to all four boys in the Vic Country jumper.
Round 9
Warrnambool vs Hamilton (Reid Oval)
Cobden vs Terang Mortlake (Cobden Rec Reserve)
Portland vs South Warrnambool (Hanlon Park)
Port Fairy vs Koroit (Gardens Oval)
North Warrnambool vs Camperdown (Victoria Park)
See you at the Footy.
Hilly
Copyright © 2022 | Hampden Football Netball League
Built by
