The Northern Football Netball League (formerly known as the Diamond Valley Football League and later Northern Football League) is an Australian sports league based in the Diamond Valley region of suburban Melbourne, Victoria. The league regulates competitions of both sports, Australian rules football and netball in the region.

History

The league was founded in 1922, originally having six clubs, three of whom still participate. In 1941 the league went into recess for five years as a result of World War II, the competition recommencing in 1946. After the war the league continued to grow. Formation of Division Two In 1981 the league was split into two divisions. The top 10 teams at the end of the 1980 season formed Division One (Diamond Creek, Greensborough, Heidelberg West, Lalor, Macelod-Rosanna, Montmorency, North Heidelberg, Reservoir-Lakeside, Templestowe and Watsonia) for the 1981 season. Division Two was formed by the 4 bottom placed teams from the 1980 season (Eltham, Epping, Heidelberg and South Morang) and 4 new teams making their debut (Bundoora, Northcote Park, Reservoir and West Preston) for the 1981 season. Renaming of the League The entire DVFL board resigned over the summer of 2006–2007 and was replaced by officials from AFL Victoria until suitable replacements were found before the start of the 2008 season. At the end of the 2017 season, the NFL was renamed the NFNL to incorporate Netball under the one banner- the NFNL. Formation of Division Three In 2008 the NFL added an open-age Netball competition and announced an intention that a third division would be added for the 2009 season with the old 14 team second division to be split into eight and six team divisions, however Kinglake and Wallan both left the league so the NFL did not proceed. In 2009, the NFL stated that a permanent Division Three for 2010 would be dependent on at least one more club joining the league. With St Mary's indicating that they intended to field a senior team in 2010, the NFL announced a stand-alone Division Three to commence from 2010. Reversing an earlier decision, the NFL decided that Division Two would be split during the 2009 season based on ladder position after the 13th round once all teams had played each other once, with the top 8 teams remaining in Division Two and the bottom 6 teams forming Division Three for the remaining games of the season. It was also decided that the newly formed Division Three would play a finals series in 2009, but the premier would not gain promotion to Division Two as these teams had already been relegated for the 2009 season. At the end of Round 13, Diamond Creek, Epping, Fitzroy Stars, Lower Plenty, Macleod, Mernda, Watsonia and Whittlesea formed the top 8 teams and remained in Division Two, whilst Heidelberg West, Hurstbridge, Panton Hill, Parkside, Reservoir and South Morang were the bottom 6 teams and formed the new Division Three.

League details

AFL Victoria Community Championships

In 2016, the Northern Football Netball League began playing in the AFL Victoria Community Championships for metropolitan and country competitions to challenge each other for the title of best football league in Victoria. In 2016, the league were defeated by the Mornington Peninsula Nepean Football League to be fifth. The next year the league defeated the Western Region Football League and were ranked fourth. In 2018, the league avenged its 2016 defeat by the MPNFL to be ranked second. In 2019, the Northern Football Netball League defeated the Geelong Football League to become the number one ranked league in Victoria.

Key people

Presidents

Secretaries

Senior Competition

Clubs

Division 1

Division 2

Division 3

Promotion and Relegation

At the end of each year the Premiers of Division 2 and 3 are promoted, while the clubs that finish bottom in Division 1 and 2 are relegated.

Premiership TimelineNote

Division Promotion and Relegation TimelineNote

Note:

Premiers

Premiership Table

Division 1

Division 2

Division 3

Awards

Division 1

Division 2

Division 3

Women's Senior Competition

The NFNL Women's Senior Competition was established in 2017. As the NFNL was one of the first metropolitan leagues in Melbourne to begin their own senior women's competition, football clubs from the EDFL, EFL, VAFA and WRFL participated in the NFNL until their own leagues established women's competitions. There is currently no promotion or relegation between the divisions. To ensure a competitive balance each season, the competition is graded, meaning teams are placed on their level of ability rather than on how they performed the previous year.

Clubs

Division 1

Division 2

Division 3

Women's Clubs Currently In Recess

Premiers

Premiership Table

Division 1

Division 2

Division 3

Awards

Division 1

Division 2

Division 3

Juniors Competition

The NFNL Juniors Competition has 24 clubs across the boys and girls competitions. The competition comprises age groups from under 9 thorough to under 17. In 2010 the league announced for there to be an under 16 age group which had previously not existed.

Lew Hall Trophy

The trophy is awarded each year to the club which has the most combined premiership points from the under 13, under 15 and under 17 age groups. The Lew Hall Award changed criteria to become an individual award to acknowledge club and community leadership by a young person.

Clubs

Former clubs

Former Men's Competition Clubs

Additional Information

Former Women's Competition Clubs

Former Junior Competition Clubs

Footnote

Halfway through the 2009 season, six clubs (including Parkside and Hurstbridge) split from Division 2 in preparation for a third division in 2010. These clubs competed against each other for the rest of the season and Parkside defeated Hurstbridge in the senior grand final with Hurstbridge winning the reserve grand final. As per the announcement of the league at the time the divisions were split, Parkside were not promoted to Division Two.