The VAFA’s back for 2026! Jason Bennett, Matty Donald & Brayden May take a long, lingering look at everything that happened across Round 1 of the competition in a jam-packed edition of FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME.

The boys review EVERY SENIOR SECTION of the Men’s & Women’s competition, as well as Holmesglen Under 19 Premier with VAFA Media expert LACHIE MOIR.

Plus, they catch up with:
Old Haileybury coach GUY MARTYN, after his team came from 32pts down to defeat Uni Blacks in Guy’s first game as Bloods coach;
Parkside senior women’s coach ANTHONY ROMANO, after his team jumped up from Div 2 to Premier B and scored a first-up victory in a fantastic performance.

Along with our usual favourites:
TON WATCH – which young gun announced himself with 11 goals to claim this week’s VAFA RISING STAR award, alongside a 4-goal performance from an Old Yarra Cobra.
TIPS – Matty, Brayden, Lachie & celebrity tipster Cench Footy tell us who will win and why.

It’s all right here, FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME – now ALSO available as a VODCAST on our VAFA YOU TUBE CHANNEL!

The VAFA&rsquo;s back for 2026!&nbsp;Jason Bennett, Matty Donald &amp; Brayden May&nbsp;take a long, lingering look at everything that happened across Round 1 of the competition in a jam-packed edition of FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME.
The boys review&nbsp;EVERY SENIOR SECTION&nbsp;of the Men&rsquo;s &amp; Women&rsquo;s competition, as well as&nbsp;Holmesglen Under 19 Premier&nbsp;with VAFA Media expert&nbsp;LACHIE MOIR.
Plus, they catch up with:
<ul>
<li>Old Haileybury coach GUY MARTYN, after his team came from 32pts down to defeat Uni Blacks in Guy&rsquo;s first game as Bloods coach;</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Parkside senior women&rsquo;s coach ANTHONY ROMANO, after his team jumped up from Div 2 to Premier B and scored a first-up victory in a fantastic performance.</li>
</ul>
Along with our usual favourites:
<ul>
<li>TON WATCH&nbsp;&ndash; which young gun announced himself with 11 goals to claim this week&rsquo;s&nbsp;VAFA RISING STAR&nbsp;award, alongside a 4-goal performance from an Old Yarra Cobra.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>TIPS&nbsp;&ndash; Matty, Brayden, Lachie &amp; celebrity tipster Cench Footy tell us who will win and why.</li>
</ul>
It&rsquo;s all right here,&nbsp;FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME &ndash; now ALSO available as a&nbsp;VODCAST&nbsp;on our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@VAFAHQ">VAFA YOU TUBE CHANNEL!</a>

Joe Pignataro, Jason Bennett and Paddy Grindlay take an in-depth look each week at the VAFA, featuring interviews, analysis, humour, tips for the weekend’s game and more.

Joe Pignataro, Jason Bennett and Paddy Grindlay take an in-depth look each week at the VAFA, featuring interviews, analysis, humour, tips for the weekend’s game and more.

For the Love of the Game

Listen to weekly Podcasts covering the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) - Australia's largest senior community football competition - including For the Love of the Game, Inside the Boundary, VAFA Legends and Match of the Day Recap. Interviews, analysis, humour, tips and more!

Listen to weekly Podcasts covering the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) - Australia's largest senior community football competition - including For the Love of the Game, Inside the Boundary, VAFA Legends and Match of the Day Recap. Interviews, analysis, humour, tips and more!

VAFA Podcasts

Listen to weekly Podcasts covering the Victorian Amateur Football Association - Australia's largest senior community football competition.

Catch all the latest news, views, previews, results & analysis with our award-winning weekly podcast, FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME.

Plus, you can enjoy all the action and excitement of our award-winning VAFA SEN Match of the Day gameday coverage.

Listen to weekly Podcasts covering the Victorian Amateur Football Association - Australia's largest senior community football competition.
Catch all the latest news, views, previews, results &amp; analysis with our award-winning weekly podcast, FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME.
Plus, you can enjoy all the action and excitement of our award-winning VAFA SEN Match of the Day gameday coverage.

VAFA Podcast

You Never Forget Your First – For the Love of the Game’s Round 1 Review

Jason Bennett, Matty Donald, Hugo Higginbotham & Dylan 'Cench Footy' Humphries recap an all-timer of a weekend of VAFA footy!

The boys catch up with:
Old Haileybury hero DURRAS SECCULL after his game-winner on the siren against Caulfield Grammarians on the weekend. What was running through his mind as he kicked 2 goals in a couple of minutes to steal victory for the Bloods?
Caulfield Grammarians hero RORY UPTON, who slotted the game-winner AFTER the siren for the Fields' Holmesglen Under 19 Premier side - his first EVER goal for the club!
Our Under 19 reporter LACHIE MOIR talks us through an unbelievable Saturday of Holmesglen Under 19 action, which saw THREE 1-point games & a 3-POINT game!!

We deep dive into an incredible weekend of other results, covering EVERY senior men's & women's section:
The madness of PREMIER B MEN'S, as one team rose from 4th to 2nd despite LOSING!!
Which team became the first senior side to be held GOALLESS & WIN??!
Which team came from 47 points down & booted 6 goals AFTER the 22-minute mark of the final term to WIN??!
Which team posted its FIRST EVER WIN in the VAFA??!

Plus, all the old favourites:
BIG BAGS - Who kicked 11 goals on the weekend?
TON WATCH - 10 goals from Mitch Brown - is he back on top in the race for the century? Who is our new VAFA Women's leading goalkicker?
TIPS - Cenchy has correctly tipped Old Scotch U19's 5 weeks in a row. Does he back them again??!

Such a phenomenal weekend of footy & it makes for a fantastic episode of FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME!

Jason Bennett, Matty Donald, Hugo Higginbotham &amp; Dylan 'Cench Footy' Humphries recap an all-timer of a weekend of VAFA footy!
The boys catch up with:
<ul>
<li>Old Haileybury hero DURRAS SECCULL after his game-winner on the siren against Caulfield Grammarians on the weekend. What was running through his mind as he kicked 2 goals in a couple of minutes to steal victory for the Bloods?</li>
<li>Caulfield Grammarians hero RORY UPTON, who slotted the game-winner AFTER the siren for the Fields' Holmesglen Under 19 Premier side - his first EVER goal for the club!</li>
<li>Our Under 19 reporter LACHIE MOIR talks us through an unbelievable Saturday of Holmesglen Under 19 action, which saw THREE 1-point games &amp; a 3-POINT game!!</li>
</ul>
We deep dive into an incredible weekend of other results, covering EVERY senior men's &amp; women's section:
<ul>
<li>The madness of PREMIER B MEN'S, as one team rose from 4th to 2nd despite LOSING!!</li>
<li>Which team became the first senior side to be held GOALLESS &amp; WIN??!</li>
<li>Which team came from 47 points down &amp; booted 6 goals AFTER the 22-minute mark of the final term to WIN??!</li>
<li>Which team posted its FIRST EVER WIN in the VAFA??!</li>
</ul>
Plus, all the old favourites:
<ul>
<li>BIG BAGS - Who kicked 11 goals on the weekend?</li>
<li>TON WATCH - 10 goals from Mitch Brown - is he back on top in the race for the century? Who is our new VAFA Women's leading goalkicker?</li>
<li>TIPS - Cenchy has correctly tipped Old Scotch U19's 5 weeks in a row. Does he back them again??!</li>
</ul>
Such a phenomenal weekend of footy &amp; it makes for a fantastic episode of FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME!

FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME - Wk.10, 2026 in Review

Matthew Donald, Hugo Higginbotham & Elly Kirlis bring you VAFA's award-winning SEN Match of the Day coverage of the Round 9 clash between St Bernard's & University Blues from the Snake Pit.

Matthew Donald, Hugo Higginbotham &amp; Elly Kirlis bring you VAFA's award-winning SEN Match of the Day coverage of the Round 9 clash between St Bernard's &amp; University Blues from the Snake Pit.

VAFA SEN Match of the Day - Rd.9, 2026: St Bernard's vs University Blues

Jason Bennett, Matthew Donald & Hugo Higginbotham return with a giant DOUBLE-EPISODE of For the Love of the Game:
Big V Women's coach TOM PURCELL joins us for a look back at the team's triumph in Adelaide. He reveals what the entire experience meant to him & his key takeaways from an unforgettable weekend.
Big V Premier B-Division 3 coach JARROD GIESCHEN calls in to chat about his program, which kicks off this week, building up to the July 11 clash with Goulburn Valley League. What did he look for in players? What style of footy is he planning to play? What does it mean to his legendary father, Jeff, who will be joining him as an Assistant Coach?
The Big V Under 19 squad has been announced, and our regular Holmesglen Under 19 Premier expert LACHIE MOIR joins us to talk through the squad & review another action-packed Round 8 of Under 19 action.

Plus, as always:
ALL the SCORES & LADDERS from EVERY senior men's & women's section;
TON WATCH & BIG BAGS - thanks to Sherrin. We have a TIE at the top of the Ton Watch leaderboard!
Dylan 'CENCH FOOTY' Humphries joins us with his CENCH WATCH & CENCHY SHOUTOUTS - who deserves a special call-out from the great man this week?!
TIPS - Brayden still has Matty covered. Is this the week 'The Donald' makes his move? Cenchy holds a narrow lead over Lachie in the race for the Under 19 tips.

All that and so much more on a bursting-at-the-seams double-episode of FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME!

Jason Bennett, Matthew Donald &amp; Hugo Higginbotham return with a giant DOUBLE-EPISODE of For the Love of the Game:
<ul>
<li>Big V Women's coach TOM PURCELL joins us for a look back at the team's triumph in Adelaide. He reveals what the entire experience meant to him &amp; his key takeaways from an unforgettable weekend.</li>
<li>Big V Premier B-Division 3 coach JARROD GIESCHEN calls in to chat about his program, which kicks off this week, building up to the July 11 clash with Goulburn Valley League. What did he look for in players? What style of footy is he planning to play? What does it mean to his legendary father, Jeff, who will be joining him as an Assistant Coach?</li>
<li>The Big V Under 19 squad has been announced, and our regular Holmesglen Under 19 Premier expert LACHIE MOIR joins us to talk through the squad &amp; review another action-packed Round 8 of Under 19 action.</li>
</ul>
Plus, as always:
<ul>
<li>ALL the SCORES &amp; LADDERS from EVERY senior men's &amp; women's section;</li>
<li>TON WATCH &amp; BIG BAGS - thanks to Sherrin. We have a TIE at the top of the Ton Watch leaderboard!</li>
<li>Dylan 'CENCH FOOTY' Humphries joins us with his CENCH WATCH &amp; CENCHY SHOUTOUTS - who deserves a special call-out from the great man this week?!</li>
<li>TIPS - Brayden still has Matty covered. Is this the week 'The Donald' makes his move? Cenchy holds a narrow lead over Lachie in the race for the Under 19 tips.</li>
</ul>
All that and so much more on a bursting-at-the-seams double-episode of FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME!

You Never Forget Your First – For the Love of the Game’s Round 1 Review

For the Love of the Game

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