The season dates for the 2026 Smithy’s VFL and rebel VFLW competitions have been confirmed.
The 2026 Smithy’s VFL season will commence the weekend of March 21-22, in line with Round 2 of the Toyota AFL Premiership Season.
The Smithy’s VFL campaign will feature 21 home and away rounds, with all 22 clubs to play 18 matches and have three byes.
The finals series will be played across five weeks, commencing with Wildcard Finals on the weekend of August 22-23. The Smithy’s VFL Grand Final is scheduled to be played on Sunday, September 20.
The VFLW competition will move to a new season window from 2026 to allow greater alignment with the NAB AFLW competition. As announced in August, the NAB AFLW season timing will remain in its current timeslot indefinitely.
The opening round 2026 VFLW season will be played the weekend of May 16-17.
The VFLW home and away season will feature 16 rounds, with all 13 clubs to play 14 regular season matches and have two byes.
The updated season timing will now see the final three rounds of the VFLW home and away season crossover with the opening three rounds of the NAB AFLW competition.
The top-six teams on the VFLW ladder will qualify for finals, with the finals series to change to a three-week format.
The finals series will commence with two elimination finals on the weekend of September 5-6. The third-placed team on the ladder will play against sixth, while fourth will take on fifth.
The top-two teams on the ladder will have a bye during the elimination finals weekend and will advance directly to the preliminary finals, where the first-placed team will play the lower-ranked elimination final winner, while the second-placed team will take on the higher-ranked elimination final winner.
The two preliminary final winners will advance to the VFLW Grand Final, which will be on the same weekend as the Smithy’s VFL Grand Final.
AFL Head of State League Competitions, Jennie Loughnan, said: “We are pleased to confirm season dates for the 2026 Smithy’s VFL and VFLW seasons and provide our clubs and fans with certainty prior to the release of fixtures,” Loughnan said.
“After an extensive assessment of the VFLW season timing and with the NAB AFLW timeslot locked in for the foreseeable future, the decision to push back the VFLW season dates ensures more crossover with the NAB AFLW competition.
“We believe this will create a host of benefits for our clubs, players and fans. This includes maximising the opportunity for AFLW-listed players to play in the VFLW and allowing clubs to build on the match-day experience by hosting double-headers.
“Season dates for the Smithy’s VFL remain consistent with previous seasons, with the home and away season to commence in late March and conclude with the Smithy’s VFL Grand Final, which will again be played on the AFL preliminary final weekend.”
With season dates confirmed, the fixture build for the 2026 Smithy’s VFL and VFLW seasons will now commence.
