AFL Victoria is set to review the circumstances that led to Kyneton Football Netball Club’s (KFNC) women’s side breaking away to form their own entity following allegations of a “volatile environment”.
KFNC has denied the allegations from departing women’s players.
The review will be assisted by Taryn Lee, a strategic advisor who was involved in the Collingwood Football Club’s “Do Better” review and its implementation.
It comes as women’s teams across the country struggle to field sides at long-standing clubs, which players attribute in part to cultural differences and inequitable treatment.
Leaders and players within women’s footy argue that bringing female teams into systems that have been long male dominated is often unsustainable without cultural change, given the different needs of women and girls.
This follows claims of poor treatment, inequitable access to resources and a lack of club support from players around Victoria.
‘Why are we still fighting to play football?’
Following the introduction of AFLW in 2017, women’s and girls’ participation surged with about 600,000 now playing across the country. This is compared to about 600 in 2015, according to figures from the AFL.
But across the country, concerns are being raised about the health of women’s clubs, particularly in regional areas, and several have folded due to a lack of participation.
Players from Kyneton Women’s Club during training. (Supplied: Sophie McLeod)
Kate Tellefson, who plays at Frankston Football Club Womens, has been a part of three women’s sides that have folded.
The latest being Seaford Football Netball Club (SFNC), which axed its women’s teams this year after not having enough players to field a single team for the 2025 season, despite fielding two teams in 2024.
The others were Mount Eliza, which failed to field a team past its inaugural season in 2016, and the Frankston Bombers, who struggled to get a women’s team back up after the COVID years.
Tellefson, who was also the women’s football director at SFNC before resigning mid-2024, was among several former players who told the ABC they felt women were not treated equally to men at the club and felt the club did not adequately address their issues.
Kyneton women’s team players have made claims of inequitable treatment. (Supplied: Kyneton Women’s Football Club)
One former player, who wanted to remain anonymous so she could speak freely without fear of repercussions within the community, said the situation at Seaford was “really heartbreaking”.
She said after several discussions with key club people, many players got to the point where they were in meetings asking themselves: “Why are we still fighting to play football in 2024?”
In a statement provided to the ABC, SFNC acknowledged some players expressed dissatisfaction, particularly with coaching approaches, but said claims that players’ concerns were ignored were not accurate.
“Right up to our season launch, we were hopeful that new or returning players would help us reach numbers. Sadly, this did not eventuate. Our intention is to relaunch the women’s football program at Seaford in 2026 with renewed energy and support,” the statement read.
“We acknowledge the challenges of the past season and are committed to rebuilding a vibrant and supportive women’s program. We remain deeply proud of our female athletes and volunteers and are determined to see women’s football thrive again at Seaford in 2026 and beyond.”
‘Ongoing devaluing of women who play football’
Seaford is one of many Mornington Peninsula Football Netball League clubs that have struggled with women’s participation numbers, including Sorrento, Devon Meadows, Hastings, Rosebud, Frankston Bombers, Pines and Mount Eliza.
Cerberus had to merge with Crib Point, and so did Balnarring and Red Hill, to continue to play.
In Tasmania, Evandale, one of the oldest women’s teams in the state, went into recess for the 2025 season and Brighton withdrew from the Southern Football League citing a lack of players.
Meander Valley looked headed for a similar fate before a public outcry saved them for another season.
In the Change Our Game — State of Play Survey, almost one third (28 per cent) of women who played community sport said they had considered leaving their club due to inequitable treatment.
In the report released in July 2023, of the 670 Victorians canvassed, more than half reported gendered discrimination in community sport and 55 per cent said they had experienced or seen sexist language and jokes.
Clubs across the country are struggling to field women’s teams. (Supplied: Kyneton Women’s Football Club )
Kellie Sanders is a lecturer at La Trobe University who has researched barriers to women’s sport across Aussie rules, rugby, soccer and American football across the globe.
She said women often received “second-class treatment”, including in accessing resources or grounds.
“But the cultural one is this ongoing devaluing of women who play football,” Dr Sanders said.
“So what my data would suggest is that there’s something about the values and beliefs of those in positions of authority that impacts how women’s teams are supported or not.”
‘We don’t want to be bottom rung’
Pioneer of elite women’s football and AFLW commentator, Chyloe Kurdas, has been involved in women’s footy since she played for Parkdale and Melbourne Uni in the late 90s and early 2000s.
Since the introduction of AFLW, she said there had been a real haste and a lot of enthusiasm to set up women’s teams at existing clubs but without an understanding of how to make them sustainable.
Kurdas says female-only or female-run clubs have been the most enduring. (Getty: Jonathan DiMaggio/AFL Photos/via Getty Images)
The clubs she has found to have been the most enduring have been female-only and female-run clubs, such as Melbourne University and Darebin.
Diamond Creek and Western Spurs started as teams integrated into men’s club structures, but eventually left to stand on their own, which then supported their significant success.
Kurdas said these clubs made decisions top down with the needs of women and girls at the fore.
Whereas, in existing clubs, women have had to integrate into systems already there, often with a mentality of: “We’ll give you some footies, we’ll give you a coach, we’ll give you some jumpers, we’ll give you a ground to train on, as long as it doesn’t impact the boys.”
Women’s teams are often diverse and inclusive. (Getty: Kelly Defina/AFL Photos)
She said when cracks started to show at clubs that had added women’s teams on, things could become difficult.
“Then there’s this unspoken, perceived hierarchy of what’s the most important at a club, who gets prioritised,” she said.
“And so what you end up with is the women say, ‘This doesn’t feel great. It’s unsafe now for us to stay here.
“‘We don’t feel valued and respected, we don’t want to play, we don’t want to be bottom rung [of the ladder]. We want to just be treated fairly.’ And that’s the issue.“
Furthermore, Kurdas added, there could often be a clash of culture as women’s footy was particularly queer-friendly and forward.
“Women are already using a lot of social courage to come and play footy and then are coming into these footy clubs, which are the epitome of that traditional masculinity,” she said.
“And so the psychological and the emotional transition, the cultural transition that needs to occur, it’s probably the most important bit … because the needs of women and girls are really different.
“And people have really underestimated how important that investment is in that cultural transition and adaptation for both entities — the women’s and men’s clubs coming together and saying: ‘What does it mean for us to have an integrated club?.'”
The AFL has been contacted for comment.
