

The official weekly podcast of the Victorian Football League, talking all things Smithy’s VFL and rebel VFLW.
Gold Coast Suns are the 2023 VFL Premiers!
The Gold Coast Suns are this years VFL Premiers after holding out Werribee by 19 points on Sunday.
The Suns have been the benchmark of the competition all year and reigned supreme when it mattered most.
Hear from Charlie Constable and Josh Drummond in the post-game.
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Grand Final preview and a historic night at the VFL/W Awards in 2023
Joe Pignataro and Lucy Watkin bring you the latest news from the Smithy's VFL and Rebel VFLW season for 2023.
Heading into the Smithy's VFL Grand Final hear from both coaches, Michael Barlow (Werribee) and Josh Drummond (Gold Coast) from the Palladium Ballroom at Crown on the VFL/W awards night.
Incredibly, this years Lambert-Pearce Medal is a 3-way tie, Joe and Lucy speak to each winner and the J.J Liston Trophy winner is Jarryd Lyons from the Brisbane Lions.
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Prelim Final Weekend, the toughest games of the season to win
The penultimate weekend of the 2023 Smithy's VFL season pins the Box Hill Hawks against the Gold Coast Suns, and Werribee welcomes Brisbane to Victoria. The winner of these 2 matches will face off in this years Grand Final
6:20: Callum Porter; Box Hill Hawks co-captain after the Hawks won through to the Preliminary Final against the Suns on the back of beating Footscray by 20 points
16:30: Tom Gribble; Werribee stalwart is looking forward to facing the Lions at home this Saturday for a spot in the Grand Final
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Sweet 16 for Werribee as the Scray chase down an even dozen!
It was a Super Saturday to kickstart the Smithy's VFL finals series for 2023.
Werribee made it 16 wins in a row to book a spot in the Preliminary Final, whilst the Gold Coast Suns stamped themselves as Premiership favourites beating Brisbane in the Q-Clash. Williamstown continue their fairytale run this year dismantling the Magpies and the Scray were able to keep their 11-game winning streak alive smashing Casey.
7:30: Caleb Poulter; Footscray midfielder after extending his contract for a further 2 years with the Western Bulldogs
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Take me to the Gold Coast Suns in Queensland WOAH!
Wildcard Weekend proved to be successful for Collingwood and the Casey Demons who have both advanced to the 2023 Smithy's VFL finals series.
This weekend is headlined by the minor premiers Gold Coast facing off against the Brisbane Lions in the Q-Clash at Heritage Bank Stadium on Saturday night.
6:40: Chris Burgess; Gold Coast Suns forward has gone back-to-back in winning the Frosty Miller Medal, this year equal on 51 goals with Suns teammate Brodie McLaughlin
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Tigers roar into the Wildcard Weekend
Richmond knew what they needed to do on Sunday against the Kangaroos in the final round of the Smithy's VFL season, whilst Gold Coast have claimed this years minor Premiership
8:30: Mutaz El Nour; Richmond defender who has been invited to attend this years AFL Draft Combine.
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Carlton exorcise their Demons as the Scray are barking mad
The final round of the Smithy's VFL season promises to be a beauty with every spot from 1st to 11th still open for business. Before looking ahead, Joe & Lucy look back on the weekend that saw the Dogs win a ninth straight game whilst Carlton upset the Casey Demons to keep their season alive.
7:40: Ben Ronke; Carlton Forward after kicking 2 goals for the Blues on Sunday at Ikon Park in their 8 point win over Casey
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From ugly ducklings to beautiful Swans and will the Hawks muzzle the Dogs bite?
There's plenty to recap from Round 20 of the Smithy's VFL as Sydney put together a brilliant performance over the Giants. Werribee have created history of their own with a 14th straight win.
7:00: Zane Littlejohn; Coach of the Box Hill Hawks ahead of the headline match this weekend between Box Hill and Footscray
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Flag Port dream becomes a reality & the Tigers on the verge of their own slice of history
What a way to finish the 2023 rebel VFLW season, Port Melbourne in a thriller over Collingwood to claim this year's premiership.
In the Smithy's VFL, Werribee are on a 13-game winning streak with no sign of slowing down in the run to the finals.
9:00: Lauren Caruso; Lisa Hardeman Medallist - the best player on the field in the Grand Final as Port Melbourne claimed their first ever VFLW premiership
26:50: Shaun Mannagh; Werribee's midfield/goal kicking machine in 2023 is part of the terrific run the Tigers are on in the race for September
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The full-blown preview of the 2023 Rebel VFLW Grand Final
We have got our 2 Rebel VFLW Grand Final sides, Collingwood and Port Melbourne will do battle on Sunday at ETU Stadium to determine the champion of the most topsy-turvy rollercoaster season of VFLW football in history.
9:00: Chloe McMillan, coach of Collingwood VFLW, and Caitlin Bunker, captain of Collingwood VFLW taking a look at the game through the black and white lens
19:00: Sean Buncle, coach of Port Melbourne VFLW, and Claire Dyett, captain of the Borough after winning through against the Bombers in the Preliminary Final on Sunday.
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Jolley the new VFL Games Record Holder & Previewing the VFLW Preliminary Final
It's a big weekend coming in both the Smithy's VFL and Rebel VFLW season.
9:00: Federica Frew; Port Melbourne forward will face off against her old-side in this weekends Preliminary Final for a spot in the Grand Final against Collingwood.
19:10: Ben Jolley; VFL Games Record Holder ahead of his record-breaking game as Williamstown face off against Essendon, where it all started for Ben many moons ago.
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Carlton give Williamstown the Blues as the Dogs go high-fiving
Another bumper edition of State of Play after the opening weekend of the Rebel VFLW finals series, while we're starting to get to the pointy end of the Smithy's VFL season.
10:15: Christina Bernardi; Carlton VFLW Captain after the Blues beat Williamstown by 4 points to advance through to the semi-finals next weekend
18:10: Lachie Sullivan; Captain of Footscray talks through the Dogs winning their fifth game in a row, and looking ahead to Sydney on Friday
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It's Rebel VFLW finals time & 'Moose' Munro clocks up 150
We are on the doorstep of the Rebel VFLW finals series for 2023.
This year has been the most hotly contested, and even season of footy the Rebel VFLW has produced. On Lucy Watkin's return, hear the full preview of each final.
8:00: Caitlin Bunker; Collingwood VFLW Captain after the Magpies secured the minor premiership
15:45: Jimmy Munro; Ahead of his 150th VFL game as Casey make the trek to Trevor Barker Oval to face Sandringham
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1 round to go, 1 team locked into VFLW finals, the rest is anyones guess?
Heading into the final round of the VFLW season only Port Melbourne is locked in to feature in this year's finals series. Positions from 2nd to 9th are still up for grabs.
8:20: Claire Dyett; Port Melbourne captain after the Borough secured their finals berth for 2023
16:40: Nicholas Holloway; AFL Victoria School & Inclusion Manager ahead of a weekend of FIDA activations at the Smithys VFL
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Wilson celebrates 150 and Don't Write off the Kangaroos
Round 13 of the Rebel VFLW season again threw the ladder into chaos. With a fortnight to go, all spots are still up for grabs!
Gold Coast moved back to the top of the table, trading places with the Brisbane Lions after both Queensland sides produced emphatic victories.
9:00: Tom Wilson, Collingwood playing assistant coach brings up his 150th game this weekend vs. Sydney
18:00: Jess Jones, North Melbourne VFLW captain with a stern message for Joey - Don't write off the Kangaroos
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A Swansong for Sydney as Box Hill send the Lions packing
An entertaining Round 12 of the Smithy's VFL season saw the Sydney Swans claim their first win of the year over the Zebras.
Box Hill inflicted the Lions with their first loss of the season, while Werribee made it 7 wins in a row as Williamstown celebrated Ben Jolley's 300th game in style.
5:55: Damian Truslove; Coach of the Swans takes us inside the four walls of the last gasp win over Sandy.
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