# 2010 VFL season

The 2010 VFL season was the 129th season of the Victorian Football Association/Victorian Football League, a second-tier Australian rules football competition played in the state of Victoria.
The North Ballarat Football Club won the 2010 VFL Grand Final, recording its third premiership in a row.

## Teams

This season featured the addition of the Queensland-based Gold Coast Football Club to the league, the first new club in the VFL since Tasmania entered in 2001. Gold Coast's participation in the VFL was as part of the club's preparation for its entry into the Australian Football League in 2011: the club had played one season of under-18s football in the TAC Cup in 2009, then was to play one season of state/reserves football in the VFL in 2010 before its AFL senior debut.
The VFL continued to serve as both the top state-level football league in Victoria, and as a reserves competition for Victorian-based clubs in the Australian Football League, as had been the case since 2000. The affiliation agreements between VFL and AFL clubs were unchanged from 2009.

## Ladder

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | PF | PA | PP | Pts | |
| 1 | Williamstown | 18 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 2174 | 1312 | 165.7 | 60 | Finals |
| 2 | North Ballarat (P) | 18 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 1650 | 1260 | 131.0 | 60 | Finals |
| 3 | Casey Scorpions | 18 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 1619 | 1471 | 110.1 | 56 | Finals |
| 4 | Port Melbourne | 18 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 1946 | 1506 | 129.2 | 52 | Finals |
| 5 | Box Hill Hawks | 18 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 1663 | 1531 | 108.6 | 44 | Finals |
| 6 | Northern Bullants | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 1814 | 1539 | 117.9 | 40 | Finals |
| 7 | Collingwood | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 1672 | 1509 | 110.8 | 40 | Finals |
| 8 | Bendigo Bombers | 18 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 1564 | 1533 | 102.0 | 40 | Finals |
| 9 | Sandringham | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 1366 | 1463 | 93.4 | 28 | |
| 10 | Gold Coast | 18 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 1409 | 1706 | 82.6 | 22 | |
| 11 | Coburg Tigers | 18 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 1502 | 1757 | 85.5 | 20 | |
| 12 | Geelong | 18 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 1401 | 1743 | 80.4 | 20 | |
| 13 | Werribee | 18 | 4 | 13 | 1 | 1586 | 1957 | 81.0 | 18 | |
| 14 | Frankston | 18 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 1000 | 2079 | 48.1 | 4 | |

## Finals

The preliminary finals and the reserves Grand Final were moved from TEAC Oval to Box Hill City Oval because heavy rain and frequent use during September had left TEAC Oval unplayable.
| Qualifying and elimination finals | Qualifying and elimination finals | Qualifying and elimination finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Preliminary finals | Preliminary finals | Preliminary finals | Grand final | Grand final | Grand final |
| Aug 28, Box Hill City Oval | Aug 28, Box Hill City Oval | Aug 28, Box Hill City Oval | | | | | | | | | |
| 1 | Williamstown | 19.15 (129) | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Port Melbourne | 10.11 (71) | 5 Sep, TEAC Oval | 5 Sep, TEAC Oval | 5 Sep, TEAC Oval | | | | |
| | | | Port Melbourne | Port Melbourne | 12.17 (89) | | | | |
| 29 Aug, Box Hill City Oval | 29 Aug, Box Hill City Oval | 29 Aug, Box Hill City Oval | Box Hill Hawks | Box Hill Hawks | 14.11 (95) | 11 Sep, Box Hill City Oval | 11 Sep, Box Hill City Oval | 11 Sep, Box Hill City Oval | | | |
| 5 | Box Hill Hawks | 20.16 (136) | | | | Williamstown | Williamstown | 11.12 (78) | |
| 8 | Bendigo Bombers | 10.11 (71) | | | | Northern Bullants | Northern Bullants | 16.8 (104) | 19 Sep, Etihad Stadium | 19 Sep, Etihad Stadium | 19 Sep, Etihad Stadium |
| | | | | | | | | | North Ballarat | North Ballarat | 20.13 (133) |
| 28 Aug, TEAC Oval | 28 Aug, TEAC Oval | 28 Aug, TEAC Oval | | | | 12 Sep, Box Hill City Oval | 12 Sep, Box Hill City Oval | 12 Sep, Box Hill City Oval | Northern Bullants | Northern Bullants | 13.8 (86) |
| 6 | Northern Bullants | 15.18 (108) | | | | North Ballarat | North Ballarat | 16.18 (114) | | |
| 7 | Collingwood | 8.9 (57) | 4 Sep, TEAC Oval | 4 Sep, TEAC Oval | 4 Sep, TEAC Oval | Box Hill Hawks | Box Hill Hawks | 6.17 (53) | | |
| | | | Casey Scorpions | Casey Scorpions | 9.6 (60) | | | | | | |
| 29 Aug, TEAC Oval | 29 Aug, TEAC Oval | 29 Aug, TEAC Oval | Northern Bullants | Northern Bullants | 10.11 (71) | | | | | |
| 2 | North Ballarat | 18.8 (116) | | | | | | | | | |
| 3 | Casey Scorpions | 13.6 (84) | | | | | | | | |

### Grand Final

| | 2010 VFL Grand Final | 2010 VFL Grand Final | 2010 VFL Grand Final | | |
| Sunday 19 September (2:15 pm) | North Ballarat | def. | Northern Bullants | Etihad Stadium (crowd: 11,000) | |
| | 6.5 (41) 10.9 (69) 14.9 (93) 20.13 (133) | Q1 Q2 Q3 Final | 1.1 (7) 5.3 (33) 10.5 (65) 13.8 (86) | Norm Goss Memorial Medal: Myles Sewell (North Ballarat) | Norm Goss Memorial Medal: Myles Sewell (North Ballarat) |
| Hale 3, Jones 3, J. Smith 3, Dinnell 2, Driscoll 2, Feery, Harding, Micallef, Norris, I. Smith, Stephenson, White | Hale 3, Jones 3, J. Smith 3, Dinnell 2, Driscoll 2, Feery, Harding, Micallef, Norris, I. Smith, Stephenson, White | Goals | Fisher 4, Ellard 2, Jacobs 2, Iacobucci, McCorkell, Neaves, Thomas, Tuohy | Fisher 4, Ellard 2, Jacobs 2, Iacobucci, McCorkell, Neaves, Thomas, Tuohy |

## Awards

* The J. J. Liston Trophy was jointly won by Steve Clifton (North Ballarat) and Shane Valenti (Port Melbourne), who each polled 20 votes. Ed Curnow (Box Hill) finished third on 13 votes, despite breaking his leg in Round 13 and missing the remainder of the season.
* The Frosty Miller Medal was won by Matthew Little (Williamstown), who kicked 80 goals for the season.
* The Fothergill–Round Medal was won by Michael Hibberd (Frankston)
* The top three teams after the finals – North Ballarat, Northern Bullants and Williamstown – qualified for the 2011 Foxtel Cup.
* Box Hill won the reserves premiership. Box Hill 17.20 (122) defeated Williamstown 16.9 (105) in the Grand Final, held as a curtain-raiser to the Seniors First Preliminary Final on 11 September.
2010 VFL Team of the Year :
| B: | Michael Stockdale (Casey) | Peter Faulks (Williamstown) | Adam Iacobucci (Northern Bullants) |
| HB: | Michael Hibberd (Frankston) | Sam Pleming (Port Melbourne) | Cameron Richardson (North Ballarat) |
| C: | Ben Davies (Williamstown) | Brett Johnson (Williamstown) | Sam Power (Coburg Tigers) |
| HF: | David Swallow (Gold Coast) | Callum Sinclair (Port Melbourne) | Steve Clifton (North Ballarat) |
| F: | Zac Smith (Gold Coast) | Matthew Little (Williamstown) | Shane Valenti (Port Melbourne) |
| Foll: | Orren Stephenson (North Ballarat) | Myles Sewell (North Ballarat) | Ed Curnow (Box Hill) |
| Int: | Russell Gabriel (Frankston) | Dom Gleeson (Werribee) | James Wall (Casey) |
| Int: | Toby Pinwill (Port Melbourne) | Jonothan Simpkin (Geelong) | Ben Jolley (Williamstown) |
| Coach: | Gerard FitzGerald (North Ballarat) | Gerard FitzGerald (North Ballarat) | Gerard FitzGerald (North Ballarat) |

## Notable events

* For the second consecutive season, Bendigo was not permitted to use its home ground Queen Elizabeth Oval after May due to an unfit surface. The club's remaining home matches were played at either Windy Hill or Strathfieldsaye Oval.