# 2021 VFL Women's season

The 2021 VFL Women's season was the fifth season of the VFL Women's (VFLW). The season commenced on 27 February and was eventually curtailed on 10 September 2021 by the COVID-19 pandemic in Victoria, causing the grand final to be cancelled and no premiership awarded. Collingwood were recognised as the minor premiers for their undefeated regular season.
Prior to the start of the season, the Coburg Football Club formed a women's team with a plan to join the VFLW in 2021. However, the plan did not eventuate.

## Clubs

* Carlton, Casey, Collingwood, Darebin, Essendon, Geelong Cats, Hawthorn
* North Melbourne, Port Melbourne, Southern Saints, Western Bulldogs, Williamstown

## Ladder

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | PF | PA | PP | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Collingwood | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 704 | 237 | 297.0 | 56 | Finals series |
| 2 | Geelong Cats | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 570 | 327 | 174.3 | 40 | Finals series |
| 3 | Port Melbourne | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 597 | 463 | 128.9 | 40 | Finals series |
| 4 | Casey | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 641 | 410 | 156.3 | 32 | Finals series |
| 5 | Essendon | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 523 | 336 | 155.7 | 32 | Finals series |
| 6 | Southern Saints | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 508 | 441 | 115.2 | 28 | Finals series |
| 7 | Western Bulldogs | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 424 | 559 | 75.8 | 28 | |
| 8 | Carlton | 14 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 437 | 548 | 79.7 | 24 | |
| 9 | Hawthorn | 14 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 500 | 531 | 94.2 | 20 | |
| 10 | North Melbourne | 14 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 390 | 619 | 63.0 | 20 | |
| 11 | Williamstown | 14 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 242 | 545 | 44.4 | 10 | |
| 12 | Darebin | 14 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 235 | 755 | 31.1 | 6 | |

## Finals series

Match-ups set using the second McIntyre final six system.

### Elimination and Qualifying finals

| | Elimination finals | Elimination finals | Elimination finals | | |
| Saturday, 3 July (12:00 pm) | Casey 5.2 (32) | def. by | Essendon 5.5 (35) | Casey Fields | Report |
| Sunday, 4 July (2:00 pm) | Port Melbourne 3.5 (23) | def. by | Southern Saints 7.15 (57) | ETU Stadium | Report |
| | Qualifying final | Qualifying final | Qualifying final | | |
| Saturday, 3 July (12:00 pm) | Collingwood 4.2 (26) | def. | Geelong Cats 2.8 (20) | Holden Centre | Report |

### Semi finals

| | Semi finals | Semi finals | Semi finals | | |
| Saturday, 10 July (12:00 pm) | Collingwood 2.6 (18) | def. | Essendon 1.5 (11) | Victoria Park | Report |
| Saturday, 10 July (2:00 pm) | Geelong Cats 6.4 (40) | def. | Southern Saints 5.3 (33) | GMHBA Stadium | Report |

### Preliminary final

| | Preliminary final | Preliminary final | Preliminary final | | |
| Saturday, 31 July (12:00 pm) | Essendon 2.5 (17) | def. by | Geelong Cats 6.9 (45) | Windy Hill | Report |
| Match originally scheduled for 17 July 2021, but was postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak causing a lockdown in Victoria from 16 July 2021. Match played behind closed doors. ||||||

### Grand Final

| | 2021 VFLW Grand Final (cancelled) | 2021 VFLW Grand Final (cancelled) | 2021 VFLW Grand Final (cancelled) |
| | Collingwood | v | Geelong Cats |
| | | Q1 Q2 Q3 Final | |
| Match originally scheduled for 25 July 2021, but was originally postponed to 8 August due to a COVID-19 outbreak causing a lockdown in Victoria from 16 July 2021. The Grand Final was further postponed with the lockdown extended into September. On 10 September 2021 the AFL cancelled the VFLW Grand Final and advised no premiership would be awarded for the 2021 season. ||||||

## Awards

* Lambert-Pearce Medal (Best and Fairest): Georgia Nanscawen (Essendon) – 17 votes
* Rohenna Young Medal (Leading Goal kicker): Imogen Barnett (Collingwood) – 20 goals
* Debbie Lee Medal (Rising Star): Eliza West (Casey)
* Coach of the Year: Chloe McMillan (Collingwood)
* Lisa Hardeman Medal (Best on ground VFL Women's Grand Final): Not awarded
2021 VFL Women's Team of the Year :
| B: | Victoria Blackwood (Darebin) | Jasmine Ferguson (Collingwood) | |
| HB: | Molly Eastman (North Melbourne) | Lucy Burke (Southern Saints) | Alice Burke (Southern Saints) |
| C: | Airlie Runnalls (North Melbourne) | Georgia Nanscawen (Essendon) (c) | Laura Gardiner (Geelong Cats) |
| HF: | Sophie Locke (Port Melbourne) | Tara Bohanna (Southern Saints) | Alana Barba (Essendon) |
| F: | Imogen Milford (Casey) | Imogen Barnett (Collingwood) | |
| Foll: | Olivia Fuller (Geelong Cats) | Eliza West (Casey) | Megan Kiely (North Melbourne) |
| Int: | Aimee Whelan (Williamstown) | Claudia Gunjaca (Geelong Cats) | Caitlin Bunker (Collingwood) |
| Int: | Jorja Borg (Carlton) | Matila Zander (Collingwood) | |
| Coach: | Chloe McMillan (Collingwood) | Chloe McMillan (Collingwood) | Chloe McMillan (Collingwood) |

### Club best and fairest winners

| Club | Best & Fairest |
| Carlton | Akayla Peterson |
| Casey | Eliza West |
| Collingwood | Imogen Barnett |
| Darebin | Nicole Callinan |
| Essendon | Eloise Ashley-Cooper |
| Geelong Cats | Claudia Gunjaca |
| Hawthorn | Tamara Luke |
| North Melbourne | Meagan Kiely |
| Port Melbourne | Claire Dyett |
| Southern Saints | Tara Bohanna |
| Western Bulldogs | Simone Ruedin |
| Williamstown | Ruby Tripodi |