League chair Rodney Stephens announced at the annual general meeting on Wednesday, November 26 that it had been granted approval for the inclusion of under-15 football, effective for the upcoming season.
The decision was made following discussions with AFL VC Regional Council and the Bendigo Junior Football League over the past two years.
The change was made to strengthen the development pathway for young players, while helping clubs identify and nurture talent earlier.
The league said it made the inclusion to deepen community engagement at club and league level, boost participation and support long-term league sustainability by ensuring a steady flow of well-prepared athletes into seniors.
League general manager Jan Mannes emphasised how the inclusion would not only help to keep players in the league and with their grassroots teams, but make it easier for families to travel and organise sporting commitments.
“It brings small communities together, the families travel together and will be good longevity for those clubs to have players involved at that age and then follow through for under-18s and into the seniors,” Mannes said.
“With the cost of travel and all the rest, it's a contributing factor to drop-out of football, you know, numbers and players.
“So, having it all together in one competition is conducive to allowing those players to play that game, and we're all about numbers, so it keeps the numbers going and it keeps the families together.”
There will be a transitional period for Bendigo clubs in particular to move from the BJFL to the HDFL, with the new grade including a club new to the competition: Runnymede Junior Football Club.
Runnymede is a junior feeder club to Elmore and Colbinabbin and its inclusion in the under-15s will allow players to stay with the club a little longer before choosing one of the Bloods, Grasshoppers or elsewhere as their senior club.
Mannes expects there to be six clubs in the under-15s in 2026, with the rest of the clubs coming over gradually, eventually ending up as a nine-club competition.
She also believes the under-15s will start their 2026 matches at roughly 9am, pushing the rest of the grades back five to 10 minutes.
“The board is so pleased that all this work that they've done has been successful,” she said.
“It's taken a lot of work and is exciting for the clubs to be allowed to have their families stay together with their communities and for those clubs that haven't got a team in to see them build towards the 2027 season will be exciting.”
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