West Gippsland Football Netball Competition
The West Gippsland Football Netball Competition (WGFNC) is an Australian rules football and netball league in the West Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. The competition comprises four grades of football (seniors, reserves, under-18 and under-16) and six grades of netball (A-grade, B-grade, C-grade, 17-&-Under, 15-&-Under and 13-&-Under). The competition is not to be confused with the former West Gippsland Football League which merged with the Gippsland Latrobe Football League at the end of 2001 to form the West Gippsland Latrobe Football League. History A Senior Leagues Review that commenced at the beginning of 2015, conducted by AFL Gippsland to address issues of competitive imbalance and club sustainability, brought major change to structure of the lower Gippsland area. The West Gippsland Football Netball Competition in its present incarnation began in 2017 as part of the AFL Gippsland Senior Football Leagues Review of 2015–16. Five teams from the Ellinbank & District Football League became founding members - Cora Lynn, Nar Nar Goon, Koo Wee Rup, Bunyip and Garfield - while five teams crossed over from the Alberton Football League - Phillip Island, Kilcunda Bass, Dalyston, Inverloch Kongwak and Korumburra-Bena. 2017 season The first ever WGFNC match was played as a stand-alone night game between Cora Lynn and Inverloch-Kongwak. Both teams would enjoy a successful season finishing 2nd and 1st on the ladder respectively. They wouldn't end up meeting again until they played each other in the semi-finals. The inaugural WGFNC grand final was again contested between Inverloch-Kongwak and Cora Lynn at Wonthaggi recreation reserve. Both teams had competed in grand finals the year before. Inverloch-Kongwak were coming off a 17-point defeat at the hands of Fish Creek in the Alberton Football League the year before, whilst Cora Lynn were on a streak of 3 successive premierships. Inverloch-Kongwak dominated the match, defeating Cora Lynn by a massive 95-points. The victory was Inverloch-Kongwak's seventh senior premiership, their first since 1986. 2018 season Twelve months later, Phillip Island defeated Koo Wee Rup by a massive 99-points in what was one of the most one-sided grand finals in country football history. Koo Wee Rup who had finished in third position on the ladder failed to kick a single goal, instead score scoring just 3-points for the entire match. The win marked Phillip Island's fifth senior premiership, having won one four years prior in the Alberton Football League. In the 2018 AFL Gippsland League Review, saw Tooradin Dalmore and Warragul Industrials approved to relocate into the West Gippsland League from the 2019 season, expanding the competition to twelve clubs. 2019 season For the 2019 season the league had expanded with Tooradin-Dalmore and Warragul Industrials joining the WGFNC in 2019. Phillips Island and Cora Lynn would both start the season very well, remaining undefeated for the first eight rounds. This run looked to be under threat for one of the teams when they were scheduled to play each other in round 9 at the Cowes recreation reserve. Unexpectedly, both teams managed to retain their undefeated record with the