By David Nagel
Beaconsfield’s Holm Park Reserve will host some elite-level football over the coming months with Richmond VFL to play three home-games at the venue in 2025.
The VFL Tigers will play home games at various venues this season, with the redevelopment of the Swinburne Centre at Punt Road causing the club to look for alternatives.
Richmond has already built a strong connection with Holm Park Reserve, with the AFL Club having training runs and having played practice matches at the facility as part of its ongoing partnership with Cardinia Shire Council.
The VFL Tigers will open their 2025 campaign with a home game at Beaconsfield against Coburg on Sunday 23 March, and then return 13 days later for a round-three clash with Brisbane Lions on Saturday 5 April.
The Tigers will round out their three Beaconsfield home games with a round-11 showdown with Sydney Swans on Saturday 7 June.
Richmond will also be in close proximity for its adoring local fans when the Tigers take on Casey Demons at Casey Fields in round-five on Thursday 24 April.
The AFL fixture release includes the full schedule for rounds 1-13 of the Smithy’s VFL and rounds 1-9 of the Rebel VFLW.
Match ups for rounds 14-21 of the Smithy’s VFL and rounds 10-14 of the Rebel VFLW have also been announced.
Dates, times and venues for those rounds will be confirmed after the corresponding rounds of the AFL fixture are announced later in the year.
All matches in the 2025 Smithy’s VFL and Rebel VFLW seasons will be live streamed free via the AFL website, AFL Live Official App and VFL App.
AFL Head of State League Competitions, Jennie Loughnan, said both the VFL and VFLW competitions were in a healthy state heading into an exciting and fresh new season.
“2025 shapes as an exciting year across the Smithy’s VFL and Rebel VFLW and we are pleased to announce the home and away fixtures,” Loughnan said.
“Both competitions enjoyed memorable campaigns last year and we look forward to continuing to build on that momentum throughout the 2025 season.
“Eighteen players from the Smithy’s VFL and eight players from the Rebel VFLW have been selected by AFL and AFLW clubs over the past 12 months and we look forward to watching more stars of the game emerge this year.
“The 2025 Smithy’s VFL campaign will see new chapters written in the storied history of the competition’s traditional rivalries.
“I thank all VFL and VFLW clubs for working closely with us throughout the development of the 2025 fixtures.
“I also wish to sincerely thank our fans for their patience and understanding as we factored in the many considerations that impact our fixtures and scheduling to ensure we can land on the best outcome for our competitions and clubs.”
The same 21 teams from Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland who competed across the past two seasons will again feature in the Smithy’s VFL competition this year.
The 2025 Smithy’s VFL home-and-away season will consist of 21 rounds, with every team to play 18 matches.
The top-10 teams on the ladder at the conclusion of the home and away season will qualify for the Smithy’s VFL Finals Series, which will commence with the Wildcard finals on the weekend of August 23-24.
The finals series will again be played across five weeks and will conclude with the 2025 Smithy’s VFL Grand Final on the weekend of September 20-21.
