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 match concluding in a thrilling drawn result. Onlookers agreed that this was the most fitting result, with many witnesses to the game describing it as one of the best games of country football they had ever seen.
Phillip Island would go on to maintain their undefeated record for the rest of the home & away season whilst Cora Lynn would finish second on the ladder having lost only two.
The two clubs would only meet again in the grand final. A cloudy day at the Garfield recreation reserve, would see Phillip Island get the early upper hand before Cora Lynn kick a few goals to again make it a close contest.
In another close affair between the two clubs, Phillip Island would their second consecutive premiership, this time by only 4-points in the closest WGFNC grand final yet. It was a day for close games with the reserve grade seeing Tooradin-Dalmore defeating Koo Wee Rup with a goal after the siren.
2020 season cancellation
The COVID-19 pandemic meant that 2020 season was cancelled due to government restrictions for sport and recreation. Efforts were made to run a modified junior competition, however further restrictions meant that these plans had to be abandoned, with a focus to return to normal competition in 2021.