Women’s footy finds fairway with golf club support

THE Portarlington Football Netball Club will field its first senior women’s football team in 2026, with a funding boost from the town’s golf club set to support the program’s launch.

The Demons have this month received a $5,360 grant from the Portarlington Golf Club, funds that will be put towards apparel and much-needed equipment for the football club’s emerging stars.

The Portarlington Golf Club is a long-standing supporters of the PFNC, and chief executive Michael Phillips said the grant served as an “investment in something that will be absolutely brilliant for the entire community”.

“I think everyone around town knows the club has really taken some big steps forward in the past couple of years and this new aspect is something I’m certain we’ll all look back on in the future as a key moment in the club’s history.

“We’re rapt to be a small part of it.”

PFNC president Steve Cogger said the support, which follows the recent appointment of the team’s inaugural coach Sarah Perrott, couldn’t have come at a better time.

“We already are working hand-in-hand with the golf club in different areas, so for Michael and his team to step up again for us at a watershed moment in our history means a great deal,” he said.

“We’ve already got a lot of interest [in our women’s program], but this funding will help attract the next generation of young talent that will hopefully make our whole community proud and engaged with the club.”

Perrott said the funding would help lay the foundation for a strong and inclusive women’s program with a clear pathway to elite football.

“It’s support like this that will make our program create a welcoming environment that will, in turn, enable us to create sustainable success for years to come”.

PFNC is one of four local organisations to this year receive grants from the Portarlington Golf Club through its Community Contribution Fund, sharing in more than $14,000 alongside Food Assist 3223, the Bellarine Agricultural Society and the Wallington Cricket Club.

Mr Phillips said the donations have become incredibly important within the community and the golf club was happy to again extend support to these “incredibly worthy projects”.