The Monash Blues Football Club is an Australian rules football club that represents Monash University in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA).
The club was formed in 1961 as Monash University, changing its name to the Blues when the Monash Whites joined the VAFA in 1964. In 2001, the two teams merged, and the Whites now compete as the Blues' Club XVIII team.
As of 2024, the club's men's team competes in the Premier C division of the VAFA, while the women's team is in the Premier Division of the VAFA Women's (VAFAW).
History Monash University Football Club was formed in 1961, shortly after Monash University opened on 13 March of that year. Whilst too late to be accepted into a local competition for the 1961 season, the club played internal matches, as well as matches against teams from Newman College, Ormond College and Burwood Teachers' College. In 1962, the club entered the VAFA, going undefeated and winning the E Section premiership in its inaugural season.
1967 marked the beginning of the club's most successful decade, including two periods in A Section. The club was first in the highest division from 1969 until 1973, with its best finishing position in fifth place in 1970.
After being relegated, the club made the 1974 B Section grand final and, although they lost to Old Trinity, immediately returned to A Section. The club avoided relegation in 1975, but finished last in 1976 and was sent back to B Section, beginning a period of decline for the Blues.
The Blues lost the 1986 D Section grand final to Balaclava, but finally won its second senior premiership in 1987 with a 25-point victory over Kew in the C Section grand final. Further senior premierships came in 1996 and 2003.
The club established a women's team in 2016 and it entered the inaugural VAFAW season in Development Division 1 in 2017.
In 2022, the Blues won their first women's premiership, defeating Collegians by three points in the VAFAW reserves grand final. One month later, the club's senior men's team won its fifth premiership with a 21-point victory over Old Geelong in Premier C.
Monash Whites
Monash University established a second team in 1964, the Monash Whites, which entered F Section. However, after just two seasons, the Whites (along with F Section itself) went into recess for five years.
The Whites were replaced by a junior side in 1966, but as numbers continued to grow, the Whites were revived in 1971 in the reformed F Section. The first Whites premiership came in 1972, winning the F Section reserves grand final. A senior premiership came in 1975, defeating Heatherton in the F Section grand final.
Despite the premiership, the Whites struggled in E Section in 1976, winning only four games and being relegated back to F Section for the 1977 season.
At the end of the 1979 VAFA season, the Blues and the Whites split, with the Monash Whites Football Club being established as a separate entity.
The Whites' end-of-season review in 1980 wrote:
"The start of the season began in reality at the end of the 1979 season when there was a big push from a lot of quarters to have the Whites thrown out of the VAFA. The first push came in the form of the Monash Blues; who in their wisdom decided it would be for the betterment of all concerned if the Whites did no longer exist. We were blamed for all sorts of things as well as the Blues bad showing during the year. So, the Blues thought, they had the right to decide where 40 odd players would not be playing in 1980."
The club struggled on its own, unable to win a premiership post-split until 1998, when they defeated Kew by 11 points in Club XVIII Section 2.
In 2000, the Blues and Whites merged. The Whites played its final game as a separate club in the first Club XVIII semi-final, before merging and becoming the Blues' Club XVIII team at the start of the 2001 season.
Women's
The Monash Blues established their women's program in 2016 and entered the inaugural VAFA Women's competition in 2017, competing in Development Division 1. The women's program has since progressed through the VAFA's divisional structure, reaching the Premier B competition in 2018 and 2019 before eventually winning the Premier B premiership in 2023. The club's women's program also fields a reserves team, which won the Premier B Women's Reserve premiership in 2022.
Premierships
Seniors
The Monash Blues women's senior team has won one VAFA premiership, winning the Premier B premiership in 2023, with Monash defeating Old Yarra Cobras 3.3 (21) to 3.1 (19) in the Premier B Grand Final at Piranha Park. 2023 Premier B Women's Grand Final Monash Blues 3.3 (21) Old Yarra Cobras 3.1 (19) 16 September 2023Piranha Park, CoburgReserves The women's reserves team also won the Premier B Women's Reserve premiership in 2022, defeating Collegians 3.3 (21) to 2.7 (19). 2022 Premier B Women's Reserve Grand Final Monash Blues 3.3 (21) Collegians 2.7 (19) 14 August 2022Downer Oval, Williamstown Season Summary Seniors YearLeagueDivisionCoachCaptainBest and fairestLeading goalkicker 2016 N/A (Exhibition match only) Ian Mills (Exhibition match only) 2017 VAFAW 7th 4 10 0 Ian Mills Ella Stephenson Xanthea Dewez Molly McFarlane 23 2018 VAFAW 3rd 9 4 1 Ian Mills Ella Stephenson Xanthea Dewez Ella Stephenson 22 2019 VAFAW 3rd 8 4 0 Ian Mills Ella Stephenson Xanthea Dewez Ella Stephenson 36 2020 VAFAW Premier B (No season) Ian Mills Ella Stephenson (No season) 2021 VAFAW 5th 4 6 0 Ian Mills Ella Stephenson Ainslee Elliott Ella Stephenson 14 2022 VAFAW 8th 2 12 0 Shane Chapman Ella Stephenson; Ainslee Elliott Ainslee Elliott; Emily Conroy Emma Draffin; Stacey Barbagallo 6 2023 VAFAW 1st 15 2 1 Shane Chapman Ainslee Elliott Ainslee Elliott Molly McFarlane 24 2024 VAFAW 10th 2 16 0 Shane Chapman Alicia Myers Clare Konstanty 8 2025 VAFAW 2nd 12 4 0 2026 VAFAW 4th 9 6 1
2017 season Monash Blues entered the inaugural VAFA Women's competition in 2017, competing in Development Division 1. The Blues finished seventh on the ladder with four wins and ten losses from their 14 matches.
2018 season Monash progressed to Premier B Blue in 2018 and enjoyed a significant improvement in its second season. The Blues finished third with a record of nine wins, four losses and one draw, scoring 490 points and conceding 274. Monash qualified for the finals, although the premiership was ultimately won by St Mary's Salesian.
2019 season Monash remained in Premier B in 2019 and again finished third, recording eight wins and four losses. The Blues progressed through to the preliminary final, where they were defeated by Caulfield Grammarians by eight points, bringing their season to an end.
2020 season The 2020 VAFA season was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning Monash did not play a competitive senior women's season.
2021 season Monash returned to competition in 2021 in Premier B. The season was curtailed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Blues finishing fifth after recording four wins and six losses. Monash narrowly missed the finals, finishing one win outside the top four.
2022 season The 2022 season proved to be a difficult one for the senior side, with Monash finishing eighth in Premier B with two wins and twelve losses. Despite the senior team's struggles, the women's program achieved its first VAFA premiership when the Monash Blues reserves defeated Collegians 3.3 (21) to 2.7 (19) in the Premier B Women's Reserve Grand Final.
2023 season The 2023 season marked a dramatic transformation in the history of the Monash Blues women's program. Having finished last in Premier B in 2022 with only two wins, Monash entered the 2023 season under the leadership of coach Shane Chapman and immediately established itself as one of the competition's strongest sides.
The Blues began the season with five consecutive victories and maintained an outstanding defensive record throughout the home-and-away campaign. Across 17 matches, Monash recorded 15 wins, one draw and one loss, finishing on top of the Premier B ladder and earning a place in the finals.
The VAFA later highlighted the turnaround as one of the defining moments of its 2023 season, describing it as “MONASH CLIMB FROM LAST TO FIRST WITHIN 12 MONTHS”. The VAFA noted that Monash had finished the previous season with a 2–12 record before becoming Premier B premiers 12 months later. It also highlighted the team's defensive strength, with Monash restricting its opponents to one goal or fewer in 14 of its 17 matches.
Monash entered the finals as the minor premiers. In the semi-final, the Blues defeated Mazenod Old Collegians 2.10 (22) to 1.1 (7), with the victory securing their place in the Grand Final.
The Grand Final was played against the Old Yarra Cobras at Piranha Park on 16 September 2023. In a tightly contested match, Monash led 1.2 to 0.0 at quarter-time before Old Yarra fought back to level the contest at half-time. The Cobras continued to challenge the Blues in the second half, with the scores remaining close throughout the final term.
Monash ultimately prevailed by just two points, defeating Old Yarra 3.3 (21) to 3.1 (19) to claim the 2023 Premier B Women's premiership. Ainslee Elliott was instrumental in the victory, kicking two of Monash's three goals, while Ella Draffin kicked the other. Elliott, Ella Stephenson, Jessica Dallas, Tahlia Heath, Alicia Myers and Sarah Rose were named among Monash's best players.
The premiership represented the first senior women's premiership in Monash Blues history. It also completed one of the most remarkable single-season turnarounds in the VAFA, with the Blues going from last place and a 2–12 record in 2022 to premiers with a 15–1–1 home-and-away record in 2023. The achievement earned Monash promotion into the William Buck Premier Women's competition for 2024.
2024 season Following their 2023 premiership, Monash was promoted to the William Buck Premier Women's competition for 2024 alongside fellow Grand Finalists Old Yarra Cobras. The move represented the highest level at which the women's program had competed.
Monash finished tenth in its first Premier season with two wins and sixteen losses. The Blues recorded their first victory in the competition in Round 10, defeating Old Yarra Cobras.
2025 season Monash competed in Division 1 in 2025 and produced another strong season. The Blues finished second on the ladder with twelve wins and four losses, behind Glen Eira/Old McKinnon on percentage.
Monash progressed through the finals to reach the Division 1 Women's Grand Final. After losing the second semi-final to Glen Eira/Old McKinnon, the Blues defeated Whitefriars in the preliminary final before again meeting Glen Eira/Old McKinnon in the Grand Final. Monash was defeated by 21 points, finishing the season as runners-up.
2026 season In 2026, Monash competed in Division 1 Women's. The Blues finished fourth at the end of the home-and-away season with nine wins, six losses and one draw, earning a place in the finals.
Monash faced Marcellin in the first semi-final but was eliminated, ending the season in fourth place. The result continued the club's recent period of finals appearances following the 2023 premiership and 2025 Grand Final appearance.
Under 19s
The Monash Blues field a Men's Under 19s side, one of the club's six teams alongside the men's Seniors, Reserves and Thirds and the women's Seniors and Reserves. The Under 19s serve as a pathway into the club's senior teams, with players who come through the age group often progressing directly into the Reserves or Seniors. One example Dan Carmody who debuted with the Blues' Under 19s in 2005, made his senior debut later that year, and went on to play 116 games for the club, featuring in the 2008 Reserves premiership and 2012 Thirds premiership sides. Premierships The Under 19s won the "Under 19 Blue" premiership in 2002, defeating AJAX 21.14 (140) to 6.11 (47) the club's only Under-19 premiership on record thus far.