Footy · Melbourne’s north-west

Footy clubs and training in Moonee Valley

11 clubs in Moonee Valley, and every one of them picks its best side on who can run, tackle and back up week after week. Here is where they play — and how to be the player they pick.

One month free, then A$24.99/month. Cancel any time. iPhone and iPad.

Short answer

11 footy clubs have a home ground in Moonee Valley (population 130,501 at the 2021 census), across 10 suburbs. Most play in the Essendon District Football League (9 clubs), with others in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (2) and the Western Football Netball League (1). Essendon is the VFL side here, at Windy Hill, Essendon.

Juniors who live in Moonee Valley are zoned to the Calder Cannons, based at Highgate Recreation Reserve in Craigieburn, whose zone runs from Merri-bek and Moonee Valley out through Hume to the Macedon Ranges.

11 clubs

Footy clubs in Moonee Valley

Every club with a home ground in Moonee Valley, where it plays, and the league and grades it fields. Most senior clubs also run junior and girls’ teams — the club can tell you which age groups have spots.

Footy clubs with a home ground in Moonee Valley, by suburb
ClubHome groundCompetition and grades
AberfeldieClifton Park, AberfeldieEDFL Premier Division · women’s
Airport WestHansen Reserve, Airport WestEDFL Premier Division
Ascot ValeWalter Street Reserve, Ascot ValeEDFL juniors
Avondale HeightsCanning Reserve, Avondale HeightsEDFL Division 1
East KeilorOverland Reserve, East Keilor EDFL Division 1
Essendon Doutta StarsNipper Jordan Oval, EssendonEDFL Premier Division · women’s
St Bernard'sSt Bernard's College Oval, Essendon West; St Bernards College, Essendon WestVAFA Premier
WFNL juniors
PEGSPEGS Sporting Fields, Keilor East VAFA Premier C
Maribyrnong ParkMaribyrnong Park, Moonee PondsEDFL Premier Division · women’s
Moonee ValleyOrmond Park, Moonee PondsEDFL Division 1 · women’s
StrathmoreLebanon Reserve, Strathmore; Boeing Reserve, Strathmore HeightsEDFL Premier Division · women’s

† The ground’s suburb is shared with a neighbouring council, so the club may sit just over the boundary. From each league’s current club list, checked September 2026. Clubs change leagues and divisions between seasons; the league is right if this is not.

Your pathway

Which Talent League club you trial for

Juniors who live in Moonee Valley are zoned to the Calder Cannons, based at Highgate Recreation Reserve in Craigieburn, whose zone runs from Merri-bek and Moonee Valley out through Hume to the Macedon Ranges.

VFL in Moonee Valley
Essendon
VFL — Windy Hill, Essendon — Essendon’s VFL side.

Melbourne’s north-west: the zones, the leagues and the VFL clubs →

How the AFL pathway works, step by step →

Your first ten minutes

Set it up for your club in Moonee Valley

Four things, in the order the app asks them. The footy calendar and conditions are on the Melbourne guide.

Choose footy, then your team nights

Onboarding asks “When do you train with your team?” Pick your club nights — Essendon District Football League or wherever you play — and your gym and conditioning are scheduled around them, lighter the day after a big one. Tell it your equipment and any niggles and every exercise is fitted to both.

Match the program to your league’s start

The app treats March as the start of the AFL season. If your league does not start until mid-April, set your season phase yourself and stay in pre-season a few weeks longer. The phase lives in Program → Your year.

Know your numbers on day one

Your first testing session is ready immediately: 2km time trial, Bench press 1RM, Max pull-ups, Trap-bar deadlift 1RM, Running vertical jump. It is re-run every 8 weeks, and the results re-price your training weights and conditioning paces.

Put your suburb on the board

In Social → Town, set where you train. Your minutes count toward that town’s weekly conditioning and strength top-10 boards — only the town is kept, never your location.

EssendonMoonee PondsAscot ValeKeilor EastAvondale HeightsStrathmoreAirport WestFlemingtonNiddrieAberfeldie

The suburbs

Moonee Valley by suburb

130,501 people at the 2021 census. Suburb populations from the same census; a suburb marked * is shared with a neighbouring council.

Essendon 21,240Moonee Ponds 16,224Ascot Vale 15,197Keilor East* 15,078Avondale Heights 12,388Strathmore 8,980Airport West 8,173Flemington* 7,025Niddrie 5,901Aberfeldie 3,925Essendon North 3,071Travancore 2,116Essendon West 1,559Strathmore Heights 1,047Essendon Fields 13
For coaches

Coaching a side in Moonee Valley?

A club licence is A$8 per player, per month (minimum 5), and every player on it gets full Train Smart membership at no cost to them. You write the block once, it lands in each player’s app, and the console shows who actually did it.

FAQ

Footy in Moonee Valley: questions

What footy clubs are in Moonee Valley?
11 clubs have a home ground in Moonee Valley: Aberfeldie, Airport West, Ascot Vale, Avondale Heights, East Keilor, Essendon Doutta Stars, St Bernard's, PEGS, Maribyrnong Park, Moonee Valley and Strathmore. The table on this page lists each one’s ground, league and grades.
Which Talent League club are Moonee Valley juniors zoned to?
Juniors who live in Moonee Valley are zoned to the Calder Cannons, based at Highgate Recreation Reserve in Craigieburn, whose zone runs from Merri-bek and Moonee Valley out through Hume to the Macedon Ranges.
Where can women and girls play footy in Moonee Valley?
5 clubs field a women’s senior side: Aberfeldie, Essendon Doutta Stars, Maribyrnong Park, Moonee Valley and Strathmore. Most junior clubs also run girls’ teams — ask the club directly.
Which league do Moonee Valley footy clubs play in?
Most Moonee Valley clubs play in the Essendon District Football League (9 clubs), with others in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (2) and the Western Football Netball League (1).

Turn up to round one already fit

Pick footy, tell it your Essendon Doutta Stars training nights — or wherever you play — and your first block and testing session are ready before you leave the car park.

One month free, then A$24.99/month. Cancel any time. iPhone and iPad.