![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/SKOB-Thirds-Div-3-GF-25.jpg\")
<\/p>\nVAFA Media has continued its success at the 2025 AFL Victoria Community Media Awards, adding two more awards to the Most Outstanding Match-Day Radio Coverage Award won in 2024.<\/p>\n
This time around, VAFA Media\u2019s popular weekly podcast FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME was recognised as AFL Victoria\u2019s \u2018Most Outstanding Football Radio Show or Podcast.\u2018<\/p>\n
Hosted by Jason Bennett, Paddy Grindlay and Matthew Donald, ratings exploded in season 2025, with the trio\u2019s weekly dose of laughs and hardcore VAFA footy chat resonating with the League\u2019s community.<\/p>\n
New segments such as \u2018Sherrin Sharpshooters,\u2019 which recognised and celebrated weekly and season-long goalkickers, encouraged greater engagement with clubland, and allowed clubs across the sections to publicly acknowledge and celebrate their high achievers.<\/p>\n
Increased focus on Divisional Football also played a part in the podcast\u2019s growth, with weekly reports and breaking news from Herald Sun newshound and the pod\u2019s \u2018Divisional Guru,\u2019 Brayden May, keeping listeners informed as to the comings and goings across the divisions each week.<\/p>\n
Brayden \u2013 who also won an \u2018Outstanding News Coverage\u2019 award for his work with News Corp\/Leader Local Footy \u2013 will take on an increased role on \u2018For the Love of the Game\u2019 in season 2026, joining Jase and Matty in-studio to co-host the show each week, with Paddy relocating to Sydney and joining GWS Giants as their Senior Social Media Manager.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the Love of the Game has a long and rich history in VAFA Media, with so many great people involved in hosting and producing the podcast over the years,\u201d said VAFA Executive General Manager of Commercial, Glen Towers.<\/p>\n
\u201cJase and Paddy picked up the baton at the beginning of 2024, and with Matty joining them for most of 2025, the three of them quickly found a natural chemistry based on their enthusiasm for, and love of, VAFA footy and, more broadly, footy in general.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur behind-the-scenes team, led by Head of Media and Digital Cameron Voss and Social Media Growth Co-Ordinator Dylan Humphries, provided wonderful support, and Dylan\u2019s amplification of the show across our social channels throughout 2025 really took For the Love of the Game to the next level. It\u2019s a real team effort, and we\u2019re very proud of what they\u2019ve delivered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Brayden joining the team more closely in 2026, we\u2019re looking forward to seeing where the boys take things next, as the show enters an exciting new chapter that will make it even easier for VAFA fans to access and enjoy it on their favourite platforms.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur sincere thanks to all the coaches and players who give their time so readily each week. This level of access \u2013 and their willingness to speak openly about what\u2019s going on inside their club \u2013 makes such a difference in keeping our passionate VAFA audience informed and entertained.\u201d<\/p>\n
Photographer Craig Dooley also collected the AFL Victoria Media Award for \u2018Most Outstanding Community Football Photograph \u2013 Essence of the Game\u2019 for this brilliant pic snapped for VAFA Media during the Thirds Division 3 Grand Final between St Kevin\u2019s and St Bede\u2019s\/Mentone Tigers:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The judging panel commented: \u201cThis photo captures more than a moment in play; it captures what sport truly means. The raw emotion and connection between player and fans tells a powerful story. The interaction beyond the boundary line speaks to the heart of community, reminding us that the game belongs to everyone. Tight framing keeps the focus firmly on this exchange, revealing the different characters within the scene and adding richness to the moment. A special piece of footy storytelling.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"VAFA Media has continued its success at the 2025 AFL Victoria Community Media Awards, adding two more awards…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":500318,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-500317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=500317"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500317\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/500318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=500317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=500317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=500317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}