CENTRAL Murray Football Netball League (CMFNL) action will be back earlier than expected after it was announced the competition would kick off on April 9, 2016.
Under a revamped schedule, Swan Hill Football Netball Club will host three night matches to take full advantage of the upgrades being made to Swan Hill Recreation Reserve.
Historic battles will be fought on June long weekend after the establishment of a local rivalry round with Tyntynder playing Swan Hill, and Koondrook Barham taking on Kerang to start a traditional marquee weekend.
Fans of Tooleybuc Manangatang will rejoice with the club expected to take three matches to Manangatang. Which games will be determined in early 2016.
Nyah Nyah West United will hold talks with opposition clubs about hosting night matches throughout the season but no official announcement has been made.
AFL Central Murray regional operations manager David Alderuccio said he was looking forward to the changes being made to the competition.
“We are extremely excited for the draw in 2016 and this is the first time we will start earlier than expected, and we can get straight into it after Easter,” he said.
“We are pretty excited to play some night games for the year for the first time, it will be great to have these events in Swan Hill and Nyah.
“It is a good opportunity to play six games prior to the Interleague and will be good to have games going into it.”
Another aspect that Alderuccio is excited for is the new marquee initiative.
“The marquee games will be exciting, it is great to showcase those games over the long weekend in June … hopefully we can start some tradition there,” he said.
“We wanted to play more traditional games and we thought it would be great for the region marketing wise and to have the rival clubs showcase what we have during the long weekend in June.
“Hopefully we can work out a trophy and play for some tradition … the plan is to alternate home games.
“It has been a drawn out of process and we excited about the year.”
Fans won’t have to wait for the 2015 grand final rematch between Kerang and Koondrook Barham, with the four-in-a-row defending champions set to host the match in Round 1, which should draw a big crowd to the Blues’ home base.
The netball grand final rematch between Woorinen and Tooleybuc Manangatang will take place in Round 11.
The qualifying finals will kick off on August 27 before Grand Final Day on September 17.
• The Golden Rivers Football League will follow the lead of the CMFNL and kick their season off on April 9, 2016 also.
