Supporters of Kyabram District League received an early Christmas present on Thursday afternoon, with the competition’s 2023 fixture released.
Set to begin on April 15, highlights of the fixture include each team playing one home and one away game on a Sunday, while the returning top six finals system is also set to provide added excitement.
There will be two themed rounds to look forward to, with round 6 scheduled as Say No To Violence Round and round 10 confirmed as Indigenous Round.
Football supporters can also look foward to a grand final rematch between Murchison-Toolamba and Lancaster on May 6, while netball fans will need to wait until July 1 to see Dookie United and Tallygaroopna do battle once again.
Kicking off a week after the Easter break, president Fraser Kerrins said the league was excited to return to venues across the region once again.
“2022 was a fantastic season for the league,” Kerrins said.
“The competition throughout both football and netball was great to see and ultimately, we reached our end goal to crown new premiers in each grade.”
Two split rounds have been pencilled in, while 12 out of the 16 rounds will host a minimum of one Sunday game.
Rounds 8 and 11 will be the only full allotments of Saturday games.
The newly transformed finals series will kick off on August 26, with grand final day pencilled in for September 16.
“The format of the top eight worked well in allowing two extra teams a chance to compete during the finals series and gave more clubs the opportunity to host a final, which was a terrific showcase of our league,” league operations manager Julian Perta said.
“With a total of 14 clubs, a top six format seems to be a good option”.
KDL Round One 2023 (April 15-16)
Saturday
Rushworth v Tallygaroopna
Lancaster v Longwood
Gigarre v Shepparton East
Undera v Avenel
Dookie United v Murchison-Toolamba
Violet Town v Merrigum
Sunday
Nagambie v Stanhope