Fish Creek v Newborough
Jarrod Walker, Fish Creek, "A really exciting year for the club ahead with a number of local boys coming back to play their footy, bringing an injection of enthusiasm. After a whirlwind of emotions since grand final day last year, we are all super excited to get back on the field and court with the community down to support. For round 1 against Newborough it’s going to be a really proud and emotional day to watch the flag unfurling and look forward to a full crowd of fish creek faithful. With Newborough looking prime to be another strong force it’ll be great to test ourselves early in the season to see where we sit. With a few out from our grand final team but then a number of inclusions it will be interesting to see how we all play together."
Craig Skinner, Newborough "Has Been a late start to the pre season which finished with 3 practice matches. Lost a few and gained a few and will be a slow build to the season for us. We head to the Prom to take on the Reigning Premiers so expecting this game to give us a good guide on where we are at and a starting point for our season.
MDU v Thorpdale
Nathan Allen, MDU "We come up against thorpdale first up. A side last year we had 2 really tight contests with, both times they got us, including in the finals. It will be a great game straight up to see where we are at as a side. I’m really looking forward to getting out, putting in a good performance and aiming to build on what we achieved last season."
Jason Winderlich, Thorpdale “Heading down to south gippsland to face MDU is always a tough gig. We had 2 great contests against them last year and we expect this to be the same. Like always, the team who has 21 contributors will get the job done.”
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Yinnar v Toora
Jack Weston -Toora coach, "A new season always brings new hope. With numerous new players, we appreciate it will take some time to gel offensively. In the contest and defensively, I expect our players to bring effort regardless of the situation. Early season games are always hard to get a read on. After a tough run with injuries last year, I expect Yinnar to bounce. So our round 1 contest will be a good test to see where we sit against a club who traditionally don’t stay out of contention too often."
Sam McCullogh, Yinnar “The club is really excited about our young group, our new recruits and the experienced players we have to guide them along the way. We’re looking forward to seeing where we are at in comparison to other teams and feel the hard work we’ve put in over the offseason will hold us in good stead to compete all year. The group has jelled together very well to date and feel we will improve the more we play together and adjust to our game plan. No doubt we will be in for a tough contest against Toora given the fact they have put together a strong list”
Boolarra v Mirboo North
Brendan Mason, Boolarra "We have recruited some talent both from within and outside of the MGFNL, and although we have also lost a few, I feel we have done well and we hope that stands us in good stead for our first up clash against a respected opponent."
Damien Turner - Mirboo North, "We have our cross town rivals in Boolarra round 1, always a huge day! Boolarra has recruited some good names, so all the best to Brendan and his club for 2024. Our boys have had a huge final month of pre-season and are ready to go. It’s going to be exciting watching this list develop over season 24’ and beyond. They will bring great energy in offence and defence each week. All the best to all the other clubs. Excited to get started."
Hill End v Stony Creek
Chris Verboon - Stony Creek, "Looking forward to the first game of the year against Hill End away. We hope to build on last years performance and early wins are crucial. With a few new names added to our list this year we will have better depth. We have just finished our third practice match and will go into round one with good match fitness. Good luck to all teams"
Ambu Ulliando, Hill End “Hoping to get our first W in over 12 months in front of our home crowd. We will front a young side that is eager to get after it. Stony will be well drilled, with plenty of experienced senior players. I'm keen to see how our young side will go!”
Foster v Morwell East
Sam Davies, Foster "Round 1 is always an interesting time for us with school holidays, weddings and so on affecting player availability - I’m not sure what our team will look like just yet and there will be plenty of phone calls made over the week as well as blooding some kids out of the 18’s. I’ll be asking the boys to just be competitive and have a crack. I watched East play their final last year and they should’ve won by 5 goals so I’m sure they’ll be primed after 3 practice matches and raring to go chasing some redemption."
Paul Henry, Morwell East "Round 1 this week and I'm nervous as ever before. The unknown coming into round one, are we fit enough, have we done enough. These questions will be answered at the end of next Saturday when we take on Foster away. We both played finals last year. I'm told they have recruited well, and so have we. We will be looking to bring exactly what we did last season, high pressure for four quarters. I know Foster will bring the same on their home turf. Would be great to start the season off the same way as last season"
BYE: Tarwin