BFNL signs up for tough test; new interleague opponent named

THE Bendigo Football Netball League (BFNL) will embrace one of the biggest challenges in Victorian interleague football by taking on the powerhouse Ovens and Murray league at the QEO in May next year.

In a clash nearly three decades in the making, the BFNL and O&MFNL will clash for the first time since 1997.

And the occasion will mark the return of the BFNL’s open netball team to the interleague stage for the first time since 2019.

While the BFNL has competed at the Netball Victoria Association Championships most years in the time since, the open team has not played in an interleague game.

A full fixture of games on May 23 against Ovens and Murray will include senior and under-18 football and open, 17-and-under and 15-and-under netball following the inclusion of the lower grade of junior netball on the BFNL fixture for the first time in 2026.

Under a two-year agreement between the leagues, the BFNL will make the trip to O&M country in 2027, potentially Albury/Wodonga or Wangaratta.

Ovens and Murray will be coming off a thumping 77-point senior football win over the Goulburn Valley in 2025, in what was the fourth straight clash between the leagues.

The GVFNL won by 15 points in 2024, while the Ovens and Murray claimed wins by seven points in 2023 and in by 55 points in 2022.

Goulburn Valley claimed the honours in this year’s open netball 68-31.

In their last clash 29 years ago, the O&M edged out the BFNL by nine points in Bendigo in what was a round one meeting in the former Victorian Country Championships.

Both leagues anticipate the fixture will generate enormous interest among players and spectators alike, with many eager to witness a rematch almost three decades in the making.

“We are thrilled to confirm our interleague partnership with the Ovens and Murray FNL and cannot wait to host the first edition in 2026 at the QEO, while welcoming netball back into the interleague program,” BFNL chair Professor Carol McKinstry said.

“Representative football and netball have been a cornerstone of our league’s history, providing a fantastic opportunity for us to showcase the depth of high-level talent within the BFNL, while giving our players the chance to test themselves against some of the best regional talent in Victoria.

O&MFNL chair David Sinclair said his league was excited at the prospect of taking squads to the Bendigo region for the first time since 1997.

“As a league, we see representative fixtures as a critical level of competition for our football and netball participants,” he said.

“Particularly given the number of recent examples of the concept providing an additional pathway for those aspiring to play at state/national level, who through circumstance may not have been afforded the opportunity via more traditional talent pathways.”

The Ovens and Murray league comprises 10 clubs, including Albury, Corowa-Rutherglen, Lavington, Myrtleford, North Albury, Wangaratta Magpies, Wangaratta Rovers, Wodonga, Wodonga Raiders and Yarrawonga.

In an all Wangaratta grand final last month, Rovers defeated the Magpies by 15 points, while Myrtleford ended the season in third spot.

A new opponent for the BFNL puts the seal on a successful two-year agreement between the league and the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) in 2024-25.

While Bendigo came up on the short end in a pair of thrillers, including this year’s return clash at the QEO that went into extra time, the venture sparked significant renewed enthusiasm in the interleague concept from players and supporters alike.

With the deal with the Ovens and Murray inked, the BFNL will turn its attention to appointing its coaches.

Simon Rosa and Jason Stevens were the head coaches of the respective BFNL open and under-19 teams against the VAFA this year.