Almost a month after the final siren blared on the season, the North East Border Female Football League is back in action this weekend with a day of interleague clashes.

Set for Saturday, 20 September at Wangaratta’s WJ Findlay Oval, NEBFFL will host the Goulburn Murray Women and Girls League (GMW&G) in an under 18 game and an open women’s match, setting the stage for a day full of footy fun for all.

NEBFFL operations manager Matthew Elliott said the traditional interleague format had to be reworked due to some issues arising during the year.

“The league has played representative fixtures since 2023 against GMW&G and Central Victoria, in a round-robin style carnival with a final in each grade to complete the day,” he said.

“The matches were planned for May initially, however due to some unforeseen challenges within all camps, we elected to reschedule the matches to September.

“Central Victoria was unable to join us this year, so we amended the carnival format to be a full game in both grades.

“This year is our turn to host within the three-year cycle of hosting responsibilities - last year we travelled to Bendigo for the carnival and finished runner-up in both grades.

“The interleague fixture is important as it brings together the competitions best players who can learn from each other, and even players who are not selected in the final team can take something new back to their home club.

“It gives the players an opportunity to play at a level above club football which is going to benefit the standard and development of our league over time.”

While the change from a mid-season interleague carnival to a more traditional head-to-head interleague fixture - albeit a month after the season had finished - was unusual, Elliott said there were some advantages.

“Our NEBFFL teams commenced training two weeks after our NEBFFL grand finals, and have had three weeks of preparation time leading into Saturday’s matches,” he said.

“The timing has aligned well with our region’s V-Line Cup teams playing next week.

“Further, the post-season scheduling means there are no clashes with club duties which gives the league greater flexibility with the training venue and player availability, and players don’t have to miss time with their home club to attend our training.”

Rovers Bron McGorlick and Jess Whitehead will coach the under 18 team, with Rovers Clare Collins, Gemma Couch Trinder, Lily Currie and Lily Gibb all making the cut, while Amy Collins, Rebekah Di Paola, Chloe Kungl and Kaea Tua have been named in the open women’s team.

Entry to WJ Findlay Oval is free on Saturday, with the under 18s kicking the day off at 11am, before the open women’s match at 1pm.