Perennial powerhouse Tallygaroopna is set to the big mover in the A grade netball competition after having a productive off-season, welcoming a handful of new faces to its squad for 2017.
Lisa Crosier returns to the club after spending a few seasons with Mansfield in the Goulburn Valley League while Izzy Gribben comes to the club after a few years off and Tahla Sidebottom joins her footballing husband Tyson at the club.
The Redlegs made it all the way to the preliminary final last year and coach, Julie Telford will be eager to see her team reach the last day of the season like they did in 2015.
To do so, the Redlegs will need to stave off challenges from the usual suspects like the reigning premier Avenel, last year's runner-up Nagambie and regular finalists Stanhope and Lancaster.
Today, the Redlegs come up against Rushworth.
The Tigers are somewhat of an unknown. They will no doubt no where they are at after today's match up with Tallygaroopna.
The grand final replay between Avenel and Nagambie will no doubt be the match of the match.
After playing second fiddle to its arch rivals for such a long period, the Swans tasted the ultimate under Kathyrn Hard last year.
While Hard is not continuing on as coach, she remains a member of the strong squad that includes new coach Tegan Hansen, Laura Mundy, Tegan Sidebottom, Jessica Hogan and Sarah Brock.
Nagambie remains strong under the watch of Abby Misti.
Misti is such a professional, that she will have her squad ready to go from the first whistle.
She has been able to retain the vast majority of the 2016 squad which will be extremely important.
Merrigum will be desperate to rebound from last year’s disappointment of missing the play offs.
After making the play offs in 2015, the Bulldogs weren’t able to deliver consistency with their game and subsequently had to watch on from the sidelines during the finals.
Lancaster has been one of the competition’s most consistent team over the past decade or so, and expect it to be thereabouts when the whips get cracking.
The Wombats will know that nothing more than a win will be acceptable when they take on their arch rival.
Violet Town will have to continue its rapid rise up the ladder under the guidance of new leaders Meagan Hausner and Brooke Bradshaw.
The Towners made huge inroads last year, claiming some big scalps along the way to its first finals series in a long time.
There would be an expectation that Violet Town can get off to a winning start against Girgarre.
In the remaining matches, Ardmona and Undera have enjoyed fantastic summers preparing for the new season and this should be a great contest while Murchison-Toolamba will find out a fair bit about itself when it visits Stanhope.
Tips: Tallygaroopna, Nagambie, Stanhope, Violet Town, Undera and Lancaster.
Last Modified on 31/03/2017 18:22