Above: Morwell will host an ANZAC clash against rivals Traralgon in 2020.
It will be a unique start to the 2020 TRFM Gippsland League season with an Easter split round and ANZAC Day weekend bye featuring within the first three rounds. Due to several clubs ground availability issues the season will kick off on April 4th with rivals Moe and Traralgon headlining the Saturday action. The Battle of the Birds will feature in round one again with Sale hosting Maffra to conclude round one on the first Sunday of the season. Round two features the Easter split round where Leongatha will play local rivals Wonthaggi at the Avery on Good Friday with the remaining matches to be played the following weekend.
“The League has again worked hard to allow clubs the opportunity to plan and request marquee games in their fixtures. This gives them the opportunity to help maximise the attendance and revenue for their key games and local rivalries” said TRFM Gippsland League manager Daniel Heathcote. Season 2020 will feature Morwell and Traralgon as a standalone game on the ANZAC Day weekend which will feature the A Grade Grand Final rematch. East Gippsland will have football and netball action again on the Queen’s Birthday Weekend with Bairnsdale hosting Warragul with the clubs looking to feature a Big Freeze Theme to help the fundraising efforts for MND.
“Over the last three years we have made a conscious effort to schedule in all the requests from clubs that have been submitted in the official feedback window and again in 2020 all requested matches have been worked into the final fixture” said Heathcote.
“An emphasis has also been placed on assisting the clubs, especially the geographically outlying clubs, where possible to ensure there is limited back to back travel and their requested fixtures are scheduled in”
Other highlights include round 4 where the senior Grand Final rematch will take place in Maffra with the Parrots travelling over the hill to take on the reigning premiers. Bairnsdale and Sale will play the only scheduled twilight fixture in round 2 on the second week of the split round. After their off-season House and Land battle, Drouin and Warragul will take the action to the field where the Western Derby will feature in Round 5.
Above: Wonthaggi will again play South Gippsland compatriots Leongatha on Good Friday in 2020
Notable matches to look out for in the season 2020 include:
Round 1 - Sale v Maffra (Battle of the Birds)
Round 2 – Leongatha v Wonthaggi (Good Friday match)
Round 2 - Bairnsdale v Sale (Twilight match)
ANZAC Weekend - Morwell v Traralgon (Hunter/Stanistreet Cup and A Grade Grand Final rematch)
Round 4 – Morwell v Sale (Morwell BCA day)
Round 4 – Maffra v Leongatha (Senior Grand Final rematch)
Round 8 – Bairnsdale v Warragul (Queens Birthday match & Big Freeze MND)
The 2020 fixture notably does not include a bye in May for the traditional Worksafe Community Championships weekend after the recent decision by AFL Victoria to cancel the 2020 Senior Interleague Championships. After the forced early season split round over the Easter holiday and ANZAC weekend bye, the season’s other split round will again be over the July school holiday period with Round 12 beginning on the 4th of July and finishing on the 11th of July.
The finals series will start on the 29th of August with the Grand Final to be played on the 19th of September 2019. All finals venues will be confirmed at a later date.
2020 TRFM Gippsland League Official Fixture
Last Modified on 18/11/2019 16:14