Richard Jones | The time-honoured Bendigo Football and Netball League kicks off on Saturday April 9th with all five games scheduled for the Saturday afternoon opening.
But the following round --- the Easter holiday weekend ---- has four of the five games pencilled in on Good Friday with the Kyneton home game set for Good Friday night, under lights.
The other three will be played Good Friday afternoon. So only one game will be played on Easter Saturday: Golden Square at home to Kangaroo Flat.
“Footy’s back’ is the cry I’ve heard at various sports grounds in recent weekends. Even at cricket grounds, shared by footy clubs in the winter, and even at grounds where the competing clubs are out of reckoning for this month’s cricket finals. Yet as far as this tipster is concerned I can’t see much of a change to the aborted 2021 season’s ladder.
Eaglehawk finished sixth with an inability to beat any of the five sides above them on the ladder.
Fifth-placed South Bendigo enjoyed a three-game break over the Hawks and seemed odds-on to play in the first week of the play-offs --- in the elimination final --- had the 2021 finals series gone ahead.
Gisborne ended up fourth with a staggering percentage of 205.7%: better than the two sides above them on the ladder and inferior only to top team Strath Storm.
Richard’s tips for the 2022 Top Five: Strathfieldsaye, Golden Square, Gisborne, Sandhurst, South Bendigo.
Opening two rounds, Rd. 1, April 9: Kangaroo Flat vs. Maryborough, South Bendigo vs. Golden Square, Strathfieldsaye vs. Eaglehawk, Gisborne vs. Sandhurst and Castlemaine vs Kyneton.
Rd. 2, April 15-16: Eaglehawk vs. South Bendigo (Fri), Sandhurst vs. Strathfieldsaye (Fri), Maryborough vs. Castlemaine (Fri), Kyneton vs. Gisborne (Fri., N) and Golden Square vs. Kangaroo Flat (Sat.)
The season will be launched on Friday, April 1st at the premises of one of the league’s major sponsors. Unlike in previous seasons the 2022 launch will be an afternoon function, not an evening one.
