Beginning with a round four clash with Northern Knights on Saturday, April 23, Goulburn Valley locals will have to wait another three months to see the region’s top junior talent in the flesh as they return to Shepparton for a round 15 match against Calder Cannons on August 6.
Murray Bushrangers regional talent lead Mick Wilson said it was always a thrill to bring NAB League games to Shepparton and play at the region’s premier sporting venue.
“Usually, we get two or three games a year (in Shepparton) and every time we play at Deakin the crowd is always fantastic and a great reflection of the support we receive from the Goulburn Valley community,” Wilson said
“From our point of view the more games we can play at Deakin the better, it is the premier venue within the region, and we are very lucky we get to play on a ground of such high quality, and it is something the boys definitely get a kick out of.”
The Bushrangers will travel to all corners of Victoria throughout the season, with matches set for Seaford, Lavington, Highgate, Bendigo, Wangaratta, Mildura, Geelong, Dandenong and Shepparton across the 15-round campaign.
Wilson said the hectic travelling schedule would be beneficial for the group as it adapts to the rigours of elite level sport.
“It is taxing for the players to have to travel, but being a professional sports person that is part and parcel of the program, so it is something they will have to get used to,” he said.
“Realistically most of the players will have to travel a significant amount to train, so it is nothing the players aren’t used to, but the fact that we play Northern Territory and Tasmania, those games would have normally been home games in this region, but the way the fixture has fallen we have just been fixtured to play closer to Melbourne.”
With the season now less than a month away, Wilson said preparations were tracking along nicely.
“We are pretty excited heading into round one because pre-season started back in November and we’ve hardly played any footy over the past two years, so we are just really pumped to hopefully play a full season,” he said.
