Public holiday football is proving popular in the Essendon District Football League, but night games will have to wait for another year after the league released its fixtures last week.
Queen’s Birthday will bring a senior match this season, while popular holidays such as Good Friday and Anzac Day will again have showcase games.
Easter’s later date than the past two years means the premier division match between Keilor and Strathmore is no longer an outlier prior to the first round of the season.
Action starts on Saturday, April 5, with a grand final rematch between Greenvale and Aberfeldie.
Keilor and Strathmore will clash in their third straight Good Friday game on April 18 in round three. A week later – Friday, April 25 – Avondale Heights and Aberfeldie will meet for the third straight year in the Anzac Day clash, this year at Canning Reserve.
In division one, Hillside will play Taylors Lakes on Good Friday, Glenroy hosts Westmeadows for the second year running on Anzac Day and, in a new initiative, Hadfield will play Oak Park on Queen’s Birthday, Monday, June 9.
In division two, Keilor Park will play Coburg Districts on Anzac Day, while Jacana meets East Sunbury on Queen’s Birthday Monday.
Queen’s Birthday weekend has in the past been a general bye across the EDFL, with junior interleague taking place.
New senior outfit Burnside Heights will make its bow in division 2 against East Sunbury in round one, April 5.
The Bears formed, and joined, the EDFL’s junior ranks in 2012. Night games were discussed as a possibility for some venues, but ultimately no pair of clubs could agree on a night match next year.
Promotion and relegation between the divisions will remain one-up, one-down, with the 10th and last-placed team in premier division replaced by the winners of division 1, while the ninth and last-placed team in division 1 will be replaced by the winners of division 2.
Conjecture about a top five finals system in premier division has been put aside for now, with the league determining a top four will continue next year. Grand finals will be staggered across two weekends in September, with division 2 on Saturday the sixth, division 1 on Sunday the seventh. and premier on Saturday the 13th.
In the boardroom, former Maribyrnong Park secretary Tanya Taylor has joined the EDFL board as a replacement for outgoing Matthew Pillios. Brett Scott was returned uncontested as chairman, with Arthur Crofts Wayne Anthony, Glenn Allison, Romy Gutbier and Bernie Shinners filling the board.
The EDFL has also seen a major restructure of its umpiring hierachy with senior field adviser Jason Fischer retiring from the umpire appointments board. Brendan Dye, who umpired 150 VFL games, will join the league as head of umpiring next year.
