FOOTBALL

GIPPSLAND LEAGUE

By LIAM DURKIN

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Third of the 10 Commandments

GIVEN football is virtually a religion for many Gippslanders, it is perhaps fitting the region’s only major league has decided to schedule 10 rounds to be played on a Sunday in 2026.

All member clubs will play at least one Sunday game next season.

The move has been generally viewed as ‘good for the league’, in a bid to attract more spectators who would otherwise be tied up watching or playing in minor leagues on Saturdays.

While Sunday football can be the bane of some local players due to weekends becoming long, drawn out affairs, the fact the Gippsland League has already released its fixture (understood to be the earliest for any league in the state, before even the AFL), it should allow clubs, coaches and players plenty of time to prepare early.

The sheer number of Sunday games is also understood to be the most for any Victorian country football league in recent history.

Gippsland League Board Chair Andrew Livingstone acknowledged the high volume of Sunday games would be a case of trial and error, but also said he’d received no complaints from clubs.

“The proof will be in the pudding, we’ll see how the crowds are,” he said.

“I’ve had no phone calls from clubs. They were forewarned, one Sunday here and there is not the end of the world.

“We also take into account the umpiring situation, (it) certainly helps (playing Sundays) in that regard – you get the best umpires.”

Next season’s fixture also presents three night games in the first three rounds (something trainers reportedly say are the toughest games to coordinate due to sometimes packing and unpacking in near darkness).

As Livingstone explained, the league has been forced to wield its authority with the fixture, following some frustration in previous years with clubs.

“We’ll just fixture what we think is best for the comp as a whole,” he said.

“(It) gets away from clubs arguing about where they play each other.”

The Express rang around to all Latrobe Valley-based senior football coaches to get their thoughts on Sunday games.

Most had no issue playing Sundays, nor with the fixture and any potential advantages or disadvantages.

“I think it’s brilliant (playing Sundays), we’re happy with them. Happy with night games, happy with Sunday games, happy with public holiday games, whatever we have to do, the players are always happy – they’re there to play footy,” new Traralgon playing-coach Dylan Loprese said.

“At the end of the day, the fixture has been set. From our point of view, if there are Sunday games that need to be played, we’ll work hard as a footy club to make the best of it,” incoming Morwell coach Shaun Mooney added.

Sunday games offer a new experience for returning Moe playing-coach Leigh Poholke, who revealed he has never played a regular season Sunday match.

Not for the first time, the Sorrento-based forward didn’t hold back when asked his opinion.

“I’m not a massive fan, six day breaks, local footy, ability to recover, risk of injury, working Mondays, but if the league want to do it then we’re all for it, let’s have some Sunday footy,” he said.

All three Latrobe Valley sides played senior finals last season, yet the new season already presents an extra hurdle in that there is seven uninterrupted weeks heading into the business end.

“That’s a lot of footy. You look at playing 11 weeks straight no breaks, there’s going to be some management there, definitely some juggling of players, injuries, rest, risk v reward, then ladder positions, it’s going to be an absolute logistical gameplan the backend of the season,” Poholke said.

“It’ll be what it’ll be. Last year we had six games heading into finals, and 10 in a row by the time we got to the Grand Final, so if we have to manage players we will,” Loprese said.

“It’s the Gippsland League, we understand that travel is a big part of what we do, there will be times that we have to dig deep and work hard, it’s all part of it, part of the journey,” Mooney said.

  • An in-depth analysis of the Gippsland League can be found in this week’s paper on page 45.