The Deniliquin Rams will host the Finley Cats for a full slate of football and netball, with later than usual start times.
Junior games will begin just after noon.
The A-grade netball is set to start at 4.30pm, ahead of the senior football clash at 5pm.
In the senior football, there is added intrigue for this Good Friday clash.
During the week there were rumours there might be some special powerhouse guests on the Finley side, but given the news was shared on April 1 we’re thinking it was a little joke to stir the Rams camp.
Regardless, the Rams are coming off a 14 point win in their standalone opening round match against Echuca United.
They will also be looking to receive plenty of support at home against the prospect of an improved Finley side.
Following their round one win against Echuca United, Deni Rams senior football coach John Fitzpatrick said he was pleased with the effort spread between the team.
“Just generally across the board, everyone performed well,” he said.
“We were challenged early as they got off to a four goal head start as you can tell, but it was into what, we thought, was probably a two to three goal wind.
“In the second quarter, we were able to run a bit more, and we managed to get back into it and do better than break even for the rest of the match.
“The main thing was everyone did their job.
“Will Henderson, Miller Fitzpatrick, Logan Leiper and also Zac Free when he was in there, were all great out of the middle and the backs were really good, but everyone played their role so you can’t single anyone out.
“It was a great team performance, and it was good to get the win on the board.
“I was especially happy with the way it happened, in that the team worked hard for it. It just showed with our inexperience that anyone can stand up and will stand up when needed with our average age of 21 there is an opportunity for that, and we took it.”
Finley is a rejuvenated side, but Fitzpatrick said his team are prepared to take it to their rivals at home, under lights.
“Everyone is on equal standing at the start of the season. It is definitely going to be a challenge, but we’ll work with that.”
“I think they’ve had about 15 or 16 ins and eight to 10 of those have had senior experience in the O&M, Goulburn Valley or even the VFL, so they’ve got some real quality coming in.
“With our youth, hopefully they can learn from what they come up against and just give them a good challenge.
“They’re coming from behind where we were last season, so they’ve got to prove themselves, and I’m confident that we can give them a good challenge.”
“Going against Finley ... they’re a rival, and we’re keen to do well against them.”
Fitzpatrick said the side will be largely unchanged from last week, but there may be a few slight adjustments.
“Monte Barnes is available and Kai Hillier played well in the reserves last week, so they’ll be considered if we make any changes.
“But it is pretty hard to make changes to a team that has done what this team has just done so we’ll see.”
Picola League
There is one standalone Good Friday clash in the Picola League today.
The season opener will see Tocumwal host the league’s most recent entrants, Barooga Football Netball Club, at Tocumwal Recreation Reserve.
It is the much anticipated first appearance of the club since making the move from the Murray League at the end of last season.
The A-grade netball is expected to get under way at 1.30pm, ahead of the senior football at 2.05pm.
This match acts as part of a split round one, so the rest of the Picola League clubs - including Blighty, Mathoura and Deniliquin Rovers - will begin their seasons next Saturday.
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