Round 1 Wrap
A wet and windy start to the mid Gippsland football netball league season 2026 greeted participants on Saturday afternoon. Plenty of interesting games but none more so than the grand final replay between Foster and Fish Creek.
Both sides had their share of new recruits and Foster last year‘s premiership side had themselves a new coach in Jake Best.
A fierce battle across 4 quarters saw the reigning premier buck the recent trend and win the grand final rematch.
Whilst Foster had the four points Fish Creek lost no fans in what was a ripping game of football and one that we’re likely to see replayed again come finals time in the mid Gippsland football netball league season.
Other games saw low scores across the league with the wet and windy conditions hampering the forwards from scoring and offering plenty of challenges from in front of goal.
Boolarra and Thorpdale battled it out in what was a close game until three-quarter time before the home side, Thorpdale took the ascendancy and ran out four goal winners. With an injection of Darwin based players Boolarra however will improve over the coming weeks. Thorpdale too had their share of first up players and both sides will still be looking to replicate last seasons finals appearances.
Mirboo North welcomed Toora to town and despite the wet and wild weather they were able to rack up the highest score of the round. A couple of new recruits managed to hit the scoreboard along with Tiger regular Hudson Kerr who was named based on and help himself to 3 goals. It was a quiet day for Toora who only managed two goals goal but again with so many new players taking the field for the first time they’ll be improved by the first up run
MDU who played finals last year had a real banana peel game against Newborough in round one. The borough managed to get hold of MDU twice last year whilst missing finals themselves.
Rhett Kellie’s boys were prepared this time for the hit-and-run mission and got away with a comfortable win over Pat Frendo‘s dogs. The dogs however welcome back Nathan Weldon who missed all of last season with a horror injury with the playing coach being one of the better dogs players on the day.
Hill End were big recruiters in the off-season bringing in virtually a whole team of recruits to bolster their list. It didn’t take long for the boys to click with a comprehensive round one win over Stony Creek. Post game both coaches reflected on the appalling conditions but the reality was Hill End managed to capitalise in front of goal whilst restricting Stony Creek to just one goal. It was a perfect start for the new Hill End his side remain a big watch for the remainder of the season
Last year‘s wooden spooners Morwell East made the trek to Tarwin to kickoff their season. Under new coach Ben Marks expectations were not necessarily high for East with many expecting an easy Tarwin win. At halftime however the hometown sharks went in trailing the Wast who came and gave their all. The second half saw Tarwin getaway to a much-needed win and while the East were not content to go away without the points they lost no admirers in a huge first up run for them.
One of the premiership favourites for season 2026, Yinnar, started their season with a bye and will hopefully kickoff their year nunder better conditions come round two when they play MDU.