Fixtures released for Men’s State League and Women’s Premier League

Geelong’s local soccer clubs now have a better idea of their paths to potential title glory after the release of Men’s State League and Women’s Premier League fixtures. See some of the reaction.

Surf Coast coach Ash Dafter. Picture: Alan Barber

Football Victoria this week released the fixtures for the upcoming Men’s State League and Women’s Victorian Premier League seasons, which kick off in just over three weeks’ time.

At the top of the pile in Men’s State League 1, Corio SC will host newly promoted Upfield at Hume Reserve in the season opener on the afternoon of Saturday 23rd of March.

Geelong SC, meanwhile, will kick off its campaign to return to the VPL2 competition with a State 1 home fixture against Westgate at Stead Park later that evening.

Geelong Rangers will head into their State League 2 season under the guidance of new mentor Alan Muscat. On the opening day, the Dark Blues will also be at home when they entertain Uni Hill Eagles at Myers Reserve in Bell Post Hill.

It’s State League 5, two of the three local sides will open their season’s campaigns on home soil.

Surfside Waves will host Wyndham FC at Shell Road Reserve in Ocean Grove, Deakin Ducks will entertain Maidstone United at the Duck’s Deakin University base in Waurn Ponds, while Lara United is away to Ballarat SC.

All eyes, however, will be on State League 4 with the northwestern conference widely regarded as the toughest division to get out of in Victorian football.

This year’s league competition will be no exception.

Come the start of the 2024 season, big spending Melbourne clubs Balmoral FC, Melton Phoenix and Keilor Wolves will all have one eye on the lone automatic promotion berth, as will ambitious local clubs Barwon SC and Surf Coast.

The Coasters, in particular, will be keen to go one step better than last year.

The Torquay North based club missed out on promotion at the final hurdle, after succumbing to Brunswick Zebras on penalties in a spectacular State 4 Promotion Playoff final at Epping Stadium last September.

Second year assistant coach Denis Holtgrefe is adamant his charges can improve on last year’s relatively successful season.

“Our ambition this year is to go one better than last year and we believe we can achieve that with the squad that we have for this season,” head coach Ash Dafter’s right hand man explained.

“We have been hard at work with pre-season starting early November and everything is progressing along nicely leading up to Round 1, later this month.

“We believe this year’s competition will be a strong one, with so many clubs strengthening their squads with real quality, which really excites us as a squad.

“We also believe that our squad is strong enough and as long as we continue to believe in the process we will achieve our goals.”

Originally published as Fixtures released for Men’s State League and Women’s Premier League