Murray: New season to start on April 5 following record-breaking 2024

The Murray league 2025 fixture is out and Finley hosts arch rival Deni on Good Friday, paving the way for a marquee player appearance.

The Murray Football-Netball League has stuck with a successful formula of flipping the Easter and King’s Birthday rounds, including some of the competition’s biggest rivalries, for a third successive year.

In the 2025 draw released on Thursday, Finley will host Deniliquin under lights, Barooga will be home to Cobram and Echuca United hosts Moama on Good Friday before the venues swap for the King’s Birthday weekend.

“The focus of the fixture is to maximise revenue for the clubs, especially early in the season,” Murray league general manager Dale Norman said.

“The clubs take advantage of the region’s population boom with an influx of tourists along the river.

“The Easter round will again be replayed on the King’s Birthday weekend.”

The Finley-Deniliquin Good Friday showdown could have added appeal next year with recently retired Geelong champion Tom Hawkins set to play for the Cats.

Also hosting Good Friday matches next year are Mulwala, Nathalia and Rumbalara.

Congupna beat Finley in a thrilling finish to the Murray league grand final this season. Picture Yuri Kouzmin

The season will start on April 5 and will be played over 21 weeks with two split rounds and a general bye.

The grand final replay between Congupna and Finley will be played in round 2.

This year’s grand final produced record gate-takings of $80,850, smashing the previous record from the 2023 season of $64,638 when Congupna lost to Mulwala.

The finals series gate-takings of $187,000 were also a record.

The 2025 grand final will again be played at Moama on September 20.

GV FIXTURE RELEASED

Shepparton Swans are adopting a pragmatic approach to playing four successive away matches in the Goulburn Valley league next year.

The Swans will be on the road for all of June with matches against Mansfield, Kyabram, Shepparton and Benalla before returning to their home ground Princess Park on July 12, following a bye the previous week.

Club president Jarrod Sutherland said the club was approached by the GV to play the bloc of away matches to help accommodate rival club fixture requests.

Temporary facilities arrives at Princess Park in Shepparton in April 2023 following floods in late 2022. Photo: Allie James Photography / AFL Victoria

Part of agreeing to the request was the club facing a third successive season using temporary changerooms following major floods in the Goulburn Valley region in late 2022.

“We aren’t too stressed,” Sutherland said.

“Sometimes you’ve got to give and take.

“You still play the same amount of home games and away games.

“Hopefully in the middle of winter it will be an advantage to us to not playing at home with no clubrooms still.”

The Swans request for a night game on Easter Saturday has been granted.

They had to forgo the 2023 Easter home game when there was a delay in the arrival of temporary facilities from interstate.

Princess Park was flooded in October 2022. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

Sutherland said talks with Greater Shepparton Council about new changerooms were ongoing.

“They’ve committed to make something happen,” he said.

“Coming up with the money is always the biggest problem.”

The GV season will start on April 5 with Shepparton Swans having five home games in the first eight rounds.

The other major talking point about the 2025 fixture is Shepparton Bears having four home matches in a row from July 5 to July 26.

GV league operations manager Brad Noonan said: “All clubs were involved in the review of the fixture and any potential areas for concern were fully discussed with the clubs involved.

“The Swans were approached by the league about their draw and agreed to it.”

He explained Shepparton Bears play in both weeks of the split round 13 because they have a bye in round 10, the same as Tatura.

Mansfield and Euroa also play in both weeks of round 13 as they have byes in round 11.