Representative football and netball will continue in the region, with the Wimmera and Horsham District leagues securing interleague fixtures for 2020.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The future of interleague football was thrown into doubt when AFL Victoria announced it was going to scrap the statewide Community Championships, placing the onus on football-netball leagues to organise their own games.
The Wimmera league will host the Central Murray Football League, while the Horsham District Football Netball League will travel to play the Golden Rivers Football Netball League.
In both clashes, football will be played at both senior and under-18's level, and netball will be contested by open, 17-and-under, 15-and-under and 13-and-under teams.
The Horsham District league's interleague coordinator Fred Mellington said it was important interleague continued.
"We were always going to keep going. We were chasing options and fortunately we found another league," he said.
"It's hard to quantify (interleague's importance). It's all about the players and giving every player in the league the opportunity to be a part of it."
"You've only got one team that wins a premiership each year, and we've got a lot of good players that play for a club that may not even make finals."
"They have the opportunity in interleague to play in a really good side, with the best players playing in our league."
In AFL Victoria's 2020 Community Championships rankings - released in May, before the system was suspended - the Central Murray league was ranked 10th, two places higher than Wimmera league, and the Golden Rivers league was the lowest ranked league.
The Horsham District league was ranked 26th, four places higher than their future opponents.
Wimmera Football League chief commissioner Trevor Albrecht said the league was approached about the interleague clash.
"Central Murray (league) rang us and put it up to us. They were prepared to travel down here and go all out for an interleague clash," he said.
"They're the number 10 rated (league in the state). So why wouldn't we take it on?
"The opportunity was terrific for us. I never had a knock back when I spoke to the other commissioners about it.
"We would've had a good representation whether we were away or at home. Who we're playing, and playing at home are all pluses for us."
AFL Victoria's decision to suspend the Community Championships for at least 2020, came after concerns were raised about the ranking system, inconsistent levels of competition, increasing costs pressure and administrative demands.
"My personal opinion is that the ranking thing will never got going again. (Interleague will work) as long as we have a few leagues that want to keep it going and it doesn't become too big of a travel issue," Mr Mellington said.
"That was one one of the downsides of the ranking system. If you were drawn to play in west Gippsland, well that was what it was. That was one of the main reasons why leagues would pull out."
Leagues who participate in interleague fixtures next year will be financially supported by AFL Victoria.
While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox twice weekly from the Wimmera Mail-Times. To make sure you're up-to-date with all the news from across the Wimmera, sign up below.