The Essendon District Football League has confirmed its fixture for all of its senior men’s competitions and the premier women’s competition.
The premier division is set to kick off with a grand final rematch in the traditional Good Friday showdown between Keilor and Strathmore at Joe Brown Oval on March 29.
Eager EDFL fans will have to wait another fortnight before round one action commences which will see Deer Park unfurl their division one flag in front of their home fans in a blockbuster clash with the reigning premiers Keilor.
Greenvale will host Avondale Heights to complete Round 1.
In what will no doubt be a day of celebration, Mick McGuane will feature in his 300th game as Keilor coach in Round 17 against Greenvale.
The home-and-away season will conclude on August 24 with a four-week finals series between the top five sides, replacing the pre-finals bye.
The 2024 grand final is set to be played on Saturday September 21.
With division 1 moving from 12 teams down to 11, each side will play 16 games with two allocated byes.
There will again be a double dose of Good Friday action with Keilor Park hosting Hillside, and the Battle of the Bridge returning for its second iteration with Craigieburn travelling to Lakeside Oval to take on Roxburgh Park.
2023 finalists Rupertswood and St Albans will face off at Salesian College.
Good Friday opponents are swapped with Craigieburn travelling to Shark Park to face Hillside and Roxburgh Park hosting Keilor Park.
Ground renovations will see Craigieburn take an early bye and play the majority of its early season games away from DS Aitken Reserve, with their first home game taking place in round five against Rupertswood.
Next year’s fixture also catches up on each of the 12 head-to-head match-ups that were missed in the 2023 season, where each club only played against certain opponents once.
The bottom two sides on the ladder are again set for relegation by season’s end, with the finals series again including five teams over a four-week span.
The finals will commence on the weekend of August 24 and 25, with the grand final slated for Saturday, September 14.
Two new sides will grace division 2 with Glenroy and Westmeadows set for their first stints in the division to make it a nine-team competition.
Each side will play each other twice across 16 games with two allocated byes.
While there’s no Good Friday action in the fixture, the season will kick off on the Friday night before round one with Burnside Heights playing host to Hadfield with the first bounce set for 7:15pm.
The preliminary final rematch between Taylors Lakes and Sunbury Kangaroos highlight Saturday’s round one contests, as Coburg Districts host Northern Saints and Westmeadows travel to John McMahon Reserve to play East Sunbury.
The local derby between Sunbury Kangaroos and East Sunbury will return in round two but this time under Saturday night lights at Eric Boardman Reserve.
The clash between Coburg Districts and Burnside Heights will shift from ANZAC Eve to ANZAC Day in 2024 with Cole Reserve set to play host.
Their return NAIDOC-week fixture will be a twilight contest at Tenterfield Drive with a 5pm scheduled start time, as the Bears again grace Saturday night action against East Sunbury at John McMahon Reserve.
Following 18 rounds, the finals series will commence on the weekend of August 24 and 25, with the grand final slated for Saturday September 7.
The women’s premier division competition will remain at eight teams next season. The league revealed the structure of the top flight and the fixture, which isn’t normally released until the new years. Last season’s division 1 winners, Essendon Doutta Stars, move into the top division, while Strathmore, which finished bottom of premier division, has been relegated. The women’s season kicks off on April 13 and each team will play each other twice. Grand final day is slated for August 24.
