by Nicholas Duck
New season, new expectations.
The West Gippsland Football Netball Competition kicks off the 2024 season on Saturday with two blockbuster Easter matches sure to satiate any fan's appetite.
Teams have been preparing for months, testing game-plans, recruiting stars, and now it's all time for the real thing.
Phillip Island vs Warragul Industrials
Cowes Recreation Reserve, 2pm
One of the West Gippsland competition's fiercest rivalries takes another turn this weekend as local side Warragul Industrials kicks off their year against the mighty Phillip Island.
Michael Duncan takes the reins of the Dusties for the first time after a turbulent off season saw him accept the role in early January.
Duncan, an experienced coach in his own right, will be out to continue the Dusties' journey from the past two seasons where they have finished in a finals spot in both years.
It's not going to be an easy task right off the bat as his side heads deep into enemy territory to take on the Bulldogs at their fortress in Cowes.
Across the past two seasons Phillip Island has lost just one match at their home ground, that being last year against eventual premiers Inverloch-Kongwak.
But funny things have a tendency of happening when these two meet. Who could forget their famous preliminary final clash in 2022, which saw the Bulldogs prevail with a kick after the siren in extra time?
It's the kind of natural rivalry that could only come about from an amalgamated league like West Gippsland, and for Duncan's Dusties to pick up a win here they're going to have to face down a hostile - and vocal - crowd.
New recruits and some new positioning will be tested, and neither side will be dismissed entirely no matter how the game turns out, but after the hard work of the offseason there's only one place to show the results. On the field.
Expect fireworks and expect a cracking game.
Inverloch-Kongwak vs Cora Lynn
Inverloch Recreation Reserve, 2pm
Last year's reigning premiers return to the field for the first time since their famous victory last September in a match against another premiership aspirant.
The Sea Eagles were the undisputed best side of 2023, conquering all on the way to a dominant grand final win.
A relatively unchanged list has them raring to go again, and they'll need to be sharp in this one.
Cora Lynn have been thereabouts for a while, looking dangerous in finals without being able to take that next step.
Led by the competition's most dominant forward in Nathan Gardiner, they'll be hoping their complement of recruits can help them become the side they want to be.
It's an early test for both sides, and an early barometer for who the competition should be worried about.