Murray Cup Rugby League will break new ground on Friday night when it stages the region's first senior sporting fixture on the Victorian side of the border since the state went into lockdown last month.
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Regional Victorian restrictions will be wound back further on Friday to allow senior level sport to restart with a patron cap of 150, including players, and Wodonga Storm and Benalla Wolfpack have jumped at the chance to get men's and women's matches in at Baranduda Reserve.
Storm president Bill Bell said the wellbeing of the players to get back on the field outweighed any financial implications that may result from a limited crowd.
"People have been training for a while and we had two weeks of footy and now three weeks off," Mr Bell said.
"All our guys were keen to get back out there and Benalla came to the party."
Benalla president Ivy Higgins said her club was in the same boat.
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"We didn't get to play in the last round either because our boys had to forfeit and we had the bye, so we've probably had four weeks out," she said.
"We were all keen to quickly scrounge together and get a game under way."
Baranduda Reserve doesn't have a gate, but Mr Bell said the club will set up a COVID access point where patrons must scan a QR code before they enter.
"There will be five QR codes at the ground because there is one to enter the facility and each change room has a separate code so we know who has been where," he added.
"Once a team has gone in and out of the rooms, we'll sanitise it all and make sure everything is in place."
The women's game kicks-off at 7pm, followed by the men at 8.10pm.
The Ovens and Murray league restarts tomorrow, solely in NSW, while the Tallangatta, Ovens and King and Upper Murray leagues are postponed for at least another week.
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