North Albury is looking to introduce the Ovens and Murray Football Netball League's equivalent of the AFL's fierce Adelaide-Port Adelaide rivalry.
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'The Showdown' will be a standalone game against neighbours Lavington on July 27.
The O and M released its draw on Friday, December 1, and has dubbed the match the 'Hall of Fame Showdown'.
The Hall of Fame has returned to its original Wednesday night after moving to Saturday the past two years, post-COVID.
However, this year's crowd of 170 was around 60 down on pre-COVID levels, forcing the move.
The league will have a general bye as it did this year, but North has pounced on the 'free space'.
"We wanted to create that interest around the northern part of Albury," new North Albury head of football Mark Guiney explained.
"Lavington has that strong base and we're trying to build it into something significant, we get big crowds at North Albury when we have some success, we expect it to be quite something over time."
The Hoppers are coming off their best season in years, posting seven wins to finish four points and percentage out of the top five.
They were wooden spooners with only one win in 2022.
North's only marquee game in recent years has been its annual Anzac Day clash against Albury, which the latter has dominated for more than a decade.
"We needed something more significant every year," Guiney added.
"There's a real buzz around consolidating and building on what we achieved last season, there's a real sense we can do something significant next year."
The Hoppers' clever planning reflects the forward thinking at the club as it plots a return to finals.
"As a club we are really excited at the prospect of having a standalone game against Lavington, who we had a couple of really good games against last season," coach Tim Broomhead said.
"It is great for us to have a big game like this, which will hopefully attract a big crowd.
"It would be great if we can put on a good spectacle and turn this standalone game into an annual event of North Albury v Lavington."
North will host 'The Showdown' in 2024, with Lavington to do likewise the following season.
In other news, Wangaratta will continue to play at night.
The Pies have scheduled a 6pm start for their Good Friday clash against strongest rival Wangaratta Rovers, while they will also meet Wodonga under lights in round three.
The grand final re-match, between premiers Yarrawonga and Albury, which was one of the greatest grand finals of the past 25 years, will be held in round seven on May 18.
And Corowa-Rutherglen will return, after being forced into recess, largely due to a player shortage, with an Easter Saturday home game against Albury.
"As with most seasons, the fixture is one of the most challenging tasks for the O&M Board," O and M league chairperson David Sinclair said.
"Despite achieving parity with all clubs fixtured to play each other twice and receive nine home games each, the effort required to assist clubs in maximizing their gate returns is a considerable task.
"We are very excited to welcome Corowa-Rutherglen back into the draw in 2024, as it was shown that a nine-club fixture proved difficult for clubs to navigate at stages of the 2023 season.
"With multiple breaks required to capture Easter weekend, along with giving all local leagues their traditional Grand Final slots, we are pleased to return to a ten-club competition to provide O&M supporters a more familiar looking fixture in 2024."
OVENS AND MURRAY FOOTBALL NETBALL LEAGUE
*All times are 2pm, unless stated
ROUND 1 (EASTER WEEKEND)
Friday, March 29
Wodonga Raiders v Lavington
Wangaratta v Wangaratta Rovers (6pm)
Saturday, March 30
Corowa-Rutherglen v Albury
Sunday, March 31
Myrtleford v North Albury
Yarrawonga v Wodonga
ROUND 2
Saturday, April 6
Albury v Wodonga Raiders
Wangaratta Rovers v Corowa-Rutherglen
North Albury v Wangaratta
Wodonga v Myrtleford
Lavington v Yarrawonga
ROUND 3
Saturday, April 13
Wodonga Raiders v Wangaratta Rovers
Corowa-Rutherglen v North Albury
Myrtleford v Yarrawonga
Albury v Lavington
Wangaratta v Wodonga (6pm)
ROUND 4
Saturday, April 20
Yarrawonga v Wangaratta
Lavington v Myrtleford
Wodonga v Corowa-Rutherglen
North Albury v Wodonga Raiders
Wangaratta Rovers v Albury
ROUND 5 (ANZAC SPLIT ROUND)
Thursday, April 25
Albury v North Albury
Wodonga Raiders v Wodonga (3pm)
Saturday, April 27
Wangaratta v Myrtleford
Sunday, April 28
Corowa-Rutherglen v Yarrawonga
Saturday, May 4
Lavington v Wangaratta Rovers
ROUND 6
Saturday, May 11
Yarrawonga v Wodonga Raiders
Myrtleford v Corowa-Rutherglen
Wangaratta v Lavington
Wodonga v Albury
North Albury v Wangaratta Rovers
ROUND 7
Saturday, May 18
Wodonga Raiders v Myrtleford
Corowa-Rutherglen v Wangaratta
Albury v Yarrawonga
Wangaratta Rovers v Wodonga
Lavington v North Albury
INTERLEAGUE BYE - MAY 25
ROUND 8
Saturday, June 1
Wodonga Raiders v Corowa-Rutherglen
Albury v Wangaratta
Wangaratta Rovers v Myrtleford
North Albury v Yarrawonga
Lavington v Wodonga
ROUND 9 (KING'S BIRTHDAY WEEKEND)
Saturday, June 8
Wangaratta v Wodonga Raiders
Corowa-Rutherglen v Lavington
Myrtleford v Albury
Yarrawonga v Wangaratta Rovers
Wodonga v North Albury
ROUND 10 (SPLIT ROUND)
Saturday, June 15
Albury v Corowa-Rutherglen
North Albury v Myrtleford
Saturday, June 22
Lavington v Wodonga Raiders
Wodonga v Yarrawonga
Sunday, June 23
Wangaratta Rovers v Wangaratta
ROUND 11
Saturday, June 29
Wodonga Raiders v Albury
Corowa-Rutherglen v Wangaratta Rovers
Wangaratta v North Albury
Myrtleford v Wodonga
Yarrawonga v Lavington
ROUND 12 (INDIGENOUS ROUND)
Saturday, July 6
Wangaratta Rovers v Wodonga Raiders
North Albury v Corowa-Rutherglen
Wodonga v Wangaratta
Yarrawonga v Myrtleford
Lavington v Albury
ROUND 13
Saturday, July 13
Wodonga Raiders v North Albury
Corowa-Rutherglen v Wodonga
Wangaratta v Yarrawonga
Myrtleford v Lavington
Albury v Wangaratta Rovers
ROUND 14
Saturday, July 20
Wodonga v Wodonga Raiders
Yarrawonga v Corowa-Rutherglen
Myrtleford v Wangaratta
North Albury v Albury
Wangaratta Rovers v Lavington
HALL OF FAME - JULY 24
HALL OF FAME SHOWDOWN
Saturday, July 27
North Albury v Lavington
ROUND 15
Saturday, August 3
Wodonga Raiders v Yarrawonga
Corowa-Rutherglen v Myrtleford
Albury v Wodonga
Lavington v Wangaratta
Wangaratta Rovers v North Albury
ROUND 16
Saturday, August 10
Myrtleford v Wodonga Raiders
Wangaratta v Corowa-Rutherglen
Yarrawonga v Albury
Wodonga v Wangaratta Rovers
ROUND 17
Saturday, August 17
Corowa-Rutherglen v Wodonga Raiders
Wangaratta v Albury
Myrtleford v Wangaratta Rovers
Yarrawonga v North Albury
Wodonga v Lavington
ROUND 18
Saturday, August 24
Wodonga Raiders v Wangaratta
Lavington v Corowa-Rutherglen
Albury v Myrtleford
Wangaratta Rovers v Yarrawonga
North Albury v Wodonga
QUALIFYING FINAL
Saturday, August 31
ELIMINATION FINAL
Sunday, September 1
SECOND SEMI-FINAL
Saturday, September 7
FIRST SEMI-FINAL
Sunday, September 8
PRELIMINARY FINAL
Sunday, September 15
GRAND FINAL
Sunday, September 22 (Lavington Sportsground)
