The road to a third straight Ovens and Murray senior premiership starts this weekend, as Wangaratta Rovers footballers lace up for the first time this season for a practice match. The club is taking over the footy field and netball court at Cathedral College on Saturday, hosting Goulburn Valley League club Shepparton United for their first practice matches ahead of the 2026 season. With three netball games and two football hit-outs on the cards, this Saturday is the first chance for the wider community to check out the Rovers in match-like conditions. Rovers football operations manager Mario Antonello said he was looking forward to seeing the senior, reserves, and under 18s footballers in action after a brilliant preseason to date. “We’re running in two separate areas, Wangaratta and Melbourne, but also combining once a month, we’re having joint sessions,” he said. “Over the next few weeks with praccy games we’ll be seeing each other a fair bit more which is good for the synergy. “We’re in a great position in terms of player numbers, I think what we’re seeing is a lot of guys wanting to push for Ovens and Murray reserves standard before going out to the O&K and collecting a couple of hundred bucks from teams out there. “We’ve got a few guys who aren’t playing this week, this week’s probably more of a chance for our reserves to push for selection, and some of the guys that are probably down the list in terms of senior selection to put their name up in the senior squad. “We’ve actually got about 64 registered players between seniors and reserves, so I would think there’s the best part of 25 not playing this week.” The club will be putting on a show on and off the playing surface, with a coffee van on site from 9am-11am, and a barbecue will be cooking from 9am to welcome local supporters and visiting Shepparton players and their families. “It’s nice to play those teams who are over in GVL comp,” Antonello said. “We’re sort of lucky in Wangaratta they’re an hour away, the GVL is a very strong comp, so it’s nice to get a different feel. “We’ll video the games and share footage with Shep United.” The Hawks will have two more practice fixtures following United, with games set against Mansfield on 14 March and Old Xav’s on 21 March. Wangaratta Rovers take on Shepparton United this Saturday from 9am at Cathedral College. Match times Senior netball – 10am Under 18 football (four quarters) – 10 am Senior and under 15 netball – 11am Senior and under 17 netball – 12pm Senior and reserve football (six quarters) – 12pm
