Westmeadows and Moonee Valley kick off Premier Division action at Willowbrook Reserve.
Westmeadows will want to get back on track after a lean 2023 season where they picked up just three wins.
They showed glimpses of their 2022 form with some competitive outings against top sides, including two wins against Maribyrnong Park who narrowly missed the finals.
They retained a lot of their key players with Gemma Wright continuing as captain/coach, with fellow Team of the Year representative Ruby Smith named to play as well.
Moonee Valley got as far as the preliminary final and under new coach Lee Newman, they would want to build on that and solidify their spot among the top few.
They signed some VFLW-listed recruits in the summer but have also retained the majority of their key players, highlighted by Jessica Nannup and Nicole Chiera.
There’ll be old teammates in opposing jumpers at Joe Brown Oval when Keilor hosts Hillside.
Keilor will again be led by Brooke Surgeon and have enjoyed the inclusion of Kiera Leare, Ruby Taranto, and Simone Craige, with Leare crossing from Hillside to Keilor.
Going back the other way to the Blaise Ferraro-led Sharks includes the likes of Brooke Kerrigan, Emma Picone, Georgina Rebuffo, and Beejay Johnson.
Ferraro will be hoping he can keep his best side on the park for as much of the season as possible as they look to recapture their form of the 2021 season.
Keilor’s depth will be tested being the only Premier Division club without a second side, but we’ve come to learn we can’t count out the Blues.
Essendon Doutta Stars will re-join the top flight and travel to Walsh Oval to face Maribyrnong Park.
Douttas were the form team entering the 2023 Division One finals series and were excellent on grand final day, as coach Marie Napoli will be keen to see her side translate it at the top level.
Marby just missed the finals in 2023 and will be led by Milly Beardmore who has stepped up after coaching the second side last season.
The last two games between these sides have each been decided by five points, a close content beckons.
Wrapping up Premier Division action is a grand final rematch at JP Fawkner Reserve as Oak Park unfurl their flag against Aberfeldie.
Both sides have enjoyed prosperous offseasons and have improved their top end and their depth.
Abers won the two home and away meetings between these sides in close contests and were able to win comfortably in the qualifying final.
Oak Park were able to win the one that mattered most, however, in yet another nailbiter.
If there’s one thing we know for certain, this match is going to be intense!
You can catch all the action, live streamed for free on Streamer.
Airport West and Keilor Park will both take on new challenges when they play at Etzel Street Reserve on Saturday morning.
The Eagles will be stepping up after earning promotion while the Devils reintroduce their women’s program.
Keilor Park elected to go straight into Division One which is an encouraging sign for the talent they’ve brought in.
Airport West coach Marcus Barclay is a Keilor Park club legend and many of his players crossed over from the Devils initially – this will be an interesting contest all round!
We’ll immediately be treated to a contest between the sides that finished first and second at the end of the regular season in Greenvale and Burnside Heights at Section Road.
Neither side were super active in the offseason with reasonably similar turnover, with the Jets introducing ex-AFLW players Alana Barba and Renee Tierney to their list, alongside Keilor’s Sophie Pettman.
The latter will run out this Saturday and with VFLW ties to Barba and Tierney, it’s unclear whether we’ll see much of them.
Greenvale won three of these four contests in 2023, with as many of those games decided by nine points or less.
Tullamarine and a combined Strathmore and Pascoe Vale outfit will face off at Leo Dineen Reserve.
Tulla will be keen to start strong after a lean first season in Division One, and after retaining majority of their list and introducing Elisha Wain from Aberfeldie, new coach Travis Fitzpatrick should enjoy some continuity with his side.
Strathmore are back in Division One and lost quite a few players as they will be topped up with about half a dozen Pascoe Vale players.
They’ll want to remain competitive to ensure they can keep and build the side throughout the season, while Tulla will want to win these games to give them confidence to compete against the top sides.
Glenroy and Roxburgh Park will enter women’s sides for 2024 and will face off at Sewell Reserve to start the season.
Glenroy went on a big recruiting drive and have managed to attract a number of new faces to play footy in 2024.
Experienced women's footy coach Bill Emerson was announced as the coach to develop their women's program with marquee recruits Jax Vella and Jess Ashcroft to assist with attaining on-field success.
That, however, will not be priority number one as the club looks to build upon this foundation.
Roxy got busy early to secure recruits with footy experience and were effective in doing so under coach Kevin Allan.
They were able to attract local talent as well as players from other leagues, along with a suite of new faces to enable the Magpies to hit the ground running.
The only two returning sides from 2023 who’ll play this week face each other in a local derby as Sunbury Lions and Sunbury Kangaroos meet at Clarke Oval.
Sunbury Kangaroos will be wanting to build on a positive finish to the 2023 season after being moved into Division Two following a start in Division One.
They've been able to bring players back to the club after time off or moving to another club, such as Tylah Bell, which should enable the group to aim to get back on the successful path they had worked hard to be on.
Sunbury Lions will move into Division Two after spending the 2023 season in Division One where their only two wins came against sides that were soon relegated.
There won't be a great deal of personnel changes that will affect the Lions in season 2024 so they should be well poised to taste some on-field success.
East Sunbury and Taylors Lakes will have their inaugural women’s sides hit John McMahon Recreation Reserve to start their 2024 campaigns.
The Thunder will be headed by experienced player and coach Lisa Borg with a mix of experienced and new players which should hold East Sunbury in good stead for 2024 and moving forward.
Former Sunbury Kangaroos coach Joseph Antonetti has managed to bring Team of the Year member Courtney McCormack to the Den to aide in achieving on-field success as early as possible to retain and build their burgeoning program, along with a suite of experienced players.
THIS WEEKEND’S FIXTURES
WESTMEADOWS v MOONEE VALLEY
Saturday 1:50pm at Willowbrook Reserve
KEILOR v HILLSIDE
Saturday 1:50pm at Joe Brown Oval
MARIBYRNONG PARK v ESSENDON DOUTTA STARS
Saturday 1:50pm at Walsh Oval
OAK PARK v ABERFELDIE
🎥 Streamer
Saturday 1:50pm at JP Fawkner Reserve
AIRPORT WEST v KEILOR PARK
Saturday 11:50am at Etzel Street Reserve
GREENVALE v BURNSIDE HEIGHTS
Saturday 11:50am at Greenvale Recreation Reserve
TULLAMARINE v STRATHMORE / PASCOE VALE
Saturday 11:50am at Leo Dineen Reserve
GLENROY v ROXBURGH PARK
Saturday 11:50am at Sewell Reserve
SUNBURY LIONS v SUNBURY KANGAROOS
Saturday 11:50am at Clarke Oval
EAST SUNBURY v TAYLORS LAKES
Saturday 11:50am at John McMahon Recreation Reserve
