The hotly-contested championships are scheduled to commence on Wednesday night with Pool B heavyweights Kooringal High School opening the night’s fixtures against Mount Austin High School.

Defending premiers Wagga High School will look to begin their campaign with a big win over Pool A rivals Kildare Catholic College, but face a fortnight’s break before shaping up against Mater Dei Catholic College in a repeat of last year’s grand final.

Wagga High emerged 3-1 victors last time around, exacting revenge for their 2016 heartbreak at the hands of Mater Dei, and coach Michael Dare has retained a core group of players for this year’s title defence.

“Jacob Ochieng and Dylan Shanahan are still around for us along with Ryan Campbell, plus we’ve got a few new junior players trying out this year,” Dare said.

“We’ll just do our best and hopefully we can get another win.”

Competition organiser Nathan Irvine said Wagga High would be hard to beat in this year’s installment.

“Wagga High are always very good, but Mater Dei and Kildare are good sides too,” Irvine said.

“We’re expecting a high quality competition this year.”

Meanwhile, Mater Dei will be out to defend their Shipard Shield title after downing Kooringal High in a thrilling grand final penalty shootout last year.

“Mater Dei and Kooringal will be strong again, however, I’d keep an eye on Kildare this year in the girls competition,” Irvine said.

However, the two side will have to wait until next month before meeting out on the paddock.

Pool B rivals The Riverina Anglican College and Mount Austin will open the Shipard Shield action on Wednesday night before Kooringal and Wagga High meet later that evening.

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