The Raiders will bring a third home game in the past four seasons to the city next year, and they will play the Storm at Equex Centre on April 9.

Melbourne has forged a relationship of their own with Albury in recent times, including a pre-season match against Newcastle this year.

Ponissi said it's vital the NRL continue to take more games to regional centres, and for clubs to forge long-term associations with country strongholds.

"We're genuinely excited. We've seen teams going to Wagga for a while and we've been waiting for our opportunity," Ponissi said.

"I applaud the NRL for doing that (going to regional centres), it's really important for the game. One of the beauties of the Wagga fixture is this isn't just a one-off, it's been a few years. Sometimes you can play one-off games which are OK, but you definitely make that connection over a longer period of time.

Penrith has done it with Bathurst and the Raiders are in Wagga, to commit to a regional spot over a long period of time can only be good for that area."

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The Storm's coaching staff has a strong association with the Riverina.

Head coach Craig Bellamy, regarded as one of the best of all time, was captain-coach at Turvey Park in 1991, the year after he won a premiership with the Raiders in 1990.

Greg Brentnall filled a number of roles with the Storm over the years and his son Marc is a current assistant coach, alongside Temora product Ryan Hinchcliffe.

"There's been a Brentnall involved in our club since day dot with Greg and also his wife Wendy," Ponissi said.

"There's a strong Riverina connection and those boys are looking forward to it, as we all there. There's probably a good Storm supporter base in Wagga and it makes sense for us to play the Raiders there, given it's not too far away from the Victorian border.

"We'll give the players in the lead-up to the game a history lesson on Wagga and the great players who have come from out of there.

"The most important part is trying to get the two points, but we make a point of ensuring they understand the significance of where they're playing."

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