It's been a rough off-season but Riverina still supreme
The Riverina and Farrer Leagues enjoyed contrasting off-seasons but it remains clear as to who is the top dog.
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The 'premier league' showed they are exactly that with some strong performances against Farrer clubs and others.
A young Turvey Park group accounted for Farrer League fancies East Wagga-Kooringal by 13 points on Saturday, while Griffith was too good for Temora.
It is only practice game stuff but what has been evident is that Riverina League clubs boast much better depth and can cover a few missing players more comfortably than their Farrer League rivals.
Credit to the Farrer League premiers, The Rock-Yerong Creek, however who bucked the trend with a win over Wagga Tigers, a week after belting Hume League club Billabong Crows.
Hawks recruits show their value
There was no bigger mover over the off-season than East Wagga-Kooringal and arguably no bigger story than Jake Barrett's move to Gumly Oval to be the new Hawks coach.
While they didn't get the win against Riverina League premiers Turvey Park at Gumly Oval on Saturday, the reason behind the Hawks' hype was on display.
Barrett knocked up getting the footy early on and showed why he is one of the best footballers in the region, let alone the Farrer League this year.
If Barrett can stay injury-free then he looks set to return to the dominance that saw him a runaway winner of the 2022 Jim Quinn Medal.
His brother-in-law, Jerry Maslin, also showed good signs against the Bulldogs. He looks fit and set for a massive year.
Another Conlan set to make his mark at Griffith
The youngest Conlan sibling is in line to debut for Griffith in their round one clash against Mangoplah-Cookardinia United-Eastlakes.
Isaac Conlan backed up a strong pre-season with an impressive display for Griffith in their big trial win over Temora at Nixon Park on Saturday.
Conlan played a handful of under 17.5 games last year but is coming straight out of under 15s. His elder brothers Jacob, Lucas and Nick are all good footballers and it doesn't look like Isaac will be any different.
Another Swan set for a big year is Nathan Richards.
The Griffith ruck looks as fit as he has been for years and the idea of him improving on last year could come as a scary thought for opposition clubs given he made the Riverina League Team of the Year in 2023.
He attracted strong interest from a number of clubs over the off-season but looms as a major weapon for Griffith again this year.
Wakefield to help make CSU a better team
Hugh Wakefield looks set to be a valuable addition for Charles Sturt University this season.
Wakefield kicked four goals for the Bushpigs in their trial win over Hume League club Lockhart at McPherson Oval on Saturday.
While the Bushpigs plan to use him through the midfield, Wakefield showed the damage he can do when forward. Either way, he'll only bolster CSU's line-up.
CSU were impressive in their win over Lockhart. They led 10.1 (61) to 2.5 (17) when they took their first grade team off. The final score was a 16.6 (102) to 8.9 (57) win.
The Bushpigs opted for three trial games to help their new faces blend in and they look set to hit the season running for when they take on Barellan in round one.
Walker brothers to feature at Marrar
The Walker brothers look set to complement each other nicely in the forward line at Marrar this year.
Blake and Caleb Walker played their first trial games of the off-season against Henty on Saturday whey they looked threatening in attack.
Their agility and athleticism make them difficult match-ups and are likely to cause opposition teams some headaches this year.
Blake enjoyed a breakout season last year and is set to benefit from the arrival of Kieran Emery.
Caleb had an injury-interrupted season last year but returned to play in Marrar's under 18 premiership. After Saturday, it would be a surprise not to see him in the Bombers' round one line-up and he is sure to add to his 10 first grade games.
Trouble still counts in trial games
Not so much something we learnt, but certainly a reminder.
You can be reported in trial games.
A Henty footballer found out the hard way in the trial game at Langtry Oval on Saturday.
With official umpires in charge, a Swampie ended up in the book after dishing out a Liverpool kiss to his Marrar opponent. It caused things to get heated for a moment late in proceedings.
The game finished in a 8.5 (53) apiece draw. Henty missed a set shot after the final siren to win the game.
From headquarters to moving magnets
It appears former AFL Southern NSW community football and competition manager Joel Robinson won't be lost to the game.
Robinson was spotted assisting new East Wagga-Kooringal coach Jake Barrett on the Hawks' bench in Saturday's trial game against Turvey Park.
Robinson left the AFL at the end of last season with Luke OIsen now in the role.
Robinson previously assisted Jeremy Rowe at Mangoplah-Cookardinia United-Eastlakes and also coached reserve grade at Marrar.
Gumly not Maher...our bad
We learnt that Turvey Park and East Wagga-Kooringal were playing at Gumly Oval, not Maher Oval, like published in The Daily Advertiser.
Our apologies for that and if it's any consolation for those that might have turned up to an empty Maher Oval, we did too.
