THE Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA) will get a lot more than just a football game when AFL returns to Narrandera next year.
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That’s the word from AFL officials after it was announced on Wednesday that Greater Western Sydney will take on West Coast at Narrandera Sportsground on February 18.
Southern NSW AFL game development manager Marc Geppert revealed that Giants players will remain in the region for two days following the game as part of an AFL Community Camp.
“The idea of it is that four or five of the local Giants players will stay after the game and we’re looking to go to Griffith, Leeton, Narrandera and Northern Riverina across Sunday and Monday,” Geppert explained.
“It’s a great opportunity to be able to service the area because it is hard to get elite players out to remote areas.”
With the battle for juniors between the codes as fierce as it ever has been, Geppert said AFL will use the Narrandera game to ‘launch’ their season.
“Obviously it’s a huge get for the region. It will obviously be great as a spectacle, for Narrandera, but it’s also important in terms of community and recruitment,” he said.
“It is perfect timing leading up to our 2017 season and we will use it as a real launching pad for our season.”
Crowds upwards of 10,000 flocked to Narrandera between 2007 and 2010 for three AFL pre-season games featuring Sydney Swans under lights.
Smaller crowds at Wagga in recent years has the AFL not getting overambitious about how many people will turn out to Narrandera.
“It will depend on things like the weather on the day but if we could get anywhere near 8000 it would be a great result,” Geppert said.
“It is at 2pm at Narrandera in the middle of February so we have to hope for a cool day.”
The scheduling of a 2pm game at Narrandera has come under some criticism from The Daily Advertiser readers after extreme heat hit Wagga’s AFL pre-season game earlier this year.
Geppert said while there is a chance of hot weather, the positives still outweigh potential negatives.
“It’s set from our national head office and it’s all to do with the requirements of each club in terms of travel and flights...it’s great to get a game, we’re not too worried about the time,” he said.
Tickets are not yet on sale for the game but will soon be available for purchase online.
