Football Wagga locks in major switch for men's first grade competition

The switch will see the first grade competition move from a Sunday afternoon 3.20pm time slot to now being played on a Saturday night at 6.15pm.

Second grade will also make the shift across from Sunday to Saturday afternoons, third grade will remain on Saturday while fourth grade will continue to be played on Friday nights.

The shift will see the top three senior men's grades follow on from the junior competitions that are played on a Saturday morning.

Andy Heller is in charge of strategy and planning at the association and said the decision was made following extensive consultation with clubs, coaches, players and fans.

"We took everyone's feedback onboard and then delivered stage one of the competition update which basically move our junior program into the men's on a Saturday and retains the women's on a Sunday," Heller said.

"Within our Wagga boundary we think it's important that juniors flow into seniors so there's that progression from 12's, 14's and 16's through to our seniors.

"As with any change you're going to have questions around it, there was large support for the actual idea but there were some questions around why or timing.

"It wasn't just the clubs either we spoke to as we also got feedback from the community.

"We spoke to players, coaches and fans, as many people as possible before we made any decisions."

Junior games will continue to begin proceedings on a Saturday morning with third grade to commence at 2:15pm which will be followed by second grade at 4:15pm and first grade at 6:15pm.

Heller said there were a few key benefits of the switch however the major reason behind the move was to support the transition of players from junior to senior competitions.

"I think the idea is to create pathways for juniors to stay in the sport and for games to flow more naturally from 12's all the way up to the first grade competition," he said.

"There was a large call and support for that, yes there were clubs that probably preferred it on a Sunday or would like it in a slightly different format.

"But I think the general consensus was that it was good for the sport, particularly in the Football Wagga group.

"We understand we have clubs that their junior competitions are with different associations, but for our association Football Wagga's key drive is to improve the quality of the competition and create pathways and development opportunities for juniors.

"They also get to create a more community atmosphere around clubs which we feel this change will bring with all the juniors and men onto one day."

Clubs will still have the opportunity to play certain fixtures on a Sunday however it will require granting permission from their opponent to make the switch.

The move will also provide a boost to the women's competition which remains on a Sunday, however is expected to have a later start time.

"The women were quite keen to retain their Sunday games so there didn't seem much of a reason to move that particular competition," he said.

"There was support however for a time change so they didn't have to be travelling quite so early in the morning.

"The change in men's structure allowed for that so we could build the game on a Sunday in the women's competition."

Heller was hopeful of also having at least some of the junior girls competitions moved to Sunday morning before the senior women's games.