The season is set to begin with the men’s and women’s sides starting their campaign on Sunday.
The men’s competition has merged A and B-grades into a single division this year, with Echuca Moama to battle Shepparton Youth Club Yellow in the first round from 2.30pm at Shepparton Regional Hockey Complex.
The league features two Shepparton Youth Club and two Shepparton Hockey Club sides, along with Echuca Moama, Mooroopna and Goulburn Valley Grammar School.
In the women’s league, after a season of running two sides, the River Rats are back as one this year in a four-team competition.
“We had two teams last year mainly because they did nine-a-side and we're back to full field normal numbers (11-a-side) this year for our women's,” club secretary Bec Webb said.
“We haven't lost numbers, it's just the formatting’s changed.”
Echuca Moama Green took out the league last year, successfully defending the club’s championship in the division.
The club will battle SYC in the opening round on Sunday at Shepparton from 1pm, with Mooroopna and Shepparton the remaining sides in the division.
The River Rats will also have some unofficial representation in the Hockey Central Victoria competition this season.
A team composed of entirely Echuca Moama players will be playing under the Castlemaine banner in the A-grade men’s division of the Bendigo-based competition.
Castlemaine was struggling to field an A-grade side and the Echuca Moama players were interested in a different challenge in the Central Victorian League.
That competition kicked off with a couple of rounds in late March before a month-long hiatus, returning this weekend.
Castlemaine has played one game, William Kerr getting on the scoresheet in a 1-4 defeat to Bendigo Senjuns on March 29.
The side takes on Sandhurst in round two on Sunday from 1pm.
Webb said the club was excited for a new season, on and off the field.
“We are on a social side doing our monthly club dinners again, looking at doing a trivia night fundraiser, and then also in the background we're planning our big 50th anniversary celebrations which will fall next year,” she said.
The club will also be running some highlight rounds this year, the first a Good Sports Game Ready Round on May 9, focusing on safe driving, in a home double-header at Echuca College.
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