Moama claimed its maiden premiership in the 2025 youth girls competition.
As eyes begin to turn towards the football fields for the winter sports season, local women’s and girls sides are gearing up for fresh challenges and opportunities in 2026.
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After falling in the grand final last year, Echuca will be hoping to return to the mountaintop in the new season, with coach Kate Dixon returning for another go round.
Barooga’s departure to the Picola District league for the new season has neighbour Cobram stepping in to fill the Hawks spot in the seven-club competition, with champion Shepparton United, Rumbalara, Nathalia, Mansfield and Tatura all to return.
In the girls’ competition, Moama will be looking to back up its maiden flag triumph after downing Shepparton United in the grand final by 26 points.
Kate Christie is back at the helm of the Mowers in the now five-team league, with the other local side, Echuca United, opting to ply its trade in pastures new.
Kate Dixon is ready to lead Echuca’s women again in 2026.
The Eagles will join the Central Victorian Under-18 girls competition and will be battling sides mostly from the Bendigo region.
United will hope to rediscover the form that led it to the 2024 GM girls title, needing to unseat reigning champion and geographical outlier Woorinen to make that happen.
Back in the Goulburn Murray competition, the league’s expansion into the under-14 space is set to continue, with the league returning for a second season and expected to grow from four teams to six.
Goulburn Murray Women and Girls co-ordinator Sammy Heron hopes the investment in youth will strengthen the female divisions in the future.
“I think we’ve done it a little bit backwards in going from women’s all the way down, but our hope is that in 2027 we not only have under-14s, but we also have under-12s, because we’re seeing a lot of girls come through the junior competition,” she said.
“We’re definitely seeing a huge rise in that younger girls area, which will only benefit the youth girls and women’s in the next four to five years.”
The under-14s is likely to remain club agnostic with the talent pool distributed into teams for matches played around hubs in Shepparton and Moama.
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