Extended NAB League Girls season

(Shawn Smits) 205915_04

Tara Murray

More games is one of the highlights in the NAB League Girls fixture this season.

The season, which starts this weekend, features 13 teams playing nine matches across 10 rounds, two more games than last season.

The start date of the season was brought forward to bring it closer to the AFLW and VFLW fixtures.

Matches will be played across the state, including Williamstown, Truganina, Craigieburn and Bundoora, while teams will make the trip across to Tasmania to play the Tasmania Devils.

The Western Jets, who have a bye in round one, this season faces the Tasmania Devils, Northern Knights, Bendigo Pioneers, Sandringham Dragons, Geelong Falcons, the Suns Academy, Calder Cannons, Greater Western Victoria and the Eastern Ranges.

In other changes to the competition, quarter lengths will increase from 17 minutes to 20 minutes, while clubs who miss out on the semi finals will play in a repechage round, giving all clubs a minimum of 10 games for the season.

The Suns and Brisbane Lions academies plus Northern Territory will each travel to Melbourne for one game as guest teams, playing the Chargers, Western Jets and Tasmania Devils respectively.

The ladder will again be broken into metro and country-Tasmania divisions, with the top two of each group to play off in semi-finals on the weekend of April 2 and the winners of those games meeting in the Grand Final on weekend of April 9.

The opening clash of the NAB AFLW Under-18 National Championships between Vic Metro and Vic Country will be played in conjunction with round nine, but that is the only representative match to be played during the NAB League Girls season.

The under-16 futures clash between metro and country will be played alongside round five, with their championships to be played from May to July.