Another Murray Valley Cricket Association season begins tomorrow, with a trio of contests set to light up the region in the premier division.
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At Deniliquin's Memorial Park a replay of last year's decider will excite fans, with the Rhinos hosting reigning champion Cobram.
“We knocked them off last year first up at Cobram, so playing them in Deni first up this year will be in our favour,” Deniliquin all-rounder Brad Todd told the Pastoral Times.
“Our wicket has a bit in it first up, so hopefully that plays into our hands as we should be used to the conditions.
“It will show us where we stand straight away, we have lost a couple of players from our grand final side and word on the grapevine is that Cobram will have three South Africans playing for them, so they will be the benchmark again this year.
“Our build up has been a little slow, but numbers at training have picked up the past couple of weeks.”
The Tigers will add Rynard de Lange to their premiership-winning squad, with the South African bringing his opening bowling and middle-order batting prowess to the MVCA alongside Wian Van Zyl and Ewald Roberts.
At Tocumwal Recreation Reserve, it will be the Bloods hosting Nathalia.
Tocumwal will look to roll the momentum from last season's final-round victory against Deniliquin into this summer, with morale levels high approaching tomorrow's clash.
“The off-season was certainly a lot more enjoyable coming off a win,” Tocumwal captain Chris Shaw told the Southern Riverina News.
“We had to really grind out a win in that last game of the year and we are using that as our base for this season.
“We feel this is a game that we can win if we do the little things right.
“We need to be positive from the start and make sure we take our chances.”
With Barooga having a bye to start the season, the other clash of the round will be Katamatite hosting Cobram-Yarroweyah United.
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