Great Northern Football League backflips on shorter season, revealing 17-round fixture for 2024

The Great Northern Football League is returning to a full 17-round season, ending its controversial move to shorten the season after just one year. Last year, the league played just 14 rounds, the shortest in the competition’s history since 1962, barring the years during the height of the COVID pandemic. At the time, the GNFL said the decision “took into account several factors and will be of benefit to the entire football community”. However, the move was not popular, with the majority of clubs allegedly voting against the plan before it was pushed through. It seems their voices have been heard, with the league reverting to the full 17 rounds as the GNFL revealed its fixtures last week. However, there will be slight tweak to the standard formula, with split rounds to open the season on April 27 and May 4. A grand final rematch awaits in round one on April 27 when Railways travel to Northampton, who will surely have their latest flag unfurled for their arrival, after the controversial finish to last year’s decider when a scoreboard error sent the game into overtime. Towns will host Mullewa while Rovers, Brigades and Chapman Valley will have an extra week of pre-season. Chapman Valley will then get an early test of their finals credentials when they travel to Brigades while Railways will be the only team to play in both first weeks when they host Rovers. Each team will have three byes during the season while there will be a general bye for the colts and men’s country week, beginning July 11. However, there is still a fixture clash come finals time, with the first semifinal taking place on the same day as the Chapman Valley Show on August 31. The preliminary final will be on the same day as the Northampton Show on September 7, which may cause some headaches for those respective clubs and their fans should they be featuring at the pointy end of the season.