The NFNL has released the fixture for the opening round of its under-19 competitions.
As revealed in October, the NFNL under-19 competition structure will undergo a change for the 2018 season.
All clubs entering a side into the under-19 competition were asked to nominate the division in which they wished to play this season.
As advised previously, the NFNL would implement grading if the Division 1 competition had more than 10 nominations.
A total of 11 clubs have nominated to play in the Division 1 competition.As such, grading will occur over the first four weeks of Division 1. A fixture for the first four weeks will be done on a week-to-week basis leading into each round.
The fixture for Round 1 of the under-19 competitions is below:
DIVISION 1
Eltham v Diamond Creek – Friday March 30 at 9:40am at Eltham Central Park
Northcote Park v Bundoora – Saturday April 14 at 9:40am at Bill Lawry Oval
Greensborough v Montmorency – Saturday April 14 at 9:40am at Greensborough War Memorial Park
Eltham v St Mary’s – Saturday April 14 at 9:40am at Eltham Central Park
Diamond Creek v West Preston-Lakeside – Saturday April 14 at 9:40am at Coventry Oval
Whittlesea v Heidelberg – Saturday April 14 at 9:40am at Whittlesea Showgrounds
Bye – Macleod
DIVISION 2
Kilmore v Banyule – Saturday April 7 at 9:40am at J.J. Clancy Reserve
Panton Hill v Mernda – Saturday April 7 at 9:40am at A.E. Cracknell Reserve
Eltham 2 v North Heidelberg – Saturday April 7 at 9:40am at Eltham Central Park
Mill Park v Lower Plenty – Saturday April 7 at 9:40am at A.K.Lines Reserve
Bye – South Morang
Grading Process
• Division 2 will commence Round 1 on Saturday April 7. Division 1 will commence Round 1 on Saturday April 14 (with the exception of a special request for Eltham v Diamond Creek to play on Good Friday).
• Both divisions will have a final-five finals system, hence the need for the Division 2 season to start one week earlier.
• Grading will occur over the first four weeks of Division 1.
• Fixture for the first four weeks will be done on a week-to-week basis.
• Clubs will retain their points for a win/loss or draw through the grading process.
° NFNL By-Laws 10.2.1: Four (4) points shall be awarded for a win during grading games and two (2) points for a draw.
• There will be no percentage accumulated during the grading process (this will be removed after the end of the grading process for both divisions)
° NFNL By-Laws 10.2.1: No percentage points will be allocated during the grading games.
• After four weeks, one team nominating for Division 1 will move into Division 2. This will occur through assessment of results.
• If required, match ratio will be implemented within the two divisions of the under-19s competitions.
° NFNL By-Laws 10.1.1: In the Home and Away matches, four (4) points will be allotted for a win, four (4) points for a team in whose favour a forfeit or walkover is ruled, two (2) points for a draw and zero (0) points for a loss. In competitions involving an uneven number of byes for competing teams, the League shall also prepare a match ratio which reflects the number of wins by each team against the number of matches played by each team.
