You wouldn’t think it given the temperatures, but winter is not far around the corner, and that means one thing to many sporting fans in Broken Hill – the start of the new AFLBH season.
The traditional season opener, the Lightning Cup, is just a couple of weeks away, and following that the season will officially launch with the customary ANZAC Day fixture between Central Broken Hill and West Broken Hill.
Last season was a successful one in AFLBH for South Broken Hill in the men’s A-Grade, who won the first Grand Final in three years with a comprehensive victory over Central who had an incredible late season surge to the Grand Final themselves.
South were also prominent on award night at the end of last season, with Marc Purcell winning the prestigious Mail Award, and although none of their players claimed the Lionel Johnston, their quality shone through with a number of players polling heavily on awards night.
All of that is in the past now, however. The questions now revolve around the upcoming season and whether South can maintain the status quo as the benchmark for the league.
Can Central continue their incredible form from the backend of the 2022 season? Will North bounce back from a late season slump that saw them miss out on what seemed like a certain Grand Final berth at different times last year?
Is this the year that West close the gap between them and the other teams and become a legitimate Finals contender?
New North Broken Hill coach, Mark Pitt, told the Barrier Truth the playing group are ready to go ahead of the Lightning Cup, set to take place at the beginning of April.
“We’ve gone in with a different gameplan this year, and we have had extreme focus on it throughout pre-season and are looking toward the Lightning Cup.
“Everyone [in the playing group] has a good understanding of what we do want. Hard work and commitment obviously, with a bit of enjoyment.
“We have created an environment where players can showcase their skillsets, whilst using their weapons to benefit the team,” Mr Pitt told us.
Central head coach, Sheldon Hall, said the Magpies playing group were very confident heading into the season.
“Very confident. Our work ethic and mindset has been really good coming into pre-season training.
“We have had a few ins and outs. Training has been really positive and the boys are planning to bring that late season form from last year into the new campaign.”
Check out the AFL Broken Hill 2023 Mens A-Grade fixture below to keep track of your team’s progress this season.
