While the rest of the Hampden Football Netball League plays on the Saturday before, the Kangaroos and Tigers will play under lights at Melville Oval on the Tuesday, the scene of Hamilton’s thrilling two-point triumph in 2016.

HFNL chief executive officer Mike Farrow said the clubs were in a good position to continue with the marquee fixture, after others trialled it in recent seasons.

“They’re the ones that would like to keep it going,” he said.

“Because they haven’t got Sunday juniors, they can probably cover it a bit easier, especially with Hamilton Kangaroos having lights.”

The HFNL fixture, released on Friday, reveals Port Fairy and Koroit will again play a standalone match a week before the April 8 start for the rest of the competition, with their round three clash moved forward to accommodate the Koroit Irish Festival.

North Warrnambool Eagles will have to wait until round nine to get its first crack at grand final conqueror Koroit.

Hamilton Kangaroos is set to host three night matches and Cobden two, but Farrow said there was potential that could change if more agreements were struck between clubs.

Meanwhile, the Warrnambool and District league season is set to start on April 1, with its grand final on September 9 two weeks before the Hampden league decider.

Teams will have up to four byes over the course of the home and away season, with each having one or two byes during regular rounds on top of mid-season and community championships byes.

Merrivale and Old Collegians will meet for their traditional Good Friday clash in round three, while grand finalists Nirranda and Old Collegians will lock horns in round one.

Allansford will meet Old Collegians to mark 30 years since its grand final triumph over the Warriors in round six, while  South Rovers will celebrate 10 years since its premiership win over Timboon Demons in round three.

Round eight has been earmarked as Indigenous Round for the league, with East Warrnambool looking at marking the occasion in the coming years.

“It’s something we’ve spoken about, if we can get it up and going we’ll go to the league about it,” Bombers coach Danny Chatfield said.

“It’s something we’re obviously going to try to get on board with … whether it’s this year or next.

“With our football and netball teams, I think we’re the biggest club inside Warrnambool for most Indigenous numbers.”