Hampden league to play under 23 interleague match against Ballarat in 2023

AFL great and South Warrnambool export Jonathan Brown will return to coach the Hampden outfit, with the match to be played at Mars Stadium during the state-wide bye on July 1.

The two leagues went head-to-head in the 2019 AFL Victoria Community Championships under the tutelage of Brown, with the Hampden league dominating in a 74-point win.

However, with the organised interleague competition now largely done, it is up to leagues to organise their own clashes if they wish to utilise the concept.

League president Shane Threlfall said initial discussions of a return of interleague, and its new under 23 class, stemmed from last year's under 23 competition.

"The under 23 concept, the more we thought about it, those young people... they're just really keen to play footy and they'll play every night of the week if you offered it," he said.

Threlfall said the league also understood the week off was attractive to older players.

He said the clash would give the league's rising stars the chance to showcase themselves on a bigger stage, with hopes of attracting recruiters to the clash in the future.

"The under 23 still have that real passion to keep playing," Threlfall said. "It could be a little bit of a light at the end of the tunnel for them to maybe get a VFL gig or at least invited to an AFL club to do a pre-season."

Threlfall said Geelong was also interested in the concept, with the possibility of creating a three-league interleague fixture in the future.

"I reckon one game this year to test the waters and get it started," Threlfall said of this year's Hampden-Ballarat game. "But next year we might be able to play a couple games or rotate and play Geelong next year and Ballarat after that."

The league is also exploring the possibility of playing next year's game at a high-profile ground as a curtain-raiser.

The Hampden league launched its 2023 season on Monday night, with representatives from each of the 10 clubs gathering at Warrnambool Racing Club.

Head of AFL Victoria Ben Kavanagh was in attendance, with each club's football and netball coaches and captains sharing their views on the season ahead.

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