The Western Premier League (WPL) will be one team short in 2024, after the shock withdrawal of one of last year's grand finalists.
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Barnstoneworth United, who lost last year's grand final to Bathurst 75 in the dying minutes, had flagged last year that its future in the competition was in doubt, with WPL competition manager Peter Mitchell indicating at the time that the club was struggling for numbers and a coach.
And it seems Barnies were unable to overcome those struggles, meaning the competition will feature just seven teams in 2024, the same amount from the re-launch year in 2020 and four teams down from its peak in 2022.
Barnies had been a mainstay in the WPL's first four years, with the team qualifying for the finals in the past two years.
With Barnies' withdrawal, it also means the WPL will have a bye for the fourth time in five seasons, but each team is expected to play each other three times, for a total of 18 games across 21 weeks.
The season will commence on Saturday, April 6, the weekend after Easter, with the June long weekend the only time the competition will pause.
The final regular season round will be on Saturday, August 31, before the top four teams play-off for the premiership.
The regular season fixtures to watch
There will be no grand final re-match to look forward to in 2024, but there's still a number of must-watch fixtures.
The first Bathurst derby will be on May 11, between Panorama and Bathurst 75, before the two teams battle it out again on July 13 and August 17.
In the opening round, Dubbo Bulls will host Parkes Cobras, 75 will travel to Orange to face old rivals Waratahs and Macquarie United, one of the teams to watch in 2024, will face Orana Spurs in a Dubbo derby.
A re-match of the 2020 WPL decider between Macquarie and Bulls will take place on April 13, while 2022 grand finalists Waratahs and Panorama will battle on the same day as well.
Strangely enough, Mudgee will host a triple-header on Saturday, May 18, with all three Dubbo teams to act as hosts when Bulls play Panorama, Macquarie take on 75 and Spurs and Waratahs face-off.
How the finals will work
There are currently two options being floated for the finals, but both will feature just four teams.
Option one is the same one as last year, where first and second, and third and fourth play in the first week of the finals, with the winner of the former progressing to the grand final and the loser of
The loser of the first-second match will then face the winner of the third-fourth match, with the winner of the match progressing to the grand final.
The second option is a straight knockout, where first plays fourth and second plays third, where the two winners progress to the grand final.
Option one will mean the grand final will be played on Saturday, September 21, while option two will see a decider on Saturday, September 14.
All finals will be played at the home of the first team to qualifying for the decider.
