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The Otago Riot is preparing to play its first competitive game in Dunedin next Saturday.
Canterbury is coming to town to play the Riot in the one-off match, which will be held at Logan Park.
In the past, the sides have met in Fairlie, in August or September, for an early-season match.
While a bunch of university students have left town, Otago AFL president Michael Bruhn said there were still 28 players to pick from for the match, including captain Logan Toomer and stand-out player Ben Miller.
Bruhn said the team was ''very excited'' for the match, and plans were in place to play Canterbury a couple of times a year.
A revamp of the national championships mean the Otago Riot will not see much action this season.
The weekend-long national championships, usually in December, has been dropped in favour of a national premiership.
Four new teams - Northern Suns, Central Giants, Western Crows and Southern Saints - will compete in the premiership, which will run from February 14 to April 17.
For the inaugural season, 96 players throughout New Zealand will be allocated to teams via a draft.
The season will have seven rounds with players from different regions and ages.
Bruhn is ''sceptical'' of the change, and said only a few players from Otago would make the cut.
''[AFL New Zealand] want to grow the game nationally. They want to get more involvement and have a bigger competition, rather than a one-off weekend,'' he said.
''Play regular games that are going to attract more players and grow the sport. They want to have it so you play in your region to qualify to get selected [for the draft].''
Bruhn will be involved in talent identification.
He will recommend players to the national body, which will then consider drafting them.
The premiership will contain nine rounds, and all games will be played at North Harbour Stadium in Auckland.
Despite the change, Bruhn said the Riot's days were not numbered.
The team hoped to secure regular games against Canterbury and matches against Auckland and Waikato were also on the cards.