Club competitions in the hinterland will take on a different shape this year .
The Southern region competition has been boosted by the addition of a team while the competition in the Central region is set to be shorter with a second round made up of of knockout matches.
The nine-team Southern region competition is set to start on March 27. The eight teams from last year will turn out along with Roxburgh, which is back after a break last year.
Roxburgh had traditionally played in the Central region competition but moved to the Southern region and fielded a side in 2019. It dropped out last year but Otago Country chairman Willis Paterson indicated the club had attracted more players and was committed to having a team.
The Southern region season will start with one full round. It will then split into two pools, teams divided by their placings on the table after the first round, going into odds and evens pools.
The teams will then play the other teams in the pools. After that, semifinals and the final will be played.
Paterson said feedback from last year had shown the players had enjoyed the shortened season. Due to the condensed season it was not possible to play two full rounds.
The Central region comprises the same eight teams as last year. Cromwell will again field two sides as the Cromwell Goats look to defend their title.
There were various competition options looked at with the Otago Country council of clubs having to please clubs from farming areas to more built-up locations.
It was decided the competition would be shorter, which had been enjoyed by most players last year, but still long enough to help the finances of clubs.
The competition will start on April 17 and consist of one full round. It will then move into a four-week knockout season to find a winner. It will be run along the same lines as the playoffs in the NRL competition in Australia.
In the first week, the top four sides will play each other as will the four bottom sides. The two sides which lose in the bottom four will drop out of the competition.
The two successful teams in the top four in the first week will have the following week off when the winners in the bottom four will take on the teams which lost in the top four.
The winners of those games will then take on the teams which had the previous weekend off. The final is set to be played on July 10.
The Topp Cup will be played on June 7 when the Central Otago competition will take a break. A new game involving two sides made up of players from the competition will be played in May. It will involve players from Central Otago on one side and players from Queenstown-Lakes on the other side.
