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IT'S BACK! Stunning debut for local footy and netball in 2026

Local football and netball was back over the Easter weekend and with the weather absolutely superb in the tourist towns of Inverloch and Cowes, massive holiday crowds turned out. See details and check out the 'Mark of the Year' contender by Dusties' Lochie Bambridge.

by Michael Giles

Published April 04, 2026

IT'S BACK! Stunning debut for local footy and netball in 2026 — They were off to the races on a fast track at Phillip Island on Easter Saturday with Bailey Hennessy getting set to round up the fleet-footed Warragul Industrials' player, Matthew Herbert. But in general terms, the pace of the Dusties' players was the Island's undoing on a day which likely featured two of the West Gippsland finalists in 2026.

LOCAL football and netball was back in the West Gippsland league over the Easter weekend and with the weather absolutely superb in the tourist towns of Inverloch and Cowes, massive holiday crowds turned out despite concerns about the impact of the fuel crisis.

And the players really came to the party with stunning goals, hard hits and high-flying marks on the footy field and a thrilling finish on the netball court at Cowes where the home side's A Grade team came from behind to secure a thrilling, tenacious 54-49 victory.

Here (below) is just one example of some of the action on the bowling-green surface at Cowes where Warragul Industrials pulled away from the home side in the last quarter for a six-goal win, Final score: Warragul Industrials 14.7.91 to Phillip Island 8.5.53.

**Warragul Industrials' player Lachlan Bambridge rises high above the pack before being awarded this contender for 'mark of the year before calmly popping it through for a goal.**

At Inverloch, where another bumper Easter weekend crowd ringed the boundary, and basked in the warm autumn sunshine around the netball courts, Inverloch-Kongwak started well in the main football match and didn't look back whereas IK's A Grade team came up against a fully-loaded Killy-Bass group which flexed its muscles with a decisive 70-28 win.