The Stawell Warriors and Ararat Rats are the two sides proposed to go head-to-head on the holiday in the 2017 season, should current negotiations between the league and the clubs succeed. 

Ararat President David Jennings said  the game would be played in Stawell to make the most of the high numbers of tourists attending the Stawell Gift on the same weekend, and would offer people the chance to watch football on a day where sport is not usually played. 

“There will be a lot of people in the area for the Stawell Gift, and it would give them the chance to watch some footy as they come through,” Jennings said.

“Hopefully it can turn into an annual thing for us, that’s definitely what we want to achieve. 

“It just gives people the option on the day if they want to come and watch some footy, even though it might cross a few religious boundaries for others.”

Mr Jennings said that he expected more leagues across Victoria to begin playing matches on Good Friday in coming seasons, and suggested the Australian Football League may even follow suit. 

Wimmera Football League Commissioner Trevor Albrecht said the game was a natural step in the evolution of the league. 

“We see it as a great venture, it’s a similar idea to the introduction of Sunday games and night games in recent years,” he said. 

“Where other leagues might have problems with players going away for the weekend, we have the opposite happening in Stawell, people tend to come back home instead of going away. 

“The dates line up really well for the next eight years, so it’s definitely something we’d like to see happening annually.”

Albrecht believes that the fixture between the Warriors and the Rats should be the only match played on the day, setting it up as a marquee clash for future years.

He also said that, due to the timing of Good Friday in 2018, it has the potential to be played as the season opener. 

The idea was proposed to the two sides after their clash in the league last week, which the Warriors convincingly won by 70 points. 

Stawell Warriors President Debbie Bach said the match would be an opportunity for people outside the region to become familiar with local clubs.

“Obviously the game could pull a big crowd given the amount of people coming to Stawell for the weekend, which means we have the chance to showcase the local clubs,” she said. 

“This game can expose the local clubs to people who are in the area for the weekend.”