Country Champs kick off tonight

The biggest weekend on the country footy calendar is here, with the Country Champs kicking off tonight at Barossa Park, Lyndoch.

Both the Central men and women will be looking for some redemption after last year's campaigns in which the women, despite a strong effort in the first two rounds, finished in fourth place overall, and the men were unable to register a win in their first two matches.

This year's women's team features an all BLGW lineup lead by Willaston's Lauren Smith as captain and Angaston's Brett Burgess as head coach, while the men's side features 15 BLGFA players and the coaching team from Nuriootpa of Shawn Gibson, Henery Slattery and Jay Nash.

The Central men will kick things off at 6.00pm on the main oval against Eastern, with the women doing battle at 8.00pm on the second oval.

They'll be back at it again on Saturday morning, this time facing Eyre and hoping to book a place in the championship games.

Saturday's line-up will also include the SANFL match between Central District and South Adelaide, with several former BLGFA juniors donning the jumper for the Bulldogs.

Despite the dreary forecast there will be no shortage of atmosphere, with the Kick N Sip festival to start pumping following the final country games, and plenty of giveaways and activations all weekend long!

Entry is free on Friday and Sunday, and for those who can't make it down to Lyndoch, all Country Champs games will be live streamed free on the SANFL app.
Be sure to check out Wednesday's edition of The Leader for all the details.