By Colin MacGillivray

As the 2026 Horsham District Football Netball League season kicks off this weekend, onlookers will be united with a single question – who, if anyone, can stop Harrow-Balmoral?

The Roos are priming themselves for what they hope will be a fourth consecutive senior football premiership – a feat only matched in league history by Kalkee’s five-straight flags between 2008 and 2012.

But the team knows its premiership window will not remain open indefinitely, and it has been handed an intriguing first-up test against Kaniva-Leeor United in round one.

The Cougars were one of the league’s hottest teams in the back half of 2025, making a run to the finals after an uneven start to the season.

But despite the mid-season additions of midfielders Josh Clayton and Tyler Roos giving the team a boost, Kaniva-Leeor United was ousted by Laharum in the first week of the finals and remains, according to co-coach Jonno Hicks, a work in progress entering 2026.

With Harrow-Balmoral returning the bulk of last season’s premiership-winning list – minus reliable veterans Simon Close and Dalton Burns, who have retired – Saturday’s match at Kaniva Recreation Reserve should be a good litmus test for both sides.

“We’ll get a good idea of where we’re at in round one,” Hicks said during the pre-season.

“I’d prefer not to have to play them at all, but we can’t get away with that so we’ll just have to put up with playing them first.”

Elsewhere, 2025 runner-up Noradjuha-Quantong will commence its quest to claim a maiden senior flag with a home game against Swifts.

The Baggies are set to field a new-look line-up this season – out are Ryan Folkes, Angus Murray and Joseph Martin; in are Daniel Clee, Thomas Motlop, Hamish Smith, Hayden Hamilton and Edward Turner – while Noraduha-Quantong will bring in James Hallett to bolster an already-strong midfield.

Many onlookers expect Natimuk United to make a finals push this year, with a few key recruits including ruckman Henry Gould shoring up a squad that finished seventh in 2025.

The Rams will have their first hitout in a road game against Rupanyup this weekend, with the Panthers also looking to rise through the ranks following a four-win season.

Laharum is another team that should fancy its chances of a deep finals run after a solid off-season, and will be favoured to win this weekend’s clash against Taylors Lake at Dock Lake Reserve, despite the Lakers adding some depth of their own during the summer.

Two of the biggest question marks of the year could be Pimpinio and Edenhope-Apsley.

The Tigers finished third last year but were ousted from the finals in straight sets and have also undergone some list changes, while the Saints are coming off a winless 2025 but should improve with added depth and a new coach.

Spectators might need to wait a few weeks to determine just how different either side looks in 2026, but will receive early intel when the sides meet at Pimpinio this weekend.

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