After what seems an eternity, football will return to the fields of the South West this coming weekend.
The South West Football League's 2020 season will finally kick off on Saturday, exactly 300 days after Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault claimed the 2019 premiership.
It's an exciting time for the league and its clubs, coming after months of deliberating and hard work behind the scenes to ensure a season would get off the ground.
SWFL general manager Simone Nani said the league never once contemplated calling it quits.
"We were determined to make sure a season went ahead," she said.
"We always approached this with the aim of making sure South West football was played in 2020, because we know how important it is to our community.
"To be back playing this weekend is really exciting. Hopefully after the first games are played in round one things return to operational mode and just keep rolling."
The shortened season will see all 10 SWFL clubs competing across nine rounds, with each team facing each other once before finals, as opposed to twice in a regular campaign.
The finals series will be played in its usual format, with the top five teams from the home-and-away season playing across four weeks in a bid to be crowned premiers.
Nani said the revised season panned out in the fairest way possible.
"It's the ideal scenario with each club facing each other once," she said.
"That way the competition keeps its integrity and we can still hold a finals series with the five best teams."
The SWFL's awards system will also remain the same as any other year, with the Hayward and Nola Marino medal winners to be announced after the regular season.
Each club will be in action for round one this coming weekend, with a pair of top-four teams from last year in Bunbury and Augusta-Margaret River going head-to-head at the top of the fixture.
Full SWFL round one fixture
Saturday, July 18
Bunbury v Augusta-Margaret River
- Payne Park
- 2.20pm
Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault v Carey Park
- Brunswick Oval
- 3pm
South Bunbury v Eaton
- Hands Oval
- 3pm
Busselton v Donnybrook
- Sir Stewart Bovell Park
- 3pm
Sunday, July 19
Harvey v Collie
- Harvey Recreation Ground
- 2.20pm