From 2006 onwards night finals at the QEO have been part of the BFNL calendar, usually the first two Saturday nights being played under lights and often the preliminary final as well.

The Saturday night finals scheduling has avoided BFNL clashes with Heathcote District and Loddon Valley league grand finals.

But this year's finals series - the BFNL's first for three years - will be all day matches starting with the qualifying final on Saturday, August 27.

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"The rationale is clubs feel that we play the majority of the season under day conditions, so why do we then play our finals under different conditions at night," BFNL manager Cameron Tomlins said on Wednesday.

"Initially, one of the rationales for playing the night finals is there are other finals in the region happening during the day and gives us a bit of clear air in that people could go and watch other leagues and then come back in and watch the BFNL at night.

"But we feel there's minimal crossover and the overwhelming majority from our clubs is a preference to play our finals series all during the day."

The BFNL finals will also run under a "fixed" structure with the "sliding" finals schedule having been removed.

The BFNL had gone through a period where across its first two weekends of finals it would aim to align multiple teams competing from the same non-Bendigo based clubs on the same day to reduce the logistical requirements.

However, the return of the fixed system now means that all qualifying finals will be on August 27, elimination finals on August 28, second semi-finals on September 3 and first semi-finals on September 4.

One round remains to complete what will be the first full BFNL home and away season since 2019 after COVID totally wiped out 2020 and forced the abandonment of last year's season before it could be completed.

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"We've had some hurdles along the way this year, but in the whole our clubs have been fantastic this year to keep the momentum rolling and the season on track," Tomlins said.

"Touch wood, we'll get through an uninterrupted finals series. Given the teams and competitiveness across all our grades it's going to be a cracking finals series.

"If you step back and have a look at the season as a whole, it has been fantastic. We've had upsets, we've had close matches and we've had some clubs take some significant steps forward."

South Bendigo v Kangaroo Flat

Strathfieldsaye v Golden Square

Gisborne v Eaglehawk

Castlemaine v Sandhurst

Kyneton v Maryborough

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