Ovens and Murray league sets inaugural mental health round for June 2026
The Ovens and Murray Football Netball League will stage its inaugural mental health round on 27–28 June 2026, partnering with Wangaratta-based Project 365 to put mental wellbeing at the centre of a packed weekend that includes the season’s second Wangaratta derby between the Rovers and Magpies.
The round 11 Sunday clash will be preceded by a gathering at Apex Park and a community walk to the Rovers’ ground, designed to spark the check-ins Project 365 promotes across the region. “It’s incredible to have arguably one of the biggest country football/netball leagues partnering with what we do and stand for,” Project 365 board member Steve Manning said.
O&M general manager Kane Arendarcikas said the league had worked with mental health program Outside the Locker Room since 2023 and would continue that partnership for education and support across clubs and volunteers. He said the idea of a dedicated round, prompted by an impassioned Facebook post last year from Project 365 founder Pete Rourke, was “a perfect fit”.
Project 365 will run activations across games during the round, building to the Sunday derby, which will be broadcast on radio to extend the message. “We’re pretty excited about the addition of the mental health round,” Arendarcikas said, adding the league hopes to make it a fixture on the calendar.
Donations collected over the weekend will fund mental health first aid scholarships for each club, aiming to ensure members are trained to recognise and assist in situations affecting mental health. Manning said leveraging the broad reach of football and netball clubs could have a powerful effect.
Using the derby as the focal point, he added, would bring traditional rivals together. “Historically these clubs hate each other, but they’re going to walk together side-by-side on this day in support of mental health.” Wangaratta-based O&M board member Brett Anderson has been a strong advocate for the initiative, according to Project 365.
Rourke said the group’s message remains urgent, noting that when Project 365 began, seven lives a day were being lost to suicide, and he cited a current figure of nine lives a day. He urged people to support the clubs and to join the Wangaratta walk even if they are not into football.
League officials and Project 365 say they want the mental health round to grow quickly, with the aim of embedding mental health awareness and support more deeply across the Ovens and Murray community.