![Hampden interleague coach Jonathan Brown (right) revs up his players at a quarter time break on Saturday. Picture by Lachlan Bence Hampden interleague coach Jonathan Brown (right) revs up his players at a quarter time break on Saturday. Picture by Lachlan Bence](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/156072998/dc13a10a-df7c-40c8-a6f6-b3ae77fba1e9.jpg/r0_0_4336_3462_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Hampden league president Shane Threlfall has labelled the return of interleague a success as it eyes a future fixture involving two rival leagues.
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Threlfall said Saturday's interleague clash between the Hampden and Ballarat leagues was a "win-win" day, highlighted by two high-quality games of under 17 and under 23 football.
"A lot of young players showing their talent, it was fantastic for interleague to get back," he said.
Threlfall said the vision was to play two interleague games a year against the Ballarat and Geelong leagues.
"We hope down the track we continue the game against Ballarat, but also add a game against Geelong," he said. "Whether we have to alternate each year, I'm not sure, but the aim would be to have two games each year."
![Hampden interleague captain Paddy O'Sullivan launches for the mark on Saturday. Picture by Lachlan Bence Hampden interleague captain Paddy O'Sullivan launches for the mark on Saturday. Picture by Lachlan Bence](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/156072998/362df91c-ceed-4045-8dd7-70109efecb79.jpg/r0_0_3720_2786_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Threlfall was confident future conversations with the Ballarat league would be positive, after both it and the Hampden league celebrated wins in the under 23 and under 17 games respectively.
"I'm sure after today, everyone would be really pleased with the way it went, so we hope it would become an annual event," the league president said. "They got it (under 23 cup) this year, hopefully they come down our way next year and we can get it back off them."
Threlfall said while the under 23 interleague concept was not locked in, he personally believed it would stay into the future.
The introduction of an under 23 interleague evolved from the Hampden league's five-week under 23 pre-season competition in 2021, originally put forward to the board by the late Clinton Baulch.
The under 23 cup Ballarat and the Hampden league played off for on Saturday was named after Baulch.
Threlfall also praised AFL great Jonathan Brown, a former South Warrnambool talent, for his ongoing involvement and impact as Hampden's interleague coach.
"He's been terrific since he got onboard with interleague a few years ago," Threlfall said of Brown. "He's passionate about the interleague, it's where he started.
"He's always made sure he keeps in touch with the people he knows down this way and he keeps a close eye on the Hampden league, so to have him give up his time, his very busy schedule, to come down and do what he does is fantastic."
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