2021 Hastings League to kick off on April 10 with two new teams

But everything good must eventually come to an end and you can rest assured the Marlins won't be letting their trophy go without a fight.

After 12 months off, the Hastings League is set to return next month with two new additions to the competition to those who battled it out in 2019.

Harrington and Lake Cathie will take the total number of teams from seven to nine which will result in an 18-round season.

While the men's competition is growing, president Geoff Connor admitted the COVID-19 affected 2020 season had hit the women's competition hard.

"It's a bit like starting from scratch again for them; they will have three or four teams this year, but they were on track for six in 2020," he said.

Things will be different all round as players and spectators become accustomed to a 'new normal' with QR codes and contact tracing to be in place at all grounds.

"This year we can have 3000 open-air crowds whereas last year it wasn't an option... it was an impossibility," Connor said.

In some respects the 12-month break has seen a renewed a sense of energy for the competition with Harrington ready to go again.

Exactly how their teams will lineup is unknown, but before the 2020 season was cancelled they had an abundance of youth.

"Sometimes when clubs start off they have retired players, but Harrington were looking good in 2020 although with young people things can change," Connor said.

"Most clubs have been pretty good with their numbers."

Lower Macleay have strengthened their stocks after being in "trouble" when faced with potentially fielding a side in 2020.

Connor admitted the Marlins appeared in the box seat when it came to setting the standard for 2021 although Kendall, Long Flat and Beechwood could have something to say about that.

"South West Rocks are in the box seat being premiers because it gives them a head start with retaining their side," he said.

"But Beechwood have been knocking on the door for the last couple of years while Kendall are the quiet achievers and you never write Long Flat off when they get to the finals."

The Bain Cup will take a different format this season with upgrades to the surface taking out Lank Bain Sporting Complex for all of March.

All sides will now play for the right to feature in the Bain Cup in the first half of the season.

After the first nine rounds, the top two teams will play in an unofficial Bain Cup fixture when they clash for the second time later in the season.

"That was the only fair way we could do it because we couldn't run it in pre-season due to lack of grounds," Connor said.

The season will kick off on April 10.

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