Its not often you play for a trophy in the first game of the year, but thats what will happen when Fitzroy travels to Parkdale for Round 1 of the VAFA Premier B 2017 season.

Fitzroy holds the Norm Johnstone Trophy, which is up for grabs each time the Roys meet the Parkdale Vultures, honouring one of Fitzroys Team of the Century players who hailed from the Parkdale/Chelsea area.

It will be a bittersweet return to the Gerry Green Reserve on 8 April 2017, where the Seniors and Reserves played their final games for 2016. The last outing saw both teams pull off excellent wins only to find Fitzroy had narrowly missed finals.

The VAFA has released the draw which shows Round 1 is followed a week later by a break for Easter. When the season resumes for Round 2 on 22 April, Fitzroy will play its first home game against promoted side Peninsula Pirates, which makes its way up from Premier C after winning the premiership.

And look out for the Round 4 clash at home, when Senior Coach Nick Mitchell comes up against his old side, St Bernards for the first time.

Check out the full draw (youll need to scroll down past the Premier draw): http://www.vafa.com.au/latest-news/2017-william-buck-premier-premier-c-fixtures-released/