THE days of shaking out the summer cobwebs in the opening rounds of the season are long gone for country footballers.

As the AFL's NAB Cup heads into finals, country clubs and leagues are kicking off their September campaigns with lucrative pre-season competitions and gruelling training sessions.

Winners in each division of this month's Barooga Night Football Series, now in its 23rd year, will take home $2500.

Fourteen clubs from the Ovens and Murray, Murray, Picola and Tallangatta leagues will play in the two-tier competition, held on weekday evenings from next week.

Clubs pay $110 to enter the tournament, but are paid $200 for a win and $100 for a loss.

Funds from gate-takings and catering are returned to community groups around Cobram and Barooga.

The competition netted about $10,000 for the local community last year, according to series co-ordinator Anton Noble.

In a bid to engage its four new clubs, the Ovens and King Football League will host a Community Cup on March 20.

The league's four new clubs - Tatong, Goorambat, Bonnie Doon and Swanpool, all from the defunct Benalla and District competition - will face off with the 10 existing Ovens and King clubs in a series of modified matches at two venues.

The top team at each venue will do battle for the cup in the grand final that evening.

Trentham Football Club will host a lightning premiership for four clubs from the Maryborough Castlemaine and Lexton Plains leagues on March 28.

The winning team will take home $500.

Organiser Rod Ward hoped the day would raise more than $10,000 in food, bar and gate-takings for Trentham, with the money used to fund urgent repairs to the club's sub-standard facilities.

Pre-season competitions will also be held at Tyntynder and Deniliquin.

Meanwhile, reigning premier Albury has stepped up its quest for back-to-back Ovens and Murray league flags with a gut-busting 14km trek at Mt Bogong.

Under the guidance of coach Paul Spargo, a former assistant-coach at Richmond, 45 players completed the hike last month.