Coburg Tigers will travel nearly 1000 kilometres for two home games this season as the club takes Victorian Football League action to the outer reaches of the state.

The Tigers will play home games in Shepparton and Warrnambool, expanding their home base to four different venues — the most in the VFL.

Coburg will trek 175 kilometres to Shepparton’s Deakin Reserve in Round 11 to battle Bendigo before backing it up three weeks later with a 275km trip to Warrnambool’s Reid Oval to face Geelong.

The club’s general manager, Jake McCauley, said the Tigers were excited at the prospect of growing their brand and it could aid their recruiting drive.

‘‘The Murray Bushrangers ( a TAC Cup club) aren’t aligned with any VFL club. So, if and when players coming through that system relocate to Melbourne, by us having at least one match up there a year, it’ll put us front of mind,’’ McCauley said.

‘‘We’d hope those players would come down to Coburg before going to another club.’’

McCauley said AFL partner Richmond had embraced Coburg’s venture, while regional communities and clubs were excited at the prospect of seeing state-league football.

‘‘It’s a really good opportunity for us and for Richmond,’’ he said.

‘‘ We know from Richmond’s membership hotspot they’ve got about 1600 members or registered supporters up in Shepparton and a few at Warrnambool, so we know we’re going to be very well supported and it’s a good opportunity for the Coburg Football Club to build its brand.’’

But McCauley stopped short of guaranteeing the regional matches would remain a permanent part of Coburg’s fixture.

‘‘We haven’t gone that far yet, but it’s certainly not off the table. We’ll see how the local communities get around and support the events,’’ he said.

‘‘By the middle end of year we’ll make a decision if it’s going to be long-term, but at this stage with the support we’ve received, it’s looking like a pretty happy marriage.’’

Coburg will also play two games at Craigieburn’s Highgate Recreation Reserve this year.

Mccauley said the club was happy with its fixture, which will see the Tigers face Northern Blues, Geelong, Frankston, North Ballarat, Box Hill and Werribee twice.

‘‘We pushed pretty hard to get Round 1 at home,’’ he said.

‘‘It’s a really important way for us to kick off our season, obviously against our cross-town rival the Northern Blues.

‘‘There’s no AFL footy on in Melbourne that weekend, so it’s a great opportunity for fans to get out and come to the VFL and see some AFL footballers and, hopefully, we have a really nice win.’’

Coburg is currently looking for Richmond supporters in both Warrnambool and Shepparton to assist with the set-up of the regional matches (local promotion, advertising, staffing). To find out how you can get involved, please contact Jake McCauley on 03 9354 8228 or jmccauley@coburgtigers.com.au.