After a gruelling 31-year drought, Congupna finally savoured the sweet taste of Murray Football League glory they had long hungered for.

The Road pipped Finley by a single, desperate point in the 2024 grand final, breaking a more than three-decade duck in one of the great deciders.

Now, the transformation from underdog to powerhouse is almost complete, and a new piece of history is up for grabs.

Congupna will face Cobram in the 2025 MFL grand final at Moama on Saturday, with Ben Bingham’s men gunning for The Road’s first back-to-back flags since 1964, back when the club still competed in the now-defunct Benalla Tungamah Football League.

But it’s the Murray Football League at the feet of The Road after Congupna qualified for a third consecutive grand final, a 10-goal belting of Mulwala in the semi-final handing the reigning premiers a week off.

Victory would make Congupna the first side since Nathalia in 2007 to clinch an undefeated season.

“It's obviously a really big effort to make it again, but we know that's only half the job,” Congupna coach Ben Bingham said.

“It’s a bit different to last year; we go in there with a bit more freedom this year with that monkey off the back.”

Congupna will fetch heavy favouritism heading into the grand final after navigating 19 games undefeated and boasting an average winning margin of 108 points, shaping up as arguably the Murray League’s most dominant season in recent memory.

But there’s a spark of a fairytale for Mark Meyland’s Cobram if it can produce the round 18 performance that saw the Tigers get as close as anyone to The Road in 2025.

Cobram ran Congupna to under a goal at Scott Oval, and it was enough to draw the respect of Bingham.

“That's the thing we really respect, the way that Cobram go about it,” Bingham said.

“They pushed us a couple of weeks to go, and you know it was probably a bit of a blessing in disguise.

“It kicked us into gear a little bit playing a contender near the end of the year.

“We just went away from our ball movement a little bit at the end of the day.”

“I think both midfields are obviously fairly stacked with good ruckmen and on-ballers, so I think with a smaller ground, whoever wins the midfield battle gives himself first use.”

The ruck battle between Congupna’s Tom McCluskey and O’Dwyer Medallist Jackson Trengove looms large, while Tiger’s midfielders Tyron Baden and Luca Allen have been in fine fettle.

Jimmy Boyer and Bryden Squire have provided the grunt in The Road’s own engine room, and with the exception of dynamic midfielder Jack Norman - who suffered an ACL injury in round 18 - Congupna will have a full bill of health.

However, all eyes will be on one man as a remarkable feat looks set for another turn.

Spearhead Kyle Mueller comes into the grand final needing seven goals to bring up the century in the decider, a year after accomplishing that in the grand final against Finley.

It will take a more concerted effort this time around for ‘The Wiz’, but he’s just one name on the board in a team packed with winners across the park.

The magnets would have been flying around the place at Thursday evening selection, with 44 names to confirm ahead of the big day.

Congupna’s reserves will be hoping to return to the peak of grade, facing Moama in the lunchtime league decider.

The Road qualified courtesy of a nine-point win over the Pies two weeks ago, and Bingham said the vibe around the club had been high, with the C-grade netball into a grand final as well.

“It’s a really good buzz for the club,” he said.

“To have both the seniors and reserves in there, we're always big about squads getting you to finals; it’s been a testament to our depth in our playing list as well.”

“Something that we really pride ourselves on is being that real tight-knit community.

“There’s no hierarchy around the club and everyone just gets along with each other.”

The Murray Football League grand final will be held at Moama Recreation Reserve with the clash to begin at 2:30pm.

Deniliquin Pastoral Times Google News Panels

Thursday, 13th October 2022

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