Congupna found The Road to glory on Saturday afternoon.

After the agony of last year’s grand final loss, Congupna was ecstatic on Saturday thanks to a heartstopping one-point victory over Finley in the Murray Football League grand final.

The Roaders haven’t felt the joy of hoisting the premiership cup above their shoulders since 1993 and have never been crowned champions in the Murray Football League.

At Moama Recreation Reserve, Congupna broke a three-decade-long drought in front of a packed-out crowd, to the pure jubilation of its players, coaches and supporters.

A dour first half with blustering conditions kept the quality of football and scoring to a minimum.

The windy weather kept the scoreboard tight, as The Road took a seven-point lead (23-16) into halftime.

Congupna forward Jak Trewin was electric for his side (four goals) and arguably kicked the goal of the day while running towards the boundary just inside forward 50.

In the third term, The Road started to take control of the contest, kicking two early goals.

A yellow card to Congupna’s Tate Mifka for a late push in the back threatened to upset The Road’s momentum.

However, Congupna continued applying scoreboard pressure as the lead rocketed out to 33 points (50-17).

A late set shot goal to Finley’s Zach Brain cut the lead back to four goals on the eve of three-quarter time.

With one quarter remaining in the season and down by 24 points, the Cats were always going to come out charging to start the fourth term.

In the opening few minutes, a long bomb was sent to the top of Finley’s goal square, where forward Mitch Carson proceeded to volley the ball mid-air through for a goal - similar to Tim Cahill’s effort for Australia against the Netherlands at the 2014 World Cup.

Carson’s goal and celebrations revived the Finley supporters’ voice, and a Cats’ onslaught followed.

Goals to Finley captain Nik Burns and Angus Robertson cut the margin back to six points nine minutes into the final quarter.

The Cats’ ability to consistently find loose players 30 metres out directly in front of goal had Roaders shaking their heads, worried that the long-awaited premiership would be wrenched from their grasp.

A downfield free kick allowed Congupna captain Daniel Schaper to kick a settler and push the lead to 13 points (58-45).

Robertson’s move from defence to attack in the last quarter for Finley paid dividends as he kicked one goal and set up two more.

Two goals to the Cats through Tom Lang and Jesse White tied the scores with 20 minutes gone.

Given the flat start to the match, the crowd was ecstatic and frenzied as the dying stages of the grand final unfolded.

With the score sat on 58 apiece, The Road’s mercurial wizard Kyle Mueller took a mark inside 50 - 30 metres out on a tight angle.

Up to that point, Mueller had produced a mixed bag for the day.

Having kicked his 100th goal of the season earlier, the star small forward then missed a couple of gettable set shots in the second half.

However, with the game on the line, the Wizard reached deep into his bag of tricks and slotted it to the raptures of the Congupna faithful - 64-58.

Roughly 29 minutes gone, a stoppage deep inside Finley’s forward 50 seemed to be the Cats’ last chance to send this game to overtime.

A strong - legal - shove in the ruck contest saw Finley’s Lachlan Hawkins grab the ball and snap a goal - 64-64.

With the potential of a Congupna choke looming large in the minds of everyone in attendance, the ball was punted The Road’s way at the next centre clearance.

A quick grab, spin and turn from Congupna’s Wil Norman saw him throw the ball onto his boot inside 50.

The crowd seemed to hold its breath as the ball wobbled from one side of the point post to the other.

By a coat of paint, it flew through for a behind - 65-64.

Finley looked to rebound quickly, but the siren blew and delirium from the Congupna players, coaches and supporters followed as a wave of people sprinted onto the ground.

Tears were shed by men both young and old as the large sea of red and white, with a touch of blue, swamped the centre of the oval.

A drought broken, a dam wall busted, The Road were finally taking the premiership cup home.

The final score finished 9.11 (65) to 9.10 (64).

Congupna coach Ben Bingham said this win went beyond the 22 players out on the field on Saturday.

“We knew they were going to throw everything at us in that last quarter, which they did, and the fact we were able to hold on... words can’t describe it,” Bingham said.

“(As a group), we caught up a month ago and opportunity was our word and we gave ourselves one of those today.

“We reflected on not only the 22 that were playing but the people that helped us get to this position and then the whole club in total.

“There has been people here longer than all of us and they have grinded and grinded, and to bring them the success that they have been striving for - it’s massive.”

A 24-point lead at three-quarter time that was whittled away to nothing during the last term, Bingham said it was how the Roaders had won most of their matches in 2024.

“It was a typical Congupna win at the end of the day,” he said.

“Throughout the year, a common theme of ours is we have made things harder than what they should be, and that’s what we did when we let them back into the game.

“We made a couple of positional changes (with five minutes to go) and dropped a few blokes back trying to stem the flow of Finley.

“At the end of the day, we should have stayed attacking the whole game - that is how we play our brand of football and that is how we broke open that third quarter.”

While the Cats players were distraught following the end of the match, Finley can hold its head high as to how it fought back and nearly stole what would have been a famous victory.

The emotional scenes on the field after the final siren were an image of football at its purest as Congupna celebrated its long-awaited first Murray Football League premiership.

Bingham said it is a moment that everyone at the club will cherish for a lifetime.

“It means everything,” he said.

“There is a lot of tears from supporters and the boys know how big it is for them.

“We will enjoy it long and we will enjoy it hard because they are bloody hard to win, as we can see today.

“We won’t take it for granted.”

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Friday, 31st May 2024

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