It’s finally here.
The interleague rivalry between the Goulburn Valley League and the Ovens and Murray is set to be reignited as the two talent-laden teams take to Deakin Reserve at 2pm on Saturday.
The interleague round is one of the biggest highlights on the region’s sporting calendar, and importantly, after last year’s game was played in Albury, the match is back in the heartland of Victorian country football, the Goulburn Valley.
The two leagues have formed a fierce rivalry since their first meeting in the Country Football Championships in 1978.
No love has been lost over the decades and across the 20 times these two representative sides have clashed, O&M leads with 11 wins to GVL’s nine.
But can the GVL buck the recent trend - O&M won the 2022 and 2023 interleague matches - and cause an upset in front of a potentially packed home crowd on Saturday?
GVL co-coaches Sam Reid and Mark Lambourn certainly believe so.
“Sam and I are very confident that the players that run out on the field this Saturday are the best we have; they are all in exceptional form and deserve to represent the league,” Lambourn said.
“We have looked at a lot of players, watched games and studied stats.
“It is a lengthy process and trying to get the correct balance is always difficult.
“They will no doubt do everything they can to win this game as it means a lot to them; they are all very passionate and can’t wait to take on the O&M boys.
“They will do the league, their clubs and themselves very proud.”
Last year’s match between the two rivals was full of twists and turns, with O&M bounding out of the blocks to gain a six-goal lead at quarter-time.
GVL then took control of the contest and booted 10 of the next 12 goals, giving itself a 15-point lead early in the final quarter as the crowd could sense an upset brewing.
However, with the match drawing to a close, O&M found a way to seize back momentum and slotted some vital late goals, eventually winning the match by seven points, 13.14 (92) to 13.7 (85).
Reid is bullish on his side’s chances this time around as the GVL co-coach believes that a fast and attacking brand of football will help them secure the Ash-Wilson Trophy - named after former Shepparton and Albury legend Stephen Ash and Wangaratta Rovers champion Mick Wilson.
“Run and gun mate,” Reid said.
“Let’s just score as quickly as possible and try and show off our skills on a big deck.
“We want to win, obviously, we were pretty close last year and there are a couple of guys that played in that last year, so we really want to win.”
While there is some concern that the drawcard factor for the interleague match is dying out, Reid believes this isn’t the case for the majority of players, as the former AFL footballer said that playing representative football for your league is a great honour.
“It’s one of those things that you want to play the highest-end footy against, and playing against one of the best country football leagues in the country is going to be really good,” he said.
“It’s sort of the height of what you can get playing country football, representing your league.”
One FM will cover both the under-18 and senior football interleague games, with the broadcast kicking off at 11:30am.