But 25 years ago, it was a clash between the GVL and the Murray Football League that stole the representative spotlight.
Back when representative clashes were in a tiered system and interleague footy was at its peak, the division one clash between the two leagues at Deakin Reserve on this day in 1998 garnered significant interest, with the GVFL tipped to be favourites.
Echuca quartet Brendan Hogan, Chris Eddy, Jay Norden, and Mark Heritage made the GV squad that year while Moama’s Allan Corrie and Echuca United duo Shawn Filo and Leo Tenace lined up for Murray.
With the amount of talent on display, anything was possible as a gate taking of $6000 suggested a big crowd was on hand at Deakin that day.
And what they saw was a classic encounter that saw the “hungry” MFL walk away two-point winners.
Leading by as much as 33 points in the early stages of the fourth quarter, the GVFL was upstaged by the Peter Foott-led Murray side, with Shaun Gordon’s goal in the 20th minute levelling scores before Colin Smith gave Murray the go-ahead behinds.
Eddy narrowly missed a goal-square opportunity to steal the lead back, and one minute later the siren sounded to confirm a remarkable MFL win.
As Riverine Herald sports reporter at the time Noel Hussey penned: “It was a shock for GVFL supporters who have always thought the league was superior to the MFL.”
Nonetheless, the final score of 13.10 (88) to 13.8 (86) indicated a thrilling contest, with Foott garnering best-on-ground honours with Filo, Michael Smith (three goals) and Gary Learmonth the heroes of the day in a rare win over the neighbouring league.
For the GV, current-day coaches Mark Lambourn (captain in 1998) and Stephen Ash attempted to resurrect a win for the league alongside Brad Sparks, Ben Langley, and Adam Baker.
Fast forward to 2023, and the GVL will be hoping to experience interleague success again in the Ash-Wilson trophy against O&M this Saturday, May 20, at Albury Showgrounds.
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