Congupna walked onto home turf for the first time in 2025 to contest a highly anticipated rematch of one of the greatest games you would’ve seen anywhere in country football last year, snatching victory and breaking a 31-year premiership drought in a one-point thriller over Finley.
‘Contest’ was not the word which first came to mind for Saturday’s clash in the northern fringes of town, however.
Two majors within barely a minute and a half of the ball bouncing appeared to set an ominous tone as The Road attempted to go full throttle from the outset.
The astonishing part was the ease with which that trend continued, as the big sticks saw kick after kick pass through as five more in a stretch of less than 10 minutes saw the hosts assemble a whopping 45-point lead at the first change.
Ben Bingham’s men were a long way from done there, too.
The procession would continue in rapid order from there as the visiting Cats held absolutely no answers to Congupna’s forward prowess, the likes of Kyle Mueller and Sam Poole getting well on their way towards creating a repeat of the round one Rumbalara demolition.
The reigning premiers’ 2025 inclusions were taking to new surroundings like ducks to water as former Shepparton East ruck Tom McCluskey bagged three goals in another sizzling offensive showing from the runaway leaders, who had held the Cats goalless until just prior to time-on in the third term.
Even a 129-point lead at the final break was nowhere near enough as the hosts slammed through another eight in the final term to leave a dizzying 30.15 (195) to 3.7 (25) scoreline in its almighty wake.
Both 2024 goal-kicking centurion Mueller (six majors) and Poole (five) outscored the humbled visitors off their own boots, while eight players wound up as multiple goalkickers on a ruthless afternoon.
Coach Ben Bingham, as if the round one win over Rumba hadn’t been flawless on its own, chose to categorise Saturday’s game as simply a step in the right direction.
“(Finley) had a couple of their VFL boys in, and we put a bit of time into those guys, but we just executed on forward 50 entries,” Bingham said.
“It’s still a work in progress, but it’s an improvement on last week. We’ve spoken about getting to half time and going on with games rather than just playing them out, so it was pleasing to do that.
“After that grand final win, we spoke about not feeling any pressure this year.
“A weight has been lifted off the shoulders, so we want to just enjoy our footy and play with freedom with so much talent all over the park.
“We’ve got targets throughout our forward six, so we’re always looking for where the mismatch is to exploit that.”
The Murray competition loves itself some Good Friday action, and the Road will head over the border that afternoon for a 2023 grand final rematch with Mulwala while boasting a staggering percentage over 700.
Deniliquin would also move to 2-0 and keep the upward climb going despite stumbling out of the blocks at home to Nathalia Saturday, trailing by nine points at the long break.
Echuca dynasty premiership player Cooper Willoughby slotted brilliantly into new surroundings, sending seven between the big sticks as the Rams powered home 13.8 (86) to 9.3 (57).
Cobram and Mulwala embarked on a match-up which felt just as intense as the epic win-or-go-home clash from the final day of 2024’s home and away season, with Brodie Wren nailing the sealer in an 11.7 (73) to 9.11 (65) win.
Rounding out the unbeaten sides after the first fortnight is Echuca United, as the Eagles continue to turn heads following an influx of top talent.
A trip to Numurkah would bear surprising fruit as four goals to Ryan Stobaus helped secure the points with an 11.11 (77) to 9.9 (63) victory.
Tongala would notch its first win of the new campaign in perfectly comfortable fashion after dispatching Barooga by 48 points, while Moama got on the board in a big way after belting Rumbalara by 10 goals.
