Ouyen United and Walpeup-Underbool were fierce rivals during the almost two decades that they were members of the now-defunct Mallee Football-Netball League.
"We all got along fine off the field, but once it came time to locking horns on the field there was no one we liked defeating more than Ouyen United," long-time Walpeup-Underbool player and committee member Jamie Latta recalled during the week.
"No doubt the Ouyen people felt the same way about us."
In the past six months, however, the rivalry between Ouyen United and Walpeup-Underbool has been put to bed.
In a story that is all too familiar to the people of the Mallee, the region's declining population meant the two clubs could no longer exist on their own.
With heavy hearts, both clubs' members voted to merge last September.
Now a new era is about to begin.
Next Saturday, the reborn Ouyen United Football-Netball Club will make its on-field debut when it travels north up the Calder Highway to take on South Mildura.
The game will mark the next step in the ever-changing football landscape in north-west Victoria.
"Everyone's very excited and enthusiastic," said Latta, who has taken on the role as Ouyen United vice-president.
"There's a really good atmosphere around the club as we gear up for round one. And our round two game at Ouyen is going to be huge."
It has been estimated that the new Ouyen United is an amalgamation of 43 former clubs.
Indeed, its family tree includes long-gone entities like Kiamal, Tiega, Tempy, Gorya, Patchewollock and Torrita.
The original Ouyen Football Club, which had an ill-fated stint in the Sunraysia league between 1979 and 1982 (its senior team conceded 15 scores of more than 200 points across those four seasons), is also part of Ouyen United's heritage.
Like all those engineered before, the latest amalgamation has had its teething problems at times.
After a number of meetings it was agreed that the club's name would be Ouyen United but its colours (royal blue and white) and nickname (the Kangas) would be those previously used by Walpeup-Underbool.
It was also agreed that home games would be shared between Ouyen's Blackburn Park and the Underbool Recreation Reserve.
"With around 600 members between our two foundation clubs, you've obviously got 600 different opinions on how things should be sorted out," Latta said.
"It was a very long and arduous process to try and come up with arrangements that could suit everybody.
"But everything has been ratified, and now that it's locked in everyone is embracing it.
"I think we should be able to retain 99 per cent of our membership base."
The decision to go with the Kangas as the club's nickname initially caused some angst in Sunraysia league circles.
In fact, the SFL ended up telling Ouyen United to find a new nickname because one of its strongest clubs, Wentworth District, was already known as the Kangaroos (even though it plays in Western Bulldogs-style jumpers).
But Ouyen United was desperate to retain its first choice, so it appealed to AFL Victoria.
The appeal was successful, which pleased the people behind the Kangas greatly but didn't go down too well with Wentworth.
Four months on, however, the nickname saga has died down and the Sunraysia folk are looking forward to welcoming their new rival.
"There were a couple of little hiccups initially, but we got through that and it's all very positive now," Sunraysia league administration manager Peter Walker said.
Ouyen United is the first club to enter the SFL since Ouyen was in it the first time, and Walker believes many people are excited that the competition has been freshened up after featuring the same eight clubs for 33 seasons.
"Having nine clubs gives everyone two byes throughout the year, and the clubs are really positive about that, given it's a pretty long season," Walker said.
The Kangas have appointed local lads Andrew Jardine and Kane Munro as their inaugural co-coaches.
Jardine is an Ouyen lad, while Munro, who played 18 AFL games for West Coast in the early 2000s, was a Walpeup-Underbool stalwart.
They have also signed a number of players from Darwin to bolster their side, including William Farrer, who kicked 112 goals for Southern Districts in the recently completed NTFL season.
With the real stuff to begin, Latta isn't going into the season expecting Ouyen United to topple the likes of Red Cliffs – winner of the past two senior flags – straightaway.
But he's confident that the club is geared up for a solid first season, both off the field and on it.
"We have no grand illusions about winning senior premierships in our first year, but we're aiming to be very competitive," Latta said.
"Then we'll build from there."
OUYEN UNITED FC
* The original Ouyen United FNC won three senior footy premierships in the old Mallee league, while Walpeup-Underbool won four
* The Ouyen United Kangas will this season play three home games at the Underbool Recreation Reserve and five at Ouyen's Blackburn Park
By Adam McNicol