The road to redemption is long, but Murray Football League took its first steps at Tocumwal Recreation Reserve on Saturday.
Murray’s interleague side defeated Bellarine Football League by 64 points to move back into the top 10 in the AFL Victoria Country Championships rankings.
The opening bounce was brought forward half an hour and that did little to help the travelling side settle, as Murray skipped out to a 23-point lead by quarter-time.
Bellarine got some run going in the second term, with the likes of Dane McFarlane and Ben Carmichael showing the Murray on-ballers a clean pair of heels on more than one occasion.
However, the visitors were wasteful and finished with 3.7 for the quarter, while Mulwala forward Anthony Giuliano twice hit them with goals on the rebound.
Murray again charged out of the blocks in the third, with goals to Moama forward Tyler Jones and Farran Priest — the latter making his direct opponent look like he was in slow motion in the process.
A late one-two-punch from Edward Grout and the ever-dangerous Bellarine skipper Tim Clarke kept the margin within five goals at the final change, but that was as close as it got.
For Murray, it was a far cry from last year’s 100-point defeat to Sunraysia and the 69-point loss when it played off for sixth place against Hampden two years ago.
Scott Beattie, who co-coached the Murray team along with Adie Daly, said Saturday’s win was just the start of the journey.
‘‘It’s a long task, but today was just a small step,’’ Beattie said.
‘‘We were pretty confident that if we played like the way we had been training and the boys jelled the way they had been over the past three or four weeks, we were going to get the right result.
‘‘We were really disappointed with last year, so it was very important that we not only won, but we won emphatically and we enjoyed ourselves.
‘‘Being back inside the top 10 is a massive thing for our league and we’ve got plans to go on and go higher from here.’’
One of the most encouraging aspects of the win was the performance of several of the team’s fresher faces.
Deniliquin Ram Ash Morris won the medal as Murray’s best, while Finley’s Marcus Jackson and Congupna pair Daniel Bowles and Kaine Greening were all good in defence.
Up top, Jones, Priest and Cobram’s John Lucas finished with four goals each.
Finley’s Reid Crowe was also lively as a late replacement for Cobram’s Tom Thorsen, who was unwell.
‘‘They’re guys that hopefully play interleague footy for a long time, so it’s great they get their opportunity around such senior guys,’’ Beattie said.
‘‘We spent a lot of time as a group over the period and that was the main thing, that they got to know each other from different clubs and they roomed with different guys. It just shows, blokes from different clubs that were combining really well and having a good influence.
‘‘That’s what rep footy is about if you’ve got limited time.’’
Clarke finished with six goals and served a lone hand in attack for Bellarine, while Baden Dodd ran tirelessly and was awarded his team’s medal.
