Omeo-Benambra beats Buchan by 33 points in possible last match at Benambra

A key figure in the Omeo-Benambra merger nearly two decades ago has weighed in on the future of Benambra’s one-off match.

A key player in the merger between high country rivals Omeo and Benambra has vowed to make sure the one-off match played at Benambra isn’t scrapped.

Frank Pendergast was Benambra president when the club approached Omeo about a merger following its 2006 premiership win.

The Benambra 2006 premiership flag is unveiled before the first game played by Omeo-Benambra after an off-season merger.

He said the huge crowd last Saturday to watch Omeo-Benambra beat Buchan underlined the importance of the Benambra match being retained provided the facilities were maintained to their current standard or if not improved.

“We’ve still got a lot of kids and senior footballers who play for Omeo-Benambra, who are Benambra people,” Pendergast said.

“They might not live there presently, but they’ve got strong ties to the town.

“The issue is the facilities at Benambra when you compare them to Omeo which would be close to the best in the league.

“It’s a one off game we have to keep so it’s up to us to make sure the facilities don’t go backwards from here.

“We can’t let it die.

“There were people there on Saturday who don’t normally come to games just because it was played at Benambra.”

Former Benambra player and president Frank Pendergast. Photo Greg Scullin.

Pendergast also played and coached Benambra before the merger was struck with two games at Benambra initially agreed to.

“We had no hope of surviving on our own,” he said.

“The merger is working well with people on the committee from Benambra and we’re hoping for another flag this year.”

Pendergast remains a club volunteer.

Benambra won 20 flags before the merger and the amalgamated club won the premiership in its first season.

The Omeo District league has a bye this weekend before Omeo-Benambra plays ladder leader Swan Reach.

The last time the two clubs met the match was called off due to poor player behaviour and the two teams placed on $500 good behaviour bonds.

Omeo-Benambra was declared the winners because it led by 39 points in the third quarter.

“SIGN OF THE TIMES”

Omeo-Benambra potentially farewelled its home ground for one match each season in winning fashion on Saturday with a 33-point victory against Buchan in the Omeo District league.

Coach Rohan Tomkins said the possibility of the club playing at the ground where his own career started in the late 1970s for the last time was a motivating factor in the win.

“We had a bit of a chat before the game about it potentially being the last game at Benambra,” he said.

“It will be sad if it comes to that.

“But unfortunately it’s a sign of the times.

“The sheds were fairly good in the 1960s, but they’re not at the moment.

“We wanted to make sure we won.”

Full time at Benambra Rec Reserve and it was the Alpine Ranges with the victory!

The Cavemen fought hard in the last term to get back into the game but they tried to come from too far back.

Final scores:

Omeo Benambra 11.14.80
Buchan 7.5.47 pic.twitter.com/af7INBdx80

— Gippsland Footy (@GippslandFooty) May 31, 2025

Omeo and Benambra, high country rivals for more than a century, merged in 2007 and part of the deal was one match would be played at Benambra each season and the remainder at Omeo.

But facilities at the Benambra ground have been slipping in recent years and urgent upgrades to meet minimum child safety standards for showers and toilets were carried out in recent weeks to guarantee the match against Buchan went ahead.

The Benambra ground attracted a big crowd for possibly the last match played at the high country venue. Picture: Supplied

Omeo-Benambra led by 23 points at halftime before closing out the win that keeps its chances alive of going back-to-back for the first time since the merger.

Former Queenslander Hudson Collins was named Omeo-Benambra’s best player with Tyler Betts, Will Cook and Jordan Robertson.

Plenty of Bloods memorabilia still to be found in the old Benambra club rooms. Hopefully we haven't seen the last game of footy played [e-mail]/w7OcXlSpHs

— Owen John (@TweetedByOwen) June 1, 2025

Robertson played in Omeo-Benambra’s flag-winning team last year and joined Stratford this season.

But he was cleared back for the match.

Ruckman Rob Maisey, who played in Benambra’s 2000 premiership team, also came back to play in the match.

“What we’ve got is still reasonably good,” Tomkins said.

“We’ve lost well over half the side from last year.”

Tomkins’ father and high country farmer Reg coached Benambra to flags in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Originally published as Omeo-Benambra beats Buchan by 33 points in possible last match at Benambra