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Ovens and Murray, Goulburn Valley: Country footy’s fiercest rivalry is 93 years old

The O&M and Goulburn Valley interleague teams will face off for the 27th time on Saturday. See the best players who have played in both leagues.

The fierce football rivalry between Ovens and Murray and Goulburn Valley dates back almost a century.

In the first of 26 matches between the two leagues, GV won by seven points in 1930.

But, the O and M leads the head-to-head tally 16-10 with its most recent victory last year and another clash at Albury on Saturday.

What is beyond dispute is the countless champion players who have represented the two major leagues.

In many instances, players have spent time playing in both.

Here, The Weekly Times profiles our top 30 picks.

Ray Preston, a great of yesteryear, won a Morris Medal playing for Wangaratta in 1955, but piqued the interest of South Melbourne when playing for GV club City United, which later became Shepparton United.

Col Trevaskis was playing coach of premiership-winning teams in both leagues, Shepparton Bears and North Albury.

Shepparton Bears legend Stephen Ash, who also starred for Albury in the Ovens and Murray. Picture: Supplied
Shepparton Bears legend Stephen Ash, who also starred for Albury in the Ovens and Murray. Picture: Supplied

But our No.1 is Stephen Ash, who played the majority of his brilliant career with Shepparton Bears before two seasons with Albury that were so good he was named in its Team-of-the-Century.

“I’d had eight years at Shepp and was getting a bit stale,” he said.

“I just needed a freshen up and was going to go to South Australia, but with the farm and that, the old man wasn’t keen on that idea.

“The better players in both leagues were good, but the bottom end of the O and M was stronger than the GV.”

TOP 10 PLAYERS WHO HAVE PLAYED IN THE GOULBURN VALLEY AND OVENS AND MURRAY

1. STEPHEN ASH, Shepparton Bears, Albury

Superstar midfielder Stephen Ash joined Shepparton Bears as a teenager when his original club, Invergordon, folded. By the early 1990s he had established himself as one of the Goulburn Valley’s best players.

Ash was best-on-ground in the 1993 Bears’ premiership win decided by a goal after the siren before going back-to-back the following year.

He had two seasons with Albury in the Ovens and Murray and played in two more premierships in 1996 and ’97 with best afield honours in the 1996 win over Lavington.

Ash returned to Shepparton and played in another flag and won two Morrison Medals.

Paul Kirby played in premierships for Tatura and Wangaratta.
Paul Kirby played in premierships for Tatura and Wangaratta.

2. PAUL KIRBY, Tatura, Wangaratta

A mobile ruckman who dominated in both leagues, Paul Kirby had amassed 200 matches and a premiership with Tatura before he accepted an offer to join Wangaratta.

Kirby was a key player in back-to-back flags for the Magpies in 2007 and ’08.

Returned to Tatura and played in another flag in 2012 and also coached the club up until last season.

Represented both leagues and also played for Victorian Country multiple occasions.

3. CHRIS STUHLDREIER, Kyabram, Lavington

Goal-kicking machine Chris Stuhldreier initially came to the Goulburn Valley as a policeman in 1990.

Stuhldreier booted a century of goals in six successive seasons for Kyabram including a league record 170 in 1993 when he finished runner-up in the Morrison Medal to teammate Ben Gugliotti.

He captained the GV to country championship glory the following year when he kicked another 142 goals.

Stuhldreier made the move to Lavington in 1996 when he equalled the league record of 126 goals as he topped 100 goals three times in the O and M.

Three-time Morrison Medal winner Ray Willett from Mooroopna went within one vote of winning at Morris Medal when he played for Corowa.
Three-time Morrison Medal winner Ray Willett from Mooroopna went within one vote of winning at Morris Medal when he played for Corowa.

4. RAY WILLETT, Mooroopna, Corowa

Recently named in The Weekly Times’ Living Legends of country football, Ray Willett was a star ruckman in the GV before a switch to the O and M.

He won three Morrison Medals in 1965, 1967 and 1968 playing for Mooroopna.

Willett also coached the club and represented the GV in the country championships.

He headed to Corowa where he finished runner-up in the O and M’s Morris Medal in 1972 by one vote.

Jarrod Sutherland made teammates at Shepparton Swans and Yarrawonga walk tall with his on field presence.
Jarrod Sutherland made teammates at Shepparton Swans and Yarrawonga walk tall with his on field presence.

5. JARROD SUTHERLAND, Shepparton Swans, Yarrawonga

Imposing ruckman Jarrod Sutherland made his presence felt in both leagues.

Sutherland played the majority of his career in GV with more than 230 matches for Shepparton Swans, which included a Morrison Medal-winning season in 2002 and regular selection in the GV interleague teams.

Premiership success eluded him in the GV as it did in the O and M, where he had four seasons with Yarrawonga from 1998 to 2001.

But in his stint with the Pigeons he finished runner-up twice in the Morris Medal including losing by a vote to Wangaratta Rovers champion Robbie Walker in 2001.

Kayne Pettifer played in premierships for his original club Kyabram and Yarrawonga following his stint with Richmond in the AFL. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin
Kayne Pettifer played in premierships for his original club Kyabram and Yarrawonga following his stint with Richmond in the AFL. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

6. KAYNE PETTIFER, Kyabram, Yarrawonga

Originally playing for Kyabram and drafted by Richmond in 2000 with pick No.9, Kayne Pettifer initially returned to country football for Kyabram in 2010 when the Bombers lost the grand final.

He was part of the Yarrawonga 2013 premiership win against the Tigers, playing alongside Brendan Fevola.

Pettifer returned to Kyabram and played in three flags including kicking a century of goals in the 2018 premiership year.

7. TONY PASQUALI, Wangaratta Rovers, Benalla

Tony Pasquali was a star of the O and M in one of its strongest teams in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Wangaratta Rovers.

Pasquali played in three flags with injury robbing him of another in 1993 and regularly represented the O and M in country championships matches.

He made the move to Benalla as coach in 1999 and in a brilliant first of two seasons with the GV team he won the Morrison Medal and the club’s best and fairest.

Pasquali returned to Wangaratta Rovers as coach and led them into the 2002 grand final.

Kristan Height won the GV Morrison Medal playing for Echuca and the O and M Morris Medal playing for Myrtleford.
Kristan Height won the GV Morrison Medal playing for Echuca and the O and M Morris Medal playing for Myrtleford.

8. KRISTAN HEIGHT, Echuca, Myrtleford

Kristan Height was an automatic top-10 selection as a winner of the two leagues’ best and fairest awards.

A teenage premiership player with Echuca in the early 2000s, Height won the Morrison Medal for the club in 2010 when it fell agonisingly short of another flag.

He joined Myrtleford in 2013 and won the Morris Medal the following season.

Height completed a unique country football trifecta when he won the Michelsen Medal playing for Sandhurst in the Bendigo league in 2016.

9. DANIEL MAHER, Benalla, Albury

Daniel Maher was a two-time best and fairest winner at Benalla and runner-up in the Morrison Medal behind Jarrod Sutherland in 2002 before moving to Albury following a stint in the west.

Maher made an instant impact in the O and M by winning Albury’s best and fairest in his first season before becoming coach and playing in six flags.

Best-on-ground in the Tigers’ 2010 win over Yarrawonga, Maher represented both leagues at interleague level.

10. RICKY SYMES, Benalla, Corowa-Rutherglen

Benalla born and bred, Ricky Symes was recruited to Corowa-Rutherglen when the club was a premiership-winning force in the early 2000s.

Symes booted seven goals in the 2003 grand final win over Wodonga to earn the Did Simpson Medal for best player on the ground.

He returned to Benalla when it made a charge at the flag only to be stopped by a red-hot Seymour.

Symes kicked a century of goals in the GV in 2005.

GV and O&M GREATS: 11-30

11. Matt Byers, Shepparton Bears, Wangaratta

12. Josh Mellington, Benalla, Albury

13. Jason MacFarlane, Albury, Corowa-Rutherglen, Benalla, Myrtleford

14. Chris McCarty, Rochester, Wodonga Raiders

15. Ray Preston, Wangaratta, Shepparton United, Shepparton Swans, Seymour, Mooroopna

16. Luke Morgan, Wangaratta Rovers, Benalla, Wangaratta

17. Eric Cornelius, Wangaratta Rovers, Shepparton United

18. Brodie Filo, Shepparton United, Wodonga Raiders, Wangaratta Rovers

19. Matt Storer, Mansfield, Wangaratta

20. Brad Murray, Myrtleford, Echuca

21. David Lucas, Kyabram, Corowa-Rutherglen

22. Marc Harrap, Shepparton Bears Corowa-Rutherglen

23. Ben Cosgriff, Shepparton Bears, Wangaratta, Tatura

24. Tony Gayfer, Corowa-Rutherglen, Tatura

25. Brenton Cooper, Shepparton United, Wodonga, Benalla

26. Col Trevaskis, Shepparton Bears, North Albury

27. Brendan Liddell, Seymour, Wangaratta

28. Jamie Sheahan, Mansfield, Wangaratta Rovers

29. Harry Wheeler, Seymour, Yarrawonga

30. Mark Lambourn, Wodonga, Shepparton Bears

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Original URL: https://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/sport/ovens-and-murray-goulburn-valley-country-footys-fiercest-rivalry-is-93-years-old/news-story/091cd2cdb8c2183dbd827be6632f0bd8