Sam Murray sits alongside Bob Rose, Neville Hogan and Laurie Burt as Wangaratta Rovers coaching giants with second flag
Former Collingwood player Sam Murray has joined Wangaratta Rovers' coaching elite after securing the club's first back-to-back flags since 1994.
Wangaratta Rovers coach Sam Murray joined some household names at the Ovens & Murray club when he led them to back-to-back premierships with a gritty 15-point win in the grand final against arch rival Wangaratta on Sunday.
The former Collingwood player led the Rovers out of the flag-winning wilderness with a shock win against red-hot favourites Yarrawonga last year and backed up on Sunday with a victory in the first “Wangaratta Derby” grand final in almost 50 years.
The Rovers edged further ahead of the Magpies in total premierships won with their 17th flag coming after being seriously challenged at the start of the final quarter.
Murray joins Neville Hogan (five), Laurie Burt (four), Bob Rose (two), Ken Boyd (two) and Darryl Smith (two) as multiple premiership coaches at Rovers.
“I didn’t expect this when I took it over,” Murray said.
“I thought coming into today this group had a really good opportunity.
“Our footy was in really good order.
“It’s a different feeling than last year. This is more about pride.
“Last year was euphoric and really good and this year feels just right.
“We worked for it and feel like we earnt it.
“I’m really proud.
“But we respect them and rate them a lot.”
Murray is Melbourne-based with more than 60 per cent of the Rovers’ team.
He singled out assistant coaches Josh Naish and Kyle Raven in the post-match celebrations for the work they do locally with the rest of the senior squad.
Murray was shaded for best-on-ground honours for the second year in a row with Will Christie proving an old adage true again that “good big blokes” help clubs win O&M flags.
In a lowscoring, sometimes subdued grand final, Christie’s fourth goal was the sealer for the Rovers, who had a 16-point lead at three quarter time cut to less than a goal when first semi-final matchwinner Jackson Clarke booted two goals in quick succession for Wangaratta.
Twelve months ago Rovers took a major punt on Williamson’s fitness after not playing between early June and grand final day.
But this season, Christie played every match.
“It’s great to cap off a great year with a flag,” he said.
“It was definitely a goal of mine to play every game this year after what happened last year.
“It was a real test of character when Wang came at us in the last quarter, but we stood up.
“We talk about legacy a lot and we proved today we’re on that journey.”
Rovers were holding on at the end with Xavier Allison (knee), Alex McCarthy (thigh) and Jace McQuade (calf) on the bench.
McQuade kept Wangaratta’s rising star Xavier Laverty goalless in the grand final and VFL recruit Nathan Cooper went back for extra cover in the last quarter.
Wangaratta will rue missed opportunities in the first quarter in particular when it had a chance to be two to three goals up rather than only two points.
First-year Wangaratta coach Jason Heatley is also Melbourne-based and has overseen a quickfire rebuild that has resulted in the Magpies coming from an elimination final to less than three goals away from winning a flag.
“We’re really proud of our group,” he said.
“We had lots of chances and just couldn’t take them.
“We tried to free up our on-ballers a little bit at the start of the last quarter.
“They took their moments late and deserved the win.
“We’ve got some real talent and we’re going to culture some more talent as well.
“We will bring some good people to the club, reload and go again.”
The Magpies played on only 28 player points in the grand final compared to Rovers maxing out their 36 points.
Wangaratta has already made an addition to its playing ranks with the signing of Airport West midfield jet Tyson Young for 2026.
The “Wangaratta Derby” grand final didn’t translate into a bumper crowd with an official crowd of 6250, down on last year’s 8963 and well short of the 10,156 from 2023.
MATCH DETAILS
WANG ROVERS 1.1 4.4 7.5 9.7 (61)
WANGARATTA 1.3 2.5 4.7 6.10 (46)
Goals: WANG ROVERS: W. Christie 4, N. Cooper, L. O’Brien, E. Dayman, A. McCarthy, T. Boyd. WANGARATTA: J. Clarke 2, M. Hedin, B. Melville, A. Federico, A. Tilley.
Best: WANG ROVERS: W. Christie, S. Murray, J. McQuade, K. Parnell, E. Dayman, D. Wilson. WANGARATTA: A. Federico, C. Knowles, J. Clarke, M. Bordignon, H. Gottschling, J. Roberts.
Gate: $76,258 at Lavington
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