League at crosswords

But only for a select few. Albury has been without a doubt the stand-out club in the competition, routinely playing in grand finals and more often than not also going home with the premiership cup in hand.

There is no doubt the Tigers have been a wonderful sight to witness, playing a skilled and hard brand of football that has left many other clubs in their wake.

Pretty much no one can get near them. The only real exception to that has been Yarrawonga, the Pigeons clearly the next best with a consistency that has take them also to the flag.

And it appears that domination is not about to end any time soon.

The opening round of the 2017 season showed how Albury is playing very much to type, with the club’s 86-point annihilation of Wodonga Raiders.

Tellingly, Raiders coach Daryn Cresswell pointed to Albury’s match as “probably the most clinical performance I've seen here”.

Albury has continued to remain unapologetic about its domination, repeatedly refer to its careful list management and financial prudence.

Nevertheless, there is something clearly not right with the health of the competition.

Indeed, the gripe for many supporters is that for a lot of the clubs they simply cannot compete with the well-supported machinations of the bigger outfits.

This takes nothing away from the outstanding performance of the Tigers or the Pigeons, but the reality of other clubs not getting a look-in is people simply lose interest.

That serves only to weaken the competition – and in turn, take the gloss of any future premiership glory.

The Ovens and Murray is known as one of the absolute premier country leagues in Australia, but this is at risk. Such concerns have been spelt out in an independent review of the competition that is now in the hands of the clubs.

Especially pertinent is the belief of some clubs that one or more of them could be forced to fold, almost without warning, because of an inequality that contributes to financial hardship.

The O&M has reached a crucial point in its history and if the investigation is any guide, serious leg work needs to be done before it is too late.