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BORDER-WALWA has emerged from its darkest period since merging in 1961 with victory for the first time since the 2012 season.
The Magpies snapped a 47-match losing streak after beating Corryong by 35 points at Corryong on Saturday.
Their last win was by one point over Federal in round 1, 2012. The victory sparked scenes of jubilation from long-suffering players, supporters and officials who crammed into the visitor’s change rooms to belt out the club song for the first time in over three years.
Tony Brennan, who is in his second season of coaching the Magpies, said the majority of the group struggled to remember the words to the club song.
“There was a lot more mumbling than singing because not many people knew the words to the song,” Brennan said.
“But we had a lot of people in the rooms and it was fairly emotional.
“It was just priceless to see the joy on the faces of the supporters and committee members who have been through the tough times and keep turning up each weekend to help out and support the club.
“Their hard work has gone unrewarded for the past three years so it was good for them to be finally able to enjoy a win.
“To finally get the win takes a bit of pressure off and I think we will play a lot better footy now.
“Hopefully this is just the start of bigger and better things.”
Border-Walwa had come perilously close to folding at the start of the 2013 season and leaving the Upper Murray Football-Netball League in a vulnerable position with only five clubs.
Kade and Matt Butters answered the Magpies SOS on the eve of the 2013 season before handing over the coaching reins to Brennan the following season.
“When they came to see me at the start of last year, we put a bit of a plan in place and knew it would take a couple of years before we started to see some gains,” Brennan said.
“I was hoping to pinch a couple of wins last year and I thought we were a bit unlucky not to. But we are now finally starting to see some gains after having our fair share of pain.
“We’re not satisfied with just the one win and know we have to keep on improving.”