They're just some of the words you'll hear from the mouths of long-time Corowa-Rutherglen netball supporters this week.

It's hard to believe this year's club champions were once in such dire straits they had to pull out of the A-grade competition for a season in 2007 - the first and only time this has happened in the history of Ovens and Murray netball.

That would symbolise a turning point for the club, who now 12 years later have their A-grade, B-grade and C-grade netball teams all playing in Ovens and Murray grand finals on Sunday.

It marks the first grand final for the club's A-grade.

The Roos' rebuild started to take shape at the start of 2008 when they reached out for help from Ovens and Murray Hall of Famer Lindy Singleton.

Singleton had a wealth of Ovens and Murray netball knowledge and experience up her sleeve and was believed to be just what the Roos needed to get back on track.

"Sandra Dunn rang me several times and asked me to come and build up Corowa again," Singleton said.

"She told me that the league had said that if they couldn't fill an A-grade side they'd have to pull all three grades out of the competition.

"That broke my heart, because the O and M was like my second family.

"After about the third phone call she got me."

It marked the start of Singleton's three-year coaching stint with the Roos, travelling up and down the highway from Melbourne every week with daughter Tori.

Later she would become one of five players banding together to make the 302km journey from Melbourne to Corowa each week in an effort to keep the town's netball prospects afloat.

"We advertised in the paper and put notifications up around the TAFE," Singleton said.

"I knew some people from the area that were at university in Melbourne, so I contacted them to see if they'd come and build up the club again.

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"We eventually got enough to fill the team and I said to the girls even if we do it for a season, we need to get the word out there.

"We got enough to fill an A-grade side and you wouldn't believe it, but we won our first game.

"The club was ecstatic.

"But then we didn't win another game for the rest of the season."

Slowly but surely the Roos lured more players to the club from surrounding leagues with people showing enough interest for the club to be able to fill sides.

One of the players Singleton coaxed to the team would later be crowned the club's first Toni Wilson medallist in 2010.

Beck O'Connell, who like most players from that era, travelled each week to help out the blue and white unit.

O'Connell would then go on to take over the coaching reins from Singleton, and after a stint in the Hume league, returned to the Roos this season to share in the excitement.

In Singleton's career in the Ovens and Murray she coached at three other clubs, Myrtleford, Wodonga and Wodonga Raiders, and while her time with Corowa-Rutherglen may have been challenging, she's forever grateful that she answered the call.

"I loved my time coaching at Corowa because the girls just really wanted to learn and improve and build the club back up," Singleton said.

"Look where they are now.

"I'm a very positive person and I think it just comes down to the fact that clubs go through cycles.

"I had full faith that at some stage Corowa would get back up there and be successful again.

"It was just about finding the right people to keep it going.

"Georgie Bruce has done an amazing job with that club."

Bruce started her tenure as coach at the club four years ago.

In that time A-grade have gone from finishing eighth in her first year to just missing out on finals, and now straight to the top spot as this season's minor premiers.

Bruce enlisted the help and guidance of Roos' past player Linda Eyers as the A-grade team manager.

Eyers, who has been involved with the club since 1995, saw first hand the Roos' hardships as well as the way loyal life-long friendships have helped to turn things around.

The current team manager also made mention of the efforts of past president Sandra Dunn and Rowena Black as influential factors in changing the club's fate.

You only have to pass the town's newsagency to see that Dunn still shows her support for the blue and white girls.

"It was pretty heartbreaking for us to go through that," Eyers said.

"We wanted to make the club attractive, so we started focusing on the development of our juniors."

A star who has ascended through the Roos' junior ranks since the initiative was put in place is back-to-back Toni Wilson medallist Sophie Hanrahan, who fittingly enough, joins former Roos' coach Singleton in being the only two netballers to achieve the honour twice.

Hanrahan is now also following even further in Singleton's footsteps, coaching the club's C-grade side from a bottom of the ladder finish last season to a grand final in just a 12-month period.

The club's C-grade and B-grade teams will face Yarrawonga outfits in their grand finals, while A-grade will go to battle against reigning premiers Wangaratta.

Eyers said she can only imagine how much it would mean to the club to have a share in some of the success to come out of Sunday's O and M grand finals.

"It's pretty hard not to cry," Eyers said.

"Reality kicked in during the last quarter of the B-grade game last week.

"We had about four minutes to go and it kicked in that we had all three teams through.

"Having not been there or experienced it before, it's hard to know how overwhelming the feelings will be this weekend.

"I'm really proud of the girls and all of the people who have put in over the years and hung in there with us.

"A group of past players still keep in touch and a message went straight out to them all about the girls going through to the grand final to keep everyone up to date.

"Whether we win or lose on the weekend, I'm super proud of the girls already for making it this far.

"They have made all of the hardships involved in keeping the club together worth it."