To mark the end of the year - and indeed the decade - we'll be bringing you a range of features on the biggest stories in politics, crime and entertainment on the Border.

To kick it off, we've taken a look through our web statistics to see what news our online readers engaged with most in 2019.

The shocking court case and dash-cam vision of a driver who twice slammed on his brakes in front of a 62-tonne truck garnered tens of thousands of views and shocked many Border readers.

Gary Richard Robertson, 49, appeared in Wodonga Magistrates Court in May and June this year, eventually pleading guilty to careless driving.

Footage played to the court and obtained by The Border Mail showed Robertson's red Ford Fairmont pulling in front of the truck and braking, causing the truck to swerve.

The Fairmont also drove into the middle of the lanes and again braked heavily in front of the truck.

The truck approached the Ford and nudged the near of the car. Truck driver Stuart John Annison also pleased guilty to careless driving.

A separate incident, where a dash-cam captured footage of a company car's extremely close call, generated mass outrage.

The footage shows the Sureway Employment and Training car attempting to overtake two trucks on the Murray Valley Highway before swerving off-road to narrowly miss an oncoming ute.

Unfortunately a number of Border greats died in 2019, including beloved-former deputy prime minister Tim Fischer, and while we can't list them all, a number of tribute stories made it into our most-read list for the year.

The shock deaths of Jack James, who died after falling through the roof in Corowa hotel, and long-time Wodonga hospital worker Sally Jones, who died in a car crash, touched many people in the region.

The loss of high-profile racing figure Brian Cox and former policewoman Marg Saunders evoked an outpouring of grief, with thousands of people reading tributes to each.

Readers also reacted strongly to the sudden death of Danielle Filby, 38, who collapsed at home after experiencing flu-like symptoms.

Finally, a horror 24 hours in Mullengandra in which two separate fatalities occurred and the horrible death of Mohyu's Paul McDonald, who was killed when his pet deer attacked in April, generated an outpouring of support.

Controversial figures caused a stir in 2019, with plenty people keen to read about Pauline Hanson's visit to the Border and the protester who called the One Nation politician a "racist dog" and told her to "go back, we don't want you in our town".

And former AFL player Jason Akermanis caused his own controversy, getting banned from not one, not two, but three Border and North East golf clubs.

Aker was banned from Albury, Thurgoona and then Wodonga golf courses, but following his second ban the former Brownlow medalist said "I don't think it's me that needs to change".

"The other member who ended up dobbing me in, the egg's on his face," he said.

Business developments proved popular reads throughout the year, with the announcement Harris Farms would open in the old Albury Bunnings building sparking much discussion online.

The fire and eventual reopening of Thick and Thieves and the permanent closure of Cafe Grove were also well read.

There might not have been 101 dalmatians, but the story of an Albury breeder's record-breaking litter of pups almost broke records of its own, proving extremely popular online.

The pups, who were all named after Disney movies, seemed quite happy in the limelight.

The year's top sports story, by the numbers, was the announcement the 2019 Albury Gold Cup would be abandoned.

The city's premier race meeting was postponed and then cancelled after a section of the track near the 800 metre mark was ruled to be unsafe by chief steward John Davidson.

Nationally it was Ash Barty who captured the country's attention, but on the Border all eyes were on 61-year-old Peter Shaw - known as Bert Einstein - who took to the field in the Upper Murray league.

The Corryong footballer captured readers' interest and was one of the year's best read sports yarns.

"They park me as far away from the ball as possible, usually in a forward pocket," he told sports reporter Brett Kohlhagen.

"I just run around and make a lot of noise."

But the humorous tale also had a serious side reflecting the troubles and uncertainty the Upper Murray league faced throughout 2019.

The 2019 O and M grand final live blog provided up to the minute results and coverage of the day's footy and netball and proved extremely popular with readers.

While the decision of the Albury Tigers and then-coach Peter German to mutually part ways only days after the reigning premiers defeated North Albury by 133 points, caused a big stir in O and M circles.

German had signed a three-year deal with Albury midway through the 2018 season after an extensive coaching career in the AFL and VFL.

In 2019, The Border Mail, introduced a Q and A feature where one of our talented sports reporters sits down with a Border star. One of the most popular reads of the year was the wide-ranging interview with former Yarrawonga legend Brendan Fevola who spoke about how the club changed his life.

"When I went to Yarra I was in a pretty bad way, in a tough spot," Fev revealed.