Towns, signposts and sporting ovals disappear into the rear-view mirror as Federation Way spears further north into rural NSW, across land as flat as a billiard table towards a skyline you could draw with a ruler.

There goes the turning to Oaklands; next stop Urana. When it comes to the Hume league, the Billabong Crows are the end of the line.

"Blink and you'll miss it," admitted Rikki Robb, who's umpiring on the netball court when I arrive at Victoria Park. "There's not much to both towns.

"We've got nothing else here, nothing for the kids, no other activities for people to get involved in. Without the footy club, who knows where we'd be?"

Robb is in between several jobs when we speak courtside. As one of the club's netball co-ordinators, she coaches the under-15s and organises the social calendar as well as playing in the Crows' successful A-grade side.

"I was at Urana before we merged," she continued. "We were two clubs that hated each other but we've come together and we're stronger and better than ever.

"I just love how it's such a great family club. I know personally, as a mother, I can leave my kids behind for the day and not have to worry about them. I know that someone from our club is going to look after them."

The marriage of Oaklands and Urana, to form Billabong Crows in 2007, was about survival above all else.

"It had to happen or one of us wouldn't be here," explained Fred Kerr, a veteran of almost 500 senior games and committee member over four decades. "We were arch-rivals, we hated each other. But we were struggling for numbers and support.

"The best people from both clubs came together and it's been really good.

"This is the only social outing we have out here. Without the club, we wouldn't know what our kids have been doing, we'd lose them. They'd head off to Albury or somewhere like that."

But just a few yards from where Kerr is loading logs into the wood-burning stove, son Zac is sitting by the boundary watching the reserves alongside a few of his senior team-mates.

"I've been coming to the footy since I could walk," he said. "The old man brought me down to play Auskick and I'd be making sandcastles in the middle of the ground. It's been Saturday for my whole life.

"I still remember my senior debut for Oaklands. It was a bit of a surprise. I went away to school and came home on the weekends, so I didn't get told until the Friday night. Dad was worried I'd over-think it and get a bit nervous.

"In the end, I had a pretty quiet day - one kick for one goal - but the coaches were really good at taking the pressure off.

"We had some pretty poor sides there for a while so it didn't matter whether you stuffed up or not. It was more about going out there and having a crack. In the first few years I probably didn't deserve to be in the side, we struggled a bit but I kept getting a game and slowly worked into it."

All of Zac's 100-plus senior games have been for Billabong Crows, who punched well above their weight by playing finals in 2019.

"That would be by far the best year I've had, just for the enjoyment factor," he said.

"It wasn't like we took it overly seriously, it was just a good bunch of fellas who loved getting to training, being around each other and having fun.

"In a way, that was the biggest catalyst. It led into how we played, our footy got better and it was a ripping year. That was the first final I've ever played and even though we lost, it's by far the best time I've had on a footy field.

"But it's extremely challenging to stay competitive. Players have to drive past four or five different towns just to get to us.

"It's an hour-and-a-half back to Albury so the majority of our recruiting is done by local fellas who live in Albury and bring mates back out with them.

"Mark Beale's been living in Albury for seven or eight years and he travels out every week, two nights a week plus Saturday and brings out four or five mates."

"We do import a lot of players," added Fred as white smoke billows from the chimney above the canteen. "We really struggle against the bigger sides because they're closer to Albury and it's easier to get players. We're geographically stuffed out here, really.

"We're struggling for junior numbers, big time, because a lot of kids have given up playing footy.

"But there's a lot of good blokes out here. We didn't really think about it until last year, when we lost it, and then you think 'what am I going to do on Saturday?' It's the camaraderie we missed, the social side."

Back at the netball courts, the sentiments are similar.

"It definitely brings our whole community together," netball co-ordinator Anna Ferguson said.

"For some of our young Mums, coming here to play means they get an hour to themselves. It's a lot more than just netball and football, it's our community hub.

"Because our juniors are all separated between Urana and Oaklands, they mightn't have seen their friends until we started back and really missed them. All of those connections are re-forming and it's beautiful."

Millie Ferguson, no relation, is stood next to us preparing to coach both the B-grade and A-grade sides, the latter of whom she also plays for.

New to the role this season, it's her first matchday at Urana.

"I live in Yarrawonga so it's about an hour's drive," Ferguson said.

"Saturdays are fine but Thursday nights can be long. Most of the girls travel. It is a commitment but when you love it, it's fine.

"I'm passionate about netball and I missed it so much last year. The year prior, I did my ACL so I couldn't play and I think it takes having the year off to realise how much it's worth it.

"A few of the footballers also come from Yarra so there's a few of us that come out on Thursday nights and there's plenty of banter in the car."

When it comes to netball, the Crows have defied their remote location in recent years. A-grade premiers in 2018 and 2019, they're chasing a third successive flag and today's comprehensive victory over Culcairn leaves them just one win behind leaders Osborne.

Success didn't come easily, though.

"We were a club that struggled and we built our way up," Robb explained. "A lot of young kids came through and had the guidance from our senior players who have now stepped away from the court.

"We really started to grow and connect as a club when Beck O'Connell came along. She guided us in the right direction.

"Holly Dowling stepped straight in and now we've got Millie. We started from the bottom and look where we sit now."

Replicating that sort of success is going to be harder on the football field, although assistant coach Josh Kleine insists they won't compromise a close-knit changing-room for the sake of a gun player.

"We are willing to walk away from blokes, regardless of their football ability, if they're not the right fit for the club," Kleine, also the club's football manager, said. "We generally check out their character before we get to the point of sitting down with people.

"You do a bit of research and make a few phone calls to other people to see if they're the right fit for our group. We've got a very good culture off the field and we don't want to interrupt that by bringing in the wrong people for the wrong reasons.

"To recruit five players you've got to meet with 50 so it's fairly intense in the off-season.

"As soon as the season finishes, you start recruiting, so I'm working year-round. I actually find, as busy as I am during the footy season, it feels like a break.

"But how much it means to the communities is hugely important. That drives me and I think it drives everyone. If I didn't have footy as a kid growing up, I don't know what path I would have taken.

BEHIND THE SCENES - IN CASE YOU MISSED THEM:

"I want to see local clubs thrive because they're important to small communities. If people aren't out there doing those things off the field and helping the club survive, if the community loses them, it can be the death of the community. You need clubs working and they don't run without people putting their hand up to do the work."

"This place is absolutely paramount," former captain, coach and president John Doyle agreed from his vantage point in the time-keeper's box.

"We're in a good position financially and we've got very strong netball but the football's dragging behind.

"COVID has hurt us, it seems to have amplified because of our distance and we've lost a bit of momentum.

"But the club get people together and that's our strongest thing.

"We've got to get back to people wanting to support these types of things and getting involved. Interaction and meeting new people and having a yack about anything, it all helps."

Elizabeth Kerr and Betty Carmichael, who set up their camping chairs by the boundary at 11.30am, will be here until the final siren sounds.

"We never thought Urana and Oaklands would unite but they have," Kerr said. "It was like putting a couple of fighting tomcats in a cage but it's really worked beautifully.

"We missed it dreadfully last year. We follow the AFL too but we just missed coming to the football, sitting here and enjoying the match.

"The club is really important. It's the one thing we can get together on, unite and be happy, not disagree. It's very special to us."

On the field, the challenges continue as the hosts go down to Culcairn by 15 points (I've brought absolutely no luck to the four clubs I've visited for these features, incidentally).

But at the last stop on the line, it's never been more important to keep the train of community sport rolling through this farming heartland - and Billabong Crows have no shortage of drivers.

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