Cobram’s seniors will play in the grand final against Congupna this weekend.
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The task is mammoth, the rewards immeasurable.
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They might have been regarded as finals contenders since round one, but Mark Meyland’s Cobram is gearing up for its Murray Football League grand final showdown against Congupna, backed by a potent concoction of hard-won inner belief, discipline and courage.
It’s true that the opposition packs formidable firepower.
Congupna has backed up its 2024 flag-winning campaign with an unblemished record and racked up a mouth-watering 417 percentage points on the league standings in the process.
But you can be sure that Cobram will not be pulling any punches when push comes to shove.
“We all know that we’re going to have to be at our absolute best to be in the game,” Meyland said.
“That’s the attitude that we’re going in with: everybody has got to play their part and do it to the best of their ability.
“And if we can do that, we know that by the final siren we’re going to be right in the game.”
The Tigers have bounced back from a plague of injuries earlier in the season, and, aside from losing Harry Beasley, Jake Hodgkin and Patrick Thompson to various injuries, will arrive at Moama this Saturday with a full, healthy team list fit to burst with flag-hungry talent.
Cobram's Matteo Allen celebrates after scoring.
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Rechelle Zammit
That includes young guns like Murray Bushranger Paulie Degei and Hunter Hardwidge, shoulder-to-shoulder with the likes of Sam Beasley, multiple best-and-fairest winner Tyron Baden and 2025 O’Dwyer Medallist Jackson Trengove.
Add it all together, and it’s easy to see where the men in black and yellow have found that ever-so-precious resource, inner belief.
“Our depth has definitely been tested,” Meyland said.
“To be able to stand up and win enough games to make finals, using the depth that we had, at different times, is probably where the internal belief started.
“And then I think once we started to get our best team on the park, the results were starting to speak for themselves.”
Since taking the helm at the Tigers, there’s no doubt Meyland has had an indelible impact on the seniors’ game day success.
But this weekend, the Cobram army will pack out Moama Recreation Reserve to get behind not just one, but three football teams and one netball side.
Kicking off a massive day for the Tigers, the Cobram fourths, under co-coaches Danny Kelf and David Bate, will face down the Deniliquin Rams for a chance to make amends for last year’s grand final upset to Mulwala.
John Brunskill’s thirds have rolled up their sleeves and are ready to do what they need to do to go back-to-back when they face Moama in the under-17 grand final.
And Sandra Kennedy’s under-15 netballers will vie for top honours on the courts against Moama.
Some have speculated, with good reason, that it may just be the year of the Tigers.
With the Rochester Tigers into the GVFL grand final and the Katamatite Tigers claiming their first flag since 2001, some are beginning to feel that something special is in the air.
As for Cobram, which has the chance to break a 27-year senior premiership drought and claim not just one, but four flags this weekend, the sky is the limit.
“We don’t know where the roof is,” Meyland said.
“We’re match-hardened and ready for the challenge.”
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