If ever there was a means to kindle the flame of rivalry between Wangaratta's two Ovens and Murray clubs in the modern age, it's a derby grand final.
The enormity of the impending occasion settled on anyone watching the dying minutes of Sunday's senior preliminary final at Birallee Park, as Wangaratta Magpies booked a grand final showdown with next-door neighbours Wangaratta Rovers.
Talk of the derby is on the lips of just about every sports fan and history buff in the district this week who - no matter their allegiance - will be chuffed that more O&M silverware will be heading down the Hume to the rural city on Sunday evening.
The clash is indeed history in the making; it's 48 years since the two clubs have met in a senior football decider, and it will be only the fifth time they've done so since the Rovers joined the league in 1950.
Their previous clashes were back-to-back meetings in 1964-'65 and 1976-'77.
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The Hawks won the first two encounters, led by Ken Boyd against Ron Critchley's 'Pies, while Wangaratta notched its first premiership against its cross-lane foes under the guidance of Phil Nolan in 1976 - much to the chagrin of Neville Hogan's men.
The following year, the Rovers (this time coached by Darryl Smith) reversed the result in the clubs' most recent grand final meeting.
Officially, modern-day supporters will tell you that any friction between the Golf Links Lane neighbours belongs to another era.
Off the record, though, it's a different story - and there's a fair chance those sentiments will bubble over in the cauldron of the Lavington Sports Ground, where the Hawks and 'Pies will also contest the C grade netball grand final.
In other matches with a Wangaratta flavour, the Rovers reserves and Magpies thirds both take on Lavington in their respective encounters, while the Rovers' under 17 netballers meet Wodonga Raiders on the hilltop netball court.
Everywhere you look, there are delicious little subplots running parallel to Sunday's games…
Wangaratta Magpies thirds coach Chris Knowles - a former Hawk - will start the day in charge of the 'Pies lads and then aim to continue his fantastic run of form against his old club in the senior clash.
Magpies C-grader Brooke Henwood and her partner, Rovers footballer Will Nolan, have the chance to snare rare dual back-to-back flags, after their amazing effort in 2024.
Not surprisingly, considering Wangaratta's ingrained passion for sport, family connections run deep both through and between the rival clubs.
In the Rovers' two netball grand final teams, mother and daughter Samantha and Lily Lyster will be out to bring home a double as they both compete for the Hawks.
Two sets of brothers will be part of Magpies premiership bids - Xavier and Hamish Laverty, and Cooper and Blake Newton (Xavier and Blake in the seniors and Hamish and Cooper in the thirds); the Newtons' grandfather, Laurie, played in the Magpies' 1976 premiership.
Brothers Darcy and Mitch Booth - whose dad Mark was a member of the 1977 Rovers premiership team - will be part of the Hawk reserves' tilt, with Darcy as co-coach.
There are also brotherly connections across the Rovers' senior and reserves outfits, including Will and Sam Nolan, Joel and Kyle Smith, Joe and Sam Allen, and Alex and Harrison McCarthy.
Lauren Flynn, whose dad Eddie played in the Rovers' '77 flag, will look to mirror her father's feat from 48 years ago when she lines up in the C grade grand final against the Magpies, to top off a season in which she notched her 150th game.
Connor Crimmins, whose late father Chris and sister Chaye both played 200 games with the Magpies, will wear the brown and gold of the Hawks in the reserves grand final.
Rovers' Charlie Thompson will be out to snare a flag with the Hawks, just as his grandfather Des Steele did with the Magpies in 1961 and '76, and in the reverse scenario, Magpie seniors co-captain Jackson Clarke is in reach of the premiership glory his grandfather Les enjoyed with Rovers in 1958 and '60.
Sophia Pasquali could follow in the footsteps of her three-time Rovers premiership-winning uncle Anthony if her under 17 Rovers team takes the chocolates.
And the Magpies' Jasper Craven, who moved south from Queensland in 2025 to play with dad Danny's former club, would love to help pen a fairytale finale to the season's script.
That's just a taste of what's on offer at Lavington on Sunday, and surely enough to whet the appetite of anyone who loves the unpredictability of live sport.
More broadly, the day illustrates the health of the two Wangaratta clubs and the passion surrounding them; the value of that to a city continuing to emerge from the impact of a historic pandemic cannot be underestimated.
