I had envisaged a peaceful 15 kilometre cycle from Deans Marsh (which has a pretty little oval but no scoreboard) to the Birregurra ground. Alas, I hadn’t counted on September’s swooping magpies.

Birregurra is a township of 500 people, at the foot of the Otway Ranges in western Victoria.

The scoreboard is a neat and tidy, and very compact, construction built of pine logs, reflecting the local logging industry. (The coaches’ and interchange steward’s boxes are also solid constructions. It’d take a mighty wind to knock them down.)

Birregurra, the Saints, play in the Colac and District Football League, west of Geelong. The Saints lost the 2010 grand final to Irrewarra-Beeac, the Bombers, in an enthralling finish. The Geelong Advertiser reported:

Irrewarra-Beeac sealed a third straight CDFL premiership but received a major scare in a pulsating grand final at Colac’s Central Reserve on Saturday (11 September).

The Bombers prevailed by two points against a fast finishing Birregurra side that booted the last six goals of the match after trailing by 38 points early in the final quarter.

It was an amazing turnaround given Irrewarra-Beeac’s dominant third quarter that many at the ground believed had killed off the contest.

The Birregurra Festival each October includes wood-chopping, snake handling, pig racing, and dog jumping. But, hopefully, no magpie swooping.

VM