AN extraordinary 118-point victory has emphatically ended Dederang-Mount Beauty’s winless start to the season.

With their most recent triumph coming almost twelve months ago, the Bombers were quietly confident of getting back on the winner’s list against Wahgunyah in front of their home fans, but even the staunchest of supporters may not have expected the 21.20 (146) to 4.4 (28) thumping.

An eight-goal to one opening quarter with the aid of a decent breeze laid the platform for a big Bomber win and they comfortably kicked their highest score of the season.

Michael Collins (six goals) and Couper Smith (three) were two of ten goalkickers to join in on the fun, while Jacob Ozolins, Lachie Lee, Cameron Jones and Collins were named in the Bombers’ best players on a day to remember.

As you could imagine, co-coach Tom McGhee breathed a sigh of relief after the team’s first victory in 2024.

“To be able to get a win is great reward for effort,” McGhee said.

“We’ve been really pleased with the last month, and now that we are coming up against sides for a second time, it’s great to see how much we’ve improved as a group.

“We were unlucky not to get the win against Tallangatta and then we were able to hold our own with Beechworth after a slow start in the first quarter.

“This year was always going to be tough on field, but with the group we’ve got, it’s been an absolute blast – from the last bloke in the reserves to the best player in the seniors, it was a great day all celebrating together.

On what was a hugely successful day for the club, all five senior and junior football teams recorded wins against Wahgunyah to provide the locals with some joy on the scoreboard.

DMB’s reserves side also won their first match for the season, defeating Wahgunyah by 46 points – 9.8 (62) to 2.4 (16).

AFL premiership player Ben McEvoy provided hands-on support to coaches and players on Saturday and his impact on all teams can’t be understated, according to McGhee.

“Having Ben back at the club was great for the overall atmosphere on the day – he was there from the under 12’s footy all the way through to the seniors, which was great.

“The kids loved having him there and he also provided myself and Jaydn with some good insights to our game.”

The win means that Dederang-Mount Beauty jump up to eleventh position of the TDFL ladder and will be full of optimism travelling to Wodonga this Saturday to take on the tenth-placed Saints.

“For the group moving into our final three games, the win is going to be a massive confidence boost,” McGhee said.

“We know now that we can win games of footy and the last month has shown us that we can be competitive with any team when we apply ourselves, but we just need to do it over longer periods of the game.

“We know we will get there, but with such a young and inexperienced group we are realistic with our expectations and are just hoping to be competitive in the last games of the year and take some confidence into next season.”