"THE town has died, there's no hotel and there's just one shop left and a post office."
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These carefully chosen, but frank words from Mitiamo Football Netball Club committeeman and club stalwart Brad Spence don't exactly paint a rosy picture of the northern Victorian town, with a population somewhere around the 100 mark.
But they do perfectly illustrate why the local sporting club remains the absolute lifeblood of the community, 130 years after its foundation.
"There might not be much left of the town, but people still get back to the club and unite," Spence said.
"It means so much to the locals and what is left of the farming community.
"A lot of us locals who have been there over the years still like getting back to the club, where we lived, and where we played all our football or netball and serving on the committee.
"We want to keep the place going on as long as we can."
The Superoos will mark their anniversary with a dinner at the Bendigo Exhibition Centre this Saturday night, following a big day of on-field and on-court action at Mitiamo against Calivil United.
Serving to highlight the tremendous successes enjoyed by the club through its lifetime, the celebration will double as a premiership reunion for Mitiamo's 1979, '99, and 2009 senior football teams and its 1999 B-grade and 2009 C-grade and 15-and-under netball teams.
The Superoos have switched leagues on five occasions, but wherever they have landed success has followed.
The club stated life in the Mitiamo District Football Association in 1895 and won six premierships between 1900 and 1907.
A move to the Tandarra-Macorna Line Association followed, with premiership success in 1924 and 1928.
Mitiamo joined the Pyramid and District Football League in 1931, but the ultimate success eluded the club in its three seasons.
Once in the Mitiamo and District Football League the Superoos dominated with five premierships from 10 grand finals, before the club made its final move to the Loddon Valley in 1956.
The clubs has since won five premierships - 1967, '77, '79, '89 and 2009.
A big gathering will include the majority of the Superoos' 1999 and 2009 premiership players, which were coached respectively by Ash Wilson and Barry Pitson ('99) and Bill Grant ('09).
Spence said it was fitting the clash was against the club's greatest rival in Calivil United.
"Hopefully we can acquit ourselves well on the day, we do tend to bring out the best in each other," he said.
"But whether this is our year or not remains to be see. We have a better list this year and have come runners-up three of the last four years, but to be honest we haven't been close.
"We struck Bridgewater at their peak and then Newbridge, with their best side in a couple of decades.
"It's more a competitive league this year, but when you look at all the nines - 1979, '99, '2009, let's hope its 2019."
Glenda Thomas, who played in 10 A-grade premierships with the Superoos from 1982 to 2005, praised the role netball had played in the club's history.
"The football entered the Loddon Valley league in 1956 and so did the netball, so it's gone together hand-in-hand really," she said.
"The football side has always supported the netball, we have never had any issues about (netball) being separate.
"We've always been supportive of each other, which is a real positive.
"It (Mitiamo netball) has got a strong backbone; a lot of us who grew up there, even though a lot of us now live in Bendigo, we still go back wuth that connection.
"We want to see it thrive and do well.
The earliest recorded history of netball was in September 1932 against Sylvaterre.
Other games were played against Pyramid Hill and Wee Wee Rup.
The Superoos initially joined the Loddon valley with one senior team. A junior team was added in 1962 and won the inaugural premiership against Korong Vale 15-8.
The club captured its first senior premiership in 1966 against Bridgewater 51-42.
That team featured a 15-year-old Joy Lawry (Ludeman), who is still actively involved around the club.
"It is volunteers like Joy who have kept the football netballl club thriving," Thomas said.
Fast forward to 2019 and the Superoos have four senior teams, two junior and one minis team.
The premiership count stands at 12 A-grade premierships, five B-grade, four C-grade, three C-reserve, three 17-and-under and oe 15-and-under.
Mitiamo last experienced flag success in 2012 and were runners-up in 2016 and 2017.
Spence attributed the club's longevity to the strong, hard-working, committed and loyal efforts of many people throughout the years.
"People say 'how can you keep going' after 130 years - the answer is you do have to keep going," he said.
"We have had a lot of fun and a lot of success over the years, and currently we are still very competitive.
"The netball has been kind to us over the years too, a lot of premierships and a lot of local content in the teams."
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