A CENTURY of rivalry came to a head on Saturday when two teams celebrating their 100th year of playing the great game in the Eastern District Football League (EDFL) went toe-to-toe once more.
Having both played their first games in 1923, the Burracoppin and Nukarni football clubs have stood the test of time.
They made it through a world war and have dealt with dwindling town numbers which have forced so many other clubs around regional WA to either fold or combine forces to keep going.
While the EDFL itself may have become a game with 16 on the field to account for the smaller numbers, Burracoppin and Nukarni both still front a league, reserves and colts side every week.
Four generations of the Downsborough family have played for the Burracoppin Football Club starting in the 1930s - carrying the legacy on to the current day with 20-year-old Jack.
Ian Downsborough was one of the club's most successful prospects, making it all the way to the AFL in the 1990s where he played for the West Coast Eagles, Port Adelaide and Adelaide.
"You can walk into any football club and all of a sudden you have 40 mates, so the camaraderie is the same whether it's Burracoppin or the West Coast Eagles," Mr Downsborough said.
"At the highest level they try to tap into that mateship and if you can get everyone heading in the same direction, you're well on the way to having a good football team."
Both Nukarni and Burracoppin were very strong during the late 1980s and early 1990s, when Mr Downsborough was playing, with the two teams playing off in many grand finals.
"Over that period we played in eight grand finals in a row," he said.
"I was very fortunate to come up with the team in that era and I don't think we've played in one since 2004, so it was just luck to fall into that era."
On the other side, Nukarni Football Club's Andrew Crook also played during that era and said while the rivalry was always solid, it never carried off the field.
Mr Crook still farms at Merredin and his family has been involved with the club for a long time, with his father John having played and his two sons - Jayden and Callan - still playing.
"I remember a game during that great rivalry period, it was the last match of the season and we had to win to make the finals," Mr Crook said.
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"We were playing at Burracoppin oval and back in those days, they used a set of jumper leads onto a battery to sound the siren.
"Nukarni was in front by one point and the time was up, but they couldn't get the siren to sound and end the game.
"That was the most nerve-wracking game I ever played in, but we won by a point and went on to win the grand final that year."
Derbies between the two clubs have always been close irrespective of ladder position and Saturday's match, which coincided with the NAIDOC round, was no different.
Nukarni came out firing in the first half and entered the main break with a 47 to 16 lead.
With Burracoppin looking rather flat, coach Russel Swanson gave the boys a bit of a rev up at half time and they came out with something to prove.
The second half was a complete turnaround as Burracoppin surged forward over and over and the Nukarni defence was put under a lot of pressure.
Nukarni was held to just one goal in the second half, while at the other end, Burracoppin was getting repeat entries and chipping away at the deficit, but were still unable to convert a lot of inside 50s.
With the ball in Burracoppin's forward 50 with mere seconds on the clock, the crowd was on edge.
But the comeback wasn't to be and as the siren sounded, Nukarni managed to hold on by four points to beat Burracoppin 8-7-55 to 7-9-51.
Mr Crook said it had been a significant effort in recent times to get players on the park and it was a constant battle to fill teams.
Luckily there had been a great influx of young guys back onto the farms and into businesses around town in recent years, so both clubs had been able to maintain their lists.
One hundred years may have passed, but ultimately the game remains the same - mates playing with mates.
"Rick Hart - the well-known white goods stalwart - his father was one of the founding members of the Nukarni Football Club," Mr Crook said.
"Back in the real early days, he had a flash car with running boards down the side of it and half the team used to get to games perched on the side of the car.
"Back then it provided a gathering point and a real sense of belonging, nothing has changed and it still gives them a sense of responsibility to act and play as a team."
