Revelling in the Riverina: Episode 16 – In Sandral country
REVELLING in the Riverina
The vintage years
Episode 16: In Sandral Country
Rennie, NSW (the Hoppers, Picola and District FNL)
Driving through the southern Riverina is an experience to savour. If it is not the localities and little places with quirky names you see – Blighty, Sangar, Lalalty, Savernake, Hopefield and more- it is the quiet of the Riverina Highway, the bright blue skies, the birdlife, the Eucalypts and Murray Pine woodlands and the crops on show that capture the senses. So let’s cut back on the revs and take it all in on our short drive from Berrigan to Rennie.
I’ll dig out an old road map from the glovebox to show you the way. It’s a Gregory’s map that must be as old as the Ford Falcon itself – circa 1970. Interestingly, it is a road map of Victoria, and like Aussie Rules football, it extends well into the Riverina. We are back in the pre-metric days when road distances were measured in miles. You’ll soon find Blighty, Sangar, Savernake, Daysdale and Lowesdale. But why did they leave Rennie and Hopefield off the map?
Location of Rennie
(from Gregory’s Road Map of Victoria No. 45, 16th Edition)
As we drive along the country roads of the southern Riverina there is a song we must play. Tune in to a John Denver classic, sung by Wagga Wagga born and bred Australian country music singer Darren Coggan.
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Cruising towards our next waypoint, we look for a sign that announces Rennie as one of the rural communities in the Federation Council Refugee Welcome Zone.
‘Federation Council’ because of the district’s links with the Federation movement of the late 19th Century. ‘Refugee Welcome Zone’ requires a little more explanation. Federation Council is part of the NSW Growing Regions of Welcome Program (GROW). It is a pilot program operating in Western Sydney and the Riverina and Murray regions of NSW which seeks to support secondary migration links between western Sydney and regional NSW. Emphasis is on sustainable social and economic outcomes for newcomers.
Football clubs have become the lifeblood of country towns throughout the land. Trevor Grant (in The Australian Game of Football, 2008) described this special role of country football clubs:
The football club has been, and remains, the lifeblood of country towns. Dots on the map that have lost their banks, petrol stations – and sometimes even their pubs – have somehow managed to retain their footy teams. These clubs aren’t just about the fun of kicking a ball, or winning a game. They represent the essence of life on the land: pulling together to survive in adversity and prosper when the wheel of fortune turns.
Riverina club Rennie is a classic example of the trend described by Grant. It has lost its pub and now basically consists of a football ground, grain silos and a railway line. The pub might have gone but the Rennie ‘Hoppers’ have endured since the termination of the Coreen League. When that league folded in 2007 Rennie joined the Hume FNL for a one season stint before finding their current home in the Picola and District FNL where they have won three premierships.
Increasingly, in recent years, local numbers are supplemented with players who commute from the larger towns nearby, including Yarrawonga and Mulwala. In a stunning turnaround, the Rennie Hoppers won the Picola and District (South East division) premiership in 2017 after being wooden spooners the year before. The club had endured a run of 42 straight losses before hitting their straps in 2017 under the leadership of former Richmond and Yarrawonga player Craig Ednie, who was labelled by the Shepparton press as the ‘Little Master’. With savior Ednie at the helm again, proving 2017 was no flash in the pan, the resurgent Rennie Football Club won back-to-back flags in 2018. Vintage years indeed for Rennie!
Rennie participated in the now defunct Coreen and District Football League from 1934 until 2007, winning 12 premierships in that competition. Starting out in the depression era 1930s was a big challenge for the people of Rennie. Economic hardship, coupled with the locust plagues that swept through the southern Riverina, were met with determination and resilience. It did not take long for the Grasshoppers to announce their arrival in the C&DFA after finishing second on the ladder in 1935. Three seasons later Rennie won the grand final, played at Buraja, defeating favourites Rand by five goals.
In naming this episode In Sandral Country, we acknowledge a Rennie footballer who played in Melbourne’s 1956 premiership team. The small Riverina settlement of Rennie produced a footballer who went on to become a ‘legend’ in the Ovens and Murray League. Jim Sandral* commenced his football career as a sixteen year old at Rennie in 1949 and played in two premierships with the Hoppers (1952 and 1954). He joined nearby Corowa in 1955 at the age of 22. In his first season at Corowa he was runner up in the club’s best and fairest and represented the powerful O&M in the Victorian Country Football Championships where he was named as the ‘Player of the Country Championships’. The following season he was on his way to Melbourne, starting his VFL career full of promise by winning the Demons’ Best First Year Player award and playing in a premiership team. But Jim was a country lad at heart and so after the 1957 season he returned to the family farm and to play again for the Corowa ‘Spiders’. Sandral captain-coached the Spiders in 1958 and 1959 and thereafter continued as a player for seven years before returning to finish his football days back at Rennie, going out in fine style as their premiership captain coach in 1970.
He won Corowa’s Best and Fairest award five times, represented the O&MFL on eight occasions and won the league’s Best and Fairest award, the Morris Medal, three times (in 1959, 1962 and 1964). Sandral was awarded ‘legend’ status in the O&M Hall of Fame in 2013 and was named as a half back flanker in the Border Mail’s O&MFL Team of the Century. Corowa-Rutherglen also named him in their Team of the Century. Playing in the centre half back position, Jim Sandral was a strong but fair player who was noted for his penetrating kicks from defence. A premiership at Corowa eluded him, but he did play in one grand final for the Spiders, in 1963, against reigning premiers Benalla. A finer country footballer would be very hard to name.
Jim’s brother Peter was also a Rennie and Corowa footballer, while his son Dennis achieved high recognition for his 348 game career in the Ovens and Murray League with Corowa-Rutherglen. Two other sons of Jim, Michael and Jimmy, were also handy footballers. There are young guns in the Sandral clan now making their way in ‘Sandral Country’ football.
*Jim Sandral recently passed away aged 91.
While we are in the area let’s drop in at Corowa to see how the Corowa-Rutherglen ‘Kangaroos’ are going in their comeback season. After a season in recess (2023) Corowa-Rutherglen returned to the Ovens and Murray FNL this year. It has been a hard road for the Kangaroos who, after 15 rounds, are yet to win a game in either the seniors or the reserves grade. In round 15, on 3rd August, Corowa-Rutherglen hosted Myrtleford at John Foord Oval, Corowa. In one of their narrowest losses for the season, the Corowa-Rutherglen ‘Roos’ 12.1 (73) went down to the Myrtleford ‘Saints’ 17.9 (111).
In the three rounds of home and away matches to be played, Corowa-Rutherglen face Wangaratta, Wodonga Raiders and Lavington. All eyes will be on the Roos’ round 17 home game against the Raiders, which could be their best chance to break the ice in season 2024. In episode 19 (Revelling Recap) we will have a chance to reflect on Corowa-Rutherglen’s comeback season.
Rennie in 2024
Rennie travelled over the border to Katamatite in round 18 on Saturday 3rd August. The first-placed Katamatite ‘Tigers’ won 19.21 (135) to the Rennie ‘Hoppers’ 8.5 (53). The Picola League ladder in 2024 is a story of two states – the first seven positions being held by Victorian clubs, followed by the seven NSW clubs, and with south of the Murray club Yarroweyah (yet to win a game) bucking the trend on the bottom rung.
Riverina Spotto
Truckie’s stop over and out and there are 3 to go.
| the last post | Irish pub | a slice of pizza |
| faithful canine | sheep and dog | the family club |
| 22 yards | two felines | 31.12.74 |
| truckie’s stop | submarine | a shearing team |
| all among the wool | one pub town | Sherrin |
| three bees | square | footy hub |
Next episode: Stage 17 – to Rand
Previous episodes of Revelling In The Riverina, and more from Peter Clark can be read Here.
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About Peter Clark
is a lifetime Geelong supporter. Hailing from the Riverina, he is now entrenched on the NSW South Coast. His passion for footy was ignited by attending Ovens and Murray League matches in the 1960's with his father. After years of watching, playing and coaching, now it is time for some serious writing about his favourite subjects… footy, especially country footy, and cricket.
Another ripper read, thanks Peter.
I seem to recall driving through Rennie many years back and thinking “there is not much here”. Hard to believe that towns such as these can still field footy teams. It’s a credit to all involved, really.
Spot on Smokie.
Great reading about Sandral Country!
Dennis Sandral is probably the best half-back flanker I’ve seen in country football, certainly in northern Victoria and southern NSW.
So good, so hard.
He was at his best in NSW’s historic win over the VFA at Lavington in 1987.
The VFA went on to play in the final of Division 2 at the 1988 Bicentennial Carnival.
It was NSW’s first and only win over the VFA that started in 1881..
Sandral led the defence and was instrumental in bringing the team together – ask Wacky Walker (Tex’s father) from Broken Hill. Dennis challenged Wacky – and he responded with a great game in the centre.
I did not see Dennis play, but I would rate his Dad as highly.
Rennie, Burraja, Coreen, Hopefield, Lowesdale, Savernake: what remains of them? A few retained pubs until the turn of the century, but there was something about the having to lose their licences for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. I found it difficult understanding it then, still not really clear how the Olympics meant little Riverina pubs lost their licences.
Members of my family lived in these little areas for a long time before eventually settling in Corowa around 80 or so years back.
I have the book from the Lowesdale Public School centenary, 1882-1982. It was given to my grandmother Margaret Johnstone, nee Conrick, a former student
There’s a group of photos of Burraja war heroes from the Great War. My five grand uncles, Tom, Peter, Frank, Jim and Jack Conrick are all featured. There is a community hall in Burraja where I believe these photos are kept but I’ve lost any contact that existed. It would be good seeing these old Conrick photos.
Drive on safely Peter. I await an update on Corowa-Rutherglen’s attempts in 2024.
Glen!
Thanks for sharing your local knowledge and family connections to the area Glen.
Country pubs sacrificed for Darling Harbour’s gain!
Hope you can track down those old family photos one day.
Corowa-Rutherglen may be getting closer to their first win – lost to Wang by only 26 points last Saturday.