SINCE it expanded beyond 12 teams in 1987, the AFL has struggled to create a fixture regarded by clubs and fans as fair. Of course, with 22 rounds and 16 clubs, it is an impossible task.

In Victoria's north-east, there is a competition with no such problems. The Benalla and District Football League is Victoria's smallest. It has just five clubs. In the course of each season, they play each other four times — twice at home and twice away. Now that's fair.

However, it is also repetitive. Last Saturday, the top two teams from 2007, Goorambat and Bonnie Doon, met in a grand final rematch. Although the latter won easily, both clubs are again expected to feature prominently in the finals (after all, only one team will miss the top four). If they meet in the premiership decider, it could be their sixth clash for the year.

At least one club has become dissatisfied with the state of affairs, leading to rumours the league will soon be disbanded. But whether the competition continues will have far reaching ramifications for its five clubs. They are based in some of the north-east's tiniest towns. None field junior teams — just seniors and reserves. It is unlikely they could all survive if transferred into a neighbouring league, like the Ovens and King.

Goorambat has won the past two BDFL premierships. Based in a town of just 250 people, 15 kilometres north of Benalla, the club has combined a smattering of home-grown talent and a family-friendly culture to produce a winning formula.

"The total emphasis isn't just on winning," said Goorambat non-playing senior coach Bruce Burnell. "It's about enjoying your weekend and making good friends."

Now in the fourth year of his second stint with the Bats, Burnell was playing coach in 1980 and '81. He followed in the footsteps of his father, Reg, who led the club in the 1950s. Completing the family involvement, his son, Glenn, currently plays in the seniors.

In an age of astronomical match payments in the bush, Goorambat prides itself on spending little money on players. "We have recruited reasonably well, but I like to keep the main emphasis on the local people," Burnell said. "Things go in cycles but I feel that country footy clubs paying players heaps of money is a bit of a cancer at our level. We have a policy where we don't pay any players more than $100 a game."

Despite their recent success, Goorambat's committee members and supporters are well aware that winning flags does not guarantee a club's future. That was made clear in 2005, when the Bats' arch-rivals, Devenish, went into recess just a few months after taking out the premiership. Known as the Barbers, they had also won the grand final in 2003. Their collapse threw the league's viability into doubt.

"We'd love to have them back in," admitted Bats co-president Trevor Raeburn, although he said there was never any chance Goorambat and Devenish would merge. "Old Charlie Cooper would be turning in his grave at the mentioning of it."

A local legend, Cooper served on the Goorambat committee for 54 years. He left a legacy of hostility towards Devenish that will never die. Cooper was in his heyday when Goorambat won three flags on the trot in the 1960s. At that time the BDFL boasted many more clubs, including Benalla All Blacks, Thornton and Dookie. They all play elsewhere now but the Bats remain and are aiming to again win a third consecutive flag.

Last Saturday those hopes were dented when Bonnie Doon scored a 112-point victory. Boosted by a number of recruits, the Bulldogs proved far too slick for the Bats, who were missing a number of key players.

"Our biggest challenge is filling the sides and having enough numbers around the place," said Raeburn. "It's getting harder and harder each year to raise the funds. We're very lucky that we've got some local farmers that donate land so we can put crops in. We're trying to stay in a very strong financial position for whatever might come in future years.

"Who knows what's going to happen with the league? If we have to go to another competition then we need to be in a position where we can afford to do that. I'm certainly not saying we want to go to another competition. We're very happy here."

Although it was tough going for the Bats against Bonnie Doon, inspirational leader Travers Nolan, his mop of long hair flailing in the breeze, continually threw himself into contests and booted two goals. The Nolan family is the heart and soul of the Goorambat footy club.

Patriarch, Kevin, has played 459 games for the Bats. This year he is also the coach of the reserves. Aged 51, he recently pulled the boots back on to help a team struggling for numbers. A subsequent injury kept him from taking the field last weekend, when he had just 14 players to pick from. "At one stage we had only 11 on the field," Kev joked after his team was beaten by 76 points.

His wife Gay has been the club secretary for a decade and, like Kev, is a life member.

Their daughter Stacey is the treasurer. Her brothers, Travers and Clint, are captain and vice-captain of the senior team. Last year Travers, 24, won the club and league best-and-fairest awards. A qualified greenkeeper, he also mows and marks the oval.

"I don't think any of our kids have missed a training night in 20 years," said Gay, as Bonnie Doon dominated the senior match. The loss broke Goorambat's run of 15 wins in a row. When the final siren sounded, Gay headed into the social room to help prepare a casserole tea.

After spending the morning sitting on a tractor planting his grain crop, co-president Greg Gall trudged wearily from the oval, having spent the afternoon running water for the players. He and the Bats' hardy supporters still cheered their team off the ground.

After all, in just a month they'll have the chance for revenge when they play Bonnie Doon once more. And if they don't win that one, they'll be at it again a month later, too.