Congupna stalwart’s 15-year career has traversed the bottom and top of the Murray league

He joined club legends Michael Gleeson, Chris Drum, Alan Hueston, Geoff Weppner, and Don Demptser on the honour board, but Mifka might the only one of the half-dozen to have commemorated the occasion by splitting the points.

Congupna and the Eagles couldn’t be split, finishing 69-apiece, but nonetheless it capped off a reflective week for the former club captain and two-time best-and-fairest, taking in a career that started in round one of 2011.

“It was a good day in the end,” Mifka said.

“I had plenty of the family and friends there.

“They did a bit of a spiel for me on the Thursday night, a little bit of a presentation and stuff like that.

“There was a few things and a few old photos I couldn’t remember that they put up on the projector from when I was 13 years old - a few shockers as you can imagine.

“It was a bit surreal for me.

“I noticed you have your four or five club people that have stuck around since then, that was the bit that stuck with me.

“You’ve got your Deb McColl’s and ‘Digger’ Gee who have been there from day dot. It’s nice to be able to celebrate that and celebrate it with them.”

Across a career spanning more than 300 games in total, Mifka has built a reputation in the Murray Football League as a tough, in-and-under competitor — a style unchanged since he first picked up the footy nearly two decades ago as a club junior.

“It’s always been pretty similar,” he said.

“I’ve always been pretty hard at it; I’ve never been the most skilful player, as a lot of them will always let you know.

“I’ve just tried to be the best teammate possible.”

Joining the club at the invitation of father and long-time Congupna volunteer Glenn, Mifka was plucked from the under-17s for a senior debut against Cobram 15 years ago.

It was a tough old year for the Road as they finished 2011 winless, a dose repeated in 2016 as the club aimed for higher aspirations.

But barring a season in the GVL with Shepparton United, Mifka helped shoulder the load through a difficult patch as club captain in 2015, shining on field with back-to-back best-and-fairest’s in 2014 and 2015.

“There were plenty of games there we were getting beaten by 100, 200 points and I thought ‘geez, this is tough going,’” Mifka said.

But at the turn of the decade, that loyalty to the jumper began to pay dividends.

Finals in 2019 were followed by two COVID-affected seasons, but in 2023 the club made its first grand final in 23 years.

A year later, a famous one-point win over Finley at Moama snapped Congupna’s 31-year premiership drought, handing Mifka his first flag medallion and memories he unsurprisingly holds dear.

But silverware is only half the story when it comes to the loyal clubman, who noted again the efforts of those behind the scenes.

“Obviously the flag would be the top tier (highlight) for me personally,” he said.

“The feeling after was pretty amazing. It was very enjoyable for myself, but more so the joy it brought all the people around the club that stuck through.

“They do all the hard work behind the scenes, and we get to do all the easy stuff and go out and play.

“We put all that hard work in, stuck fat with all the boys through all the floggings - then you get to reap the rewards after.

“It was bloody beautiful.”

A club stalwart through and through, Mifka remains in the hunt for more premiership glory, the Road currently top of the ladder after 11 rounds.

A league bye awaits this weekend before Congupna heads to Finley to face the Cats.