The TAC Cup was established in 1992 following the disbandment of the VFL Under 19's competition, due to the ceasing of the
Victorian state geographical zoning regions and was initially ran by the
Victorian State Football League. The Murray Bushrangers are based at
Wangaratta, near the Victoria-NSW border and have been involved in the competition since 1993 when the competition added another four country teams, which brought the number of teams to twelve regions. The club's original home ground was at the W J Findlay Oval, Wangaratta between 1993 and 2011, before they moved into the new Wangaratta Sports Development Centre on the Norm Minns Oval at the
Wangaratta Showgrounds in 2012. The Murray Bushrangers supports local talent squads at Under 15 and Under 16 levels and co-ordinates the talented player pathways program for young aspiring AFL players throughout the North East and Goulburn Valley regions. While the Murray Bushrangers forms an initial career path to the AFL for some, for many others it provides an outstanding experience of elite under 18 football, giving players a solid foundation for a successful playing and or coaching pathway at regional level. Following season
1999, the AFL Reserves Grade was terminated leaving AFL clubs without a place to field their reserves players. The Kangaroos, together with the
Ovens and Murray Football League launched their own stand-alone VFL club in the Victorian Football League called the
Murray Kangaroos Football Club. The club's home games were split between
Coburg City Oval in Melbourne, and
Lavington Oval in
Albury-Wodonga. The side was made up with players from the Kangaroos, topped up with players from the
Ovens and Murray Football League, and offering a second chance to players from the statewide under-18s Murray Bushrangers team who had missed out on the draft. At the end of 2002, The Murray Kangaroos disbanded the club citing pressure from the AFL, and cost-cutting measures (the club cost around $100,000 a year to field). North Melbourne instead decided to align with the
Port Melbourne Football Club in a short-term deal. Murray lost in the 2007 TAC Cup Grand Final to the
Calder Cannons by 50 points and
Ben McEvoy was selected in the TAC Team of the Year. 2008 saw the Bushrangers dominate the entire competition season finishing 1st at season end and defeating the
Dandenong Stingrays by 81 points in the 2008 grand final and midfielder-forward
Steele Sidebottom had a game-high 32 possessions and kicked 10.3 claiming best on ground honours. The club has had three players who have won the League's best and fairest award, the Morrish Medal,
Derek Murray (1997), Farran Priest (2008) and
Clayton Oliver (2015). Interestingly, back in 1959, former
Wangaratta Football Club player, Dom Glassenbury won the Morrish Medal when playing for
Fitzroy Football Club Under 19's. as of 2024, Glassenbury still resides in Wangaratta. ==Grand Finals==