Sunday saw the young Roos take on ladder leaders Wodonga at Martin Park.
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The kids snagged an encouraging early goal through Jack Ractliffe as the midfield was breaking even with the Dogs.
The backline were holding up well and an even first quarter saw a couple of lucky goals to Wodonga who held a 13 point lead at quarter time.
The older and bigger Wodonga kids came out firing in the second term, and like the last time we played them, were very physical. Despite the physicality, the young Roos refused to take a backward step, with Billy Hunter, Finny Douglas, Ollie and Franco continually putting their heads over the footy, and their teammates followed suit. Through weight of numbers, the Dogs held a six-goal buffer at the long break.
The third term was one of our best for the season. The backline held up led by Will and Tyler. The midfielders were working hard and George was marking everything. Blair slotted our second goal, and the kids broke even for the quarter.
The last quarter was a bit of a struggle, but one positive was Billy Witherden following his old man's instructions and having his best game in the blue and white.
Final scores were Wodonga 11-7-73 to Corowa Rutherglen 2-3-15.
Thanks again to our sponsors for supplying the following awards; TH Kitchens- George. Dickins Engineers- Ollie. Cofield Plumbing- Finny. Gyles Newsagency-Franco. Painters Cafe- Billy Hunter. Projectura- Billy Witherden.
Under 14s
The young Roos travelled to John Flower Oval Wodonga to take on the second-placed Bulldogs in what was a beautiful day for footy.
The Bulldogs won the first-round encounter by under a goal, and the ever-improving Roos were keen to turn the tables on the Bulldogs home deck. The dreaded winter lurgy had affected a couple of the boys during the week, but they all turned up ready to fire.
After kicking the first goal of the game, the young Roos were under the pump for most of the first quarter, which saw the bigger-body Bulldogs flexing their muscle and continually pumping the ball forward.
Josh "Roy" Parker, Levi "Pup" Arnold, Huddo "Kush" Kushert and big Benny Osep were working hard in the midfield to stem the flow of ball into our back half, where Josh Hunter, Will "Fozz" Forrest and Cooper "Bruzzy" Patton were doing a great job of repelling most of the Bulldogs forays forward.
When the quarter-time siren sounded, the Bulldogs were leading 3.1-19 to the Roos 1.0-6.
After coaches Parker and Patton calmed the boys at the break and assured them if they upped their pressure around the ball that, things would turn around, the second quarter was all the Roos. The midfield boys started to dominate. Archie " Housey" House, Harry "Webby" Webb, and Abe "Darrell" Spencer were getting on top of their opponents down back, and Ollie "Junior" Mathews, Darcy "Darc" Upton and Leo Davis were causing the Bulldogs plenty of headaches in attack. After a fantastic quarter of team footy, the Roos had held the Bulldogs scoreless for the term and led at half time 3.5-23 to 3.1-19.
The third quarter saw another shift in momentum as all the scoring seemed to be happening at the city end of the John Flower oval. The Bulldogs kicked 2.5 for the quarter and kept the Roos scoreless.
The coaches started throwing the magnets around looking to shift the momentum again, effectively using Will "Mass" Massey as a ruck rover and sending Levi "Puppy" Arnold to centre half forward. The three quarter-time siren sounded with the Bulldogs holding the biggest lead of the game, 5.6-36, to the Roos, 3.5-23.
The last quarter saw the Roos throw everything at the Bulldogs. Jaxx "Dominator" Johnstone was bobbing up everywhere in attack and causing the Bulldogs defence plenty of headaches, while Lachie 'Dougy" Douglas used his speed and agility for some valuable possessions.
Jake "Wizz" Witherden and Nate "Nate'o" Jones were again controlling their wings and Jai Richey worked hard when injected into the game, but a dour Bulldog outfit managed to keep the Roos to two last quarter goals while kicking 2 themselves. The final score in a tight enthralling contest was Wodonga Bulldogs 7.6-48 to Corowa Rutherglen Roos 5.5-35.
Coaches Parker and Patton reinforced to the boys that the top four sides are very even and that if they keep focusing on improving and training hard through these colder months, they will reap the rewards at the business end of the season. Today’s game was a high-class spectacle in perfect conditions, and our boys, although not happy with the result, should be proud of their efforts. Go Roos!
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