Border Mail |
COROWA-Rutherglen rewarded milestone man Matt Witherden and uncovered a bright prospect in James Svarc in a crucial 23-point win against Wodonga Raiders at a sodden John Foord Oval on Saturday.
The Raiders, meantime, plunged into the wooden spoon hot seat with the half-way mark of the season looming.
Witherden, one of the Roos’ best, was chaired from the ground following his 200th appearance for Corowa-Rutherglen, which has included two premiership medallions in 2000 and 2003.
But, to some extent he was overshadowed by debutant, Svarc, who ignited the Roos with three goals in the first term and another two in the third to stop Raiders in their tracks.
The livewire forward has played football for less than five seasons, but showed enough to suggest he has a long-term future with the Roos.
Persistent rain, which had nearby farmers rejoicing, fell throughout the game and the Roos were the ones who adapted best.
They led by 11 points at quarter-time and dominated the start of the second, but couldn’t translate its ascendancy onto the scoreboard.
The Raiders had their best patch of the game when they made the most of some rare entries inside forward 50 metres to briefly snatch the lead.
Their two goalkickers were former Montmorency duo Dean Limbach and Michael Steven and some usual suspects, Mark Doolan, Jack Melrose and Todd Bryant lifted.
The Roos kicked two late behinds to wrest back a one-point lead at half-time before Svarc put them in the driver’s seat with his two goals in the third term.
Wodonga Raiders failed to kick a goal after half-time as young ruckman Ian McGillivray repeatedly gave Corowa-Rutherglen forward momentum by dominating the taps and hanging onto some marks in the horrible conditions.
Jared Lane returned to form by patrolling up and down the ground and always roosting the ball back the Roos way with his thumping left boot.
Matt Gadsden, Cade Mills and Witherden were tough in the clinches and Nathan Rhodes added some outside run and dash which has been missing since round 1.
The Roos also welcomed back Jamie Seymour and could have another bonus with the return of Mark Ainley next round.
Kade Kuschert put the issue beyond doubt when he streamed into an open goal in the final quarter to cap off another top game.
Witherden was a relieved man after the match.
“The effort the boys put in for me today was just great,” he said.
“We’ve been belted from pillar to post the last seven weeks.
“I am absolutely over the moon.
“To get off the bottom of the ladder, I couldn’t ask for much more.”
His coach Adrian Pavese was equally relieved after a torrid stretch of the draw.
“You can’t cheat on days like today,” Pavese said.
“Players had to put their heads over the ball and support each other.”
The Roos hold a 34-16 win-loss advantage against Raiders who have found John Foord Oval a traditionally tough place to secure a win.
Raiders captain Todd Bryant conceded his team’s season had hit rock bottom.
“It is pretty disappointing not only to lose, but also to be on the bottom of the ladder at the moment,” he said.
“They obviously wanted it a bit more than us.
“We’ve got to go back to the drawing board and work a bit harder.”
