From the Border Mail
COROWA-Rutherglen has started life under coach Adrian Pavese in thrilling fashion, storming past an injury-ravaged Wodonga to win by seven points at John Foord Oval.
Trailing by 20 points when Bulldog Sam Wortmann goaled 15 minutes into the final term, the Roos looked dead and buried before a stunning four-goal surge saw them clinch a 12.12 (84) to 11.11 (77) victory.
Mark Ainley got the ball rolling when he bombed home from outside the 50-metre arc before Henty product Hayden Singe bobbed up with two goals in a minute — the first after a super overhead mark despite his diminutive frame — to have the Roos within a point with three minutes left on the clock.
Best-on-ground Hayden Filliponi put the Roos in front for the first time since early in the opening quarter when he snapped a behind at the 25-minute mark of the final term before Queanbeyan recruit Brett Fruend kicked his second goal to seal victory with 20 seconds remaining.
Former Queanbeyan assistant coach Pavese, who took over from Shaun Mooney last October, paid tribute to his young charges.
“That’s what we’ve been working on all summer — we know we’ve got a big tree to climb but that’s a good start,” Pavese said.
“We’ve had a similar summer to Wodonga in that we’ve lost a few players and are going down the path of playing kids.
“It’s just good to see these guys be in a position to win and not give up.
“It looked pretty ordinary there for a while but we found a way.
“We’ve got plenty to work on but we’re not going to worry about that tonight, we will enjoy the win and then get back to work on Monday.”
The Roos will be buoyed by the form of young big men Jarred Lane, Gerard Ormond (three goals) and Ian McGillivray ahead of their round 2 assignment against league heavyweight Albury.
Wodonga will be sweating on the return of Tyson Gorupic (hip) for Saturday’s clash against Wangaratta Rovers after losing three players to injury against the Roos.
Bevan Charlton-White (concussion), Ben Heinrich (hamstring) and Callum Turner (hamstring) were all out of action by early in the third term and are unlikely to face the Hawks this week.
Youngsters Steve Murray (five goals) and Dylan Beattie stood tall for the Bulldogs but coach Ben Hollands admitted his troops were out on their feet by the final siren.
“I was really proud of the effort of our boys,” Hollands said.
“It’s tough to lose your entire bench in the first game of the year.
“Corowa have always been a good little running side and we really planned to keep with them but losing three off the bench really hurt us.
“It was clearly a factor at the end. In saying that, we probably shouldn’t have given up a 20-point lead, either.
“We came down here with a lot of confidence and belief and we played a lot of good footy but it was one of those days where what could’ve gone wrong and could’ve gone against us did.
“We’re still really confident we can beat Wangaratta Rovers on our home ground this week.”
