With many regular players unavailable at the weekend it was a new look Aussie Hotel Yass Roos that took to the field against the Googong Hogs.
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The Roos had signed on five new players in the last couple of weeks and they were all required for this match.
Despite a slow start and time taken to get the new combinations to gel, the Roos went on to seal a comfortable, if not spectacular, win over the Hogs 14-18-102 to 6-8-48.
A couple of late goals to the Roos in the first quarter had them just ahead at quarter time.
Until then, it was looking like the Hogs might trouble the Roos. Coach Terry Lemon had to do some fast thinking and make some positional changes to get the best from the new players.
It all started to come together in the second quarter and the Roos went on to extend their lead. A cameo role at Full Forward by past player Brendan Roweth netted him eight goals for the match as he provided a great target for the Roos. Half time had the Roos in front 7-8-50 to 4-5-29.
The third quarter was more of the same and the Roos eased off a little, possibly fatigued, in the last as the win was inevitable.
Play was scrappy throughout the match and the Roos never really got their run-on play working but with so many unfamiliar players out there, this was probably to be expected.
“Raw talent got us through today,” summed up coach Terry.
The new recruits - Alistair Buttimore, Matt Cuthbert, Sam Campbell, Jacob Backhouse and Ben Power - all acquitted themselves well on debut for the Roos and the signs for the remainder of the season are good.
These players add more depth and choice for the coach, putting pressure on all players to be at their best to get into the side each week.
Best players on the weekend were Dave Willersdorf, Tom Hanson, Darren Pfeiffer, Brendan Roweth, Ben Power and Brad Porter. Aside from Brendan’s eight, Brad Porter and Sam Campbell scored two goals each and Cam Attwell and Ben Power got one a piece..
It was a bye the week before for the Roos and the match against Ainslie resulted in a narrow loss for an under strength Roos team. This put the Roos into third position on the ladder and they remain there after this week’s win.
Another away game this coming Saturday has the Roos up against ADFA/RMC Rams. The match is at RMC Oval Duntroon and gets under way at 12pm. The Rams are only one spot back on the ladder from the Roos so this will be another strong contest.
The Rams are a young, fit side so the Roos will need skills and tactics to negate the speed of the Rams. Possession will be the key to winning this one. It promises to be another exciting clash so I will see you at the footy.
Go the Roos.
