COROWA-Rutherglen Bryce Campbell has lit the first fuse ahead of Saturday’s crunch clash with Lavington.
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He said the Roos did not fear the Panthers.
Corowa-Rutherglen, which has a 6-2 record, is enjoying its best start to a season since 2005.
And despite Lavington’s 45-point trouncing of reigning premier Yarrawonga on Saturday, the Roos’ strong form has Campbell understandably confident.
“With all due respect to them, we don’t fear Lavington,” Campbell said.
“We understand they’re a good side, we understand they’ve been in a place we haven’t been for a long time but this week is a winnable game for us.
“They’re obviously a quality side and we haven’t proven ourselves as a quality side yet.
“We look forward to the challenge.”
The Roos’ two defeats this year have come at the hands of league heavyweights Yarrawonga (96 points) and Albury (51 points).
Campbell said those games were now irrelevant.
“It feels like so long ago we played Albury and Yarrawonga,” he said.
“Our mindset and confidence is completely different.
“I don’t fear any of those sides at all.
“I respect them and I know we aren’t up there with them, so to speak, but we’re fairly confident going in.”
Campbell said the Roos hadn’t peaked yet, despite their impressive record.
James Brain (knee), Mick Collins (ribs), Damien Wilson (head knock) and Jed Brain (TAC cup) will all return to the team at some point, with Cade Mills and Matt Witherden still running around in the reserves.
“However much it is, I don’t know, but we can improve,” Campbell said.
“We’re coming from a long way back, both on and off the field.
“For me, it was just important to come in and get a feel for where the group was at.
“We haven’t complicated things, we’ve put the hard word on a few guys and set standards.”
History says the Roos are almost a sure thing to play finals but Campbell said it hadn’t been mentioned by the group.
“We haven’t yet,” he said.
“Because we’re not playing them yet.”