Mann, who was recruited by the Demons from Rutherglen, will be the guest speaker at a function when Corowa-Rutherglen plays Wodonga at Barkly Park on June 11.

It will be the first time O and M football has been played at the ground since 1980, following Corowa and Rutherglen’s merger in 1979.

Mann, who hails from Merbein, moved to Rutherglen as a 17-year-old through his work in the bank ahead of the 1958 season and made an instant impact with the Redlegs.

He was recruited by Melbourne for the following season, winning the first of three premierships with the Demons in 1959.

Corowa-Rutherglen board member Fred Longmire said it was a “coup” the Demons’ team of the century member and Australian football hall of famer had agreed to return to Rutherglen.

“I spoke to ‘Hassa’ the other day and he’s really excited about coming back to Rutherglen,” he said.

“He speaks very fondly about his time at Rutherglen and the input it had into his career at Melbourne.

“He went straight out of bush footy into winning a VFL premiership at Melbourne, how good is that?”

Corowa-Rutherglen’s team of the century coach, Peter Tossol, and the Roos’ inaugural coach following the 1979 merger, Peter Chisnall, will also be guests on the day.

The Roos will wear a commemorative jumper bearing the RFC logo and red socks to honour the Redlegs’ tradition.

Longmire hoped the match at Barkly Park would be the start of a stronger relationship between the Roos and Rutherglen community. A recent survey showed 93 per cent of the Roos’ members were based in Corowa.

“It’s an enormous thing for Ovens and Murray football to return to Rutherglen,” he said.

“That’s a big becoming of relationships between us and them and you never know where it might go.

“The great strength of it at this point in time is the attitude of the Rutherglen Cats to carefully the tread the water because their success at the moment is excellent.

“The idea of this game over at Barkly Park is to give the people of Rutherglen ownership of Ovens and Murray footy.

“We’ve had the entity there for 37 years but we haven’t done it properly. You’ve got to be fair and, in some ways, we haven’t been.”

The president’s lunch featuring Mann will start at midday and is open to all past and present Corowa-Rutherglen players and supporters. Tickets will be available from Origin Clothing in Corowa and Mitre 10 in Rutherglen from May 16.