WODONGA midfielder Nick Raines says his first confrontation against former club Corowa-Rutherglen at John Foord Oval today is irrelevant.
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He insists it’s bigger than that.
“It’s more about the team than me,” Raines said.
“Obviously I’m coming up against my former club for the first time and you want to do well, but the thing we really want is the points.
“We’re desperate for a win after what happened last week.
“It’s a must-win.
“The other stuff doesn’t really matter.”
Raines, who left Corowa-Rutherglen in mysterious fashion at the end of last season after winning back-to-back best and fairests at the club, has stayed in touch with several of his former teammates, including David Clark and Sam Carpenter, and believes the return of Richard Ambrose will make the Roos an even tougher proposition.
“He’s a great player and I see him in the gym and still running 800m every now and then,” he said.
“It’s a big pick-up for sure.
“They weren’t far off Albury last week and we are going to have to play a lot better than against Yarrawonga.
“I don’t think the bye helped us last week and hopefully we can come out and get back to our best.”
Corowa-Rutherglen is sitting outside the top five on percentage after going down to Albury by 15 points and the Roos chances have been bolstered by the return of Nathan Kerlin from the Murray Bushrangers.
Kerlin’s availability will free up Chris Oliver who hit top form against the Tigers and is a potential matchwinner.
Coach Peter Tossol said the Roos needed to continue where they finished off last weekend.
“We ran the game out well and need to carry that into the Wodonga game,” he said.
“It’s a really big game for us if we want to stay in touch.
“The competition is very even and you can’t afford to drop too far off the pace.”
Wodonga coach Jarrod Twitt is believed to be under an injury cloud after copping a heavy bump to the ribs against Yarrawonga last weekend.