The Roos snapped a three-year 38-game winless run with a superb 46-point win over a stunned Wangaratta Rovers on Saturday.

The club was on the receiving end when Myrtleford broke the league record 62-match streak in round 1, 2011.

Boom recruit Shaun Huy has played for a handful of battling clubs, including Shepparton United, and he says the win rates with any, in terms of grit.

“It’s up there,” he said.

“That win instantly brings on that bond, getting over the line.”

The Roos don’t appear as strong on paper as last year, losing classy forward Will Robinson and tigerish midfielder Jay O’Donoghue, while star forward James Lawton didn’t play as he’s involved in a clearance dispute.

“I just think it’s the hunger, we all had the same desire to play well,” Huy said.

“I’ve played in teams where we had full talent, but not everyone was as hungry for the win as what we were on the weekend.”

While the win has taken the heat off the Roos, it has put the spotlight on Rovers after one of their most disappointing losses of recent times.

“Once we settled after the first 10 minutes, we had plenty of opportunities, we just couldn’t take our chances going forward,” co-coach Sam Carpenter said.

“It was skill (that let us down), there were a lot of set shots that we missed that were very, very gettable.

“I think we went in at half-time 1.10, if we’re 5.6, we’re right in the contest.”

The Hawks now face a vital away clash to to another big loser of the opening round in Wodonga.

The Roos host Myrtleford.