THE Wodonga Raiders playlist on Wednesday night should have featured a bit of Bachman Turner Overdrive, because taking care of business is what they did against the Bulldogs.
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Crisp skills in greasy first quarter conditions set the Raiders apart, with the visitors booting seven goals to one thanks to a fast start from Lachie Flagg.
The Bulldogs simply couldn’t get their hands on it in the first quarter.
The likes of Matt Neagle and Brodie Filo picked off plenty of forward thrusts and delivered them back to their forwards with precision, while Neagle connected on a couple of early goals as well.
The home side steadied early in the second quarter, but weren’t able to trouble the scorers, and it wasn’t long before the Raiders truly broke the game open before half time.
The second half was a bit scrappier than the first, but the class of the Raiders meant the Bulldogs weren’t going to get enough of the footy to chase them down.
Nick Beattie was a good target forward and Harry Pole battled in the ruck, but it was to be in vain as the Raiders banked a convincing 19.16.130 to 4.7.31 win.
The win leaves the Raiders at 3-1 and sets up a crucial clash with Lavington.
Senior coach Daryn Cresswell said the first quarter was the best his side had played so far this season.
“I thought our pressure around the footy and our ball use was terrific,” he said.
“We always knew they’d play with a lot of emotion, that they were going to come at us, so we had to take that away early and we did.
“We knew it’d be tough and scrappy, but we owned the footy, owned space around it and pretty much played the way we set out to.”
The club will quickly turn its focus to their next game, against the Panthers.
“It’s important, we haven’t beaten them since 2015,” he said.
“For us to be perceived and as a contender and for us to believe we’re a contender it’s going to be a big game.”
Jydon Neagle and Flagg booted three goals each, with Filo, Jack Haugen, Matt Neagle and Sam Stubbs each nabbed two.