The Bulldogs claimed their first win against Corowa-Rutherglen.

"It really got the boys up and about, I think we really needed it to get our confidence back up," Reed Jackson said.

"We just need to do exactly the same as last week and open them up a bit."

Wodonga fought back from three goals down at quarter-time.

"It gives us a chance to kick-start our season and perform during the second half of the year and play the footy that's representative of what we can do," coach Zac Fulford said.

"I think it's been reasonably well documented that we wanted to score more and be a bit more aggressive with our ball movement and for the first six weeks we probably haven't been able to do that.

"There were a couple of reasons for that, our skill level at times let us down and just our positioning in front of the ball made it really difficult when we're trying to move the footy, but we got that right (against the Roos)."

IN OTHER NEWS:

Teenage debutant Ethan Redcliffe kicked three goals in the 15-point win, including a vital one in the last quarter.

"Things weren't working in the first half, but he continued to work hard and then got himself into a good spot, in and around Tom Johnson, and he was able to capitalise," Fulford said.

The Bulldogs have also unveiled another classy youngster in Kade Brown.

Still eligible for under 18s, Brown was named in the best in his first three games, but he's carrying an injury and will miss the match.

Rovers are coming off their second successive win for the first time in three years.

The Hawks toppled Yarrawonga by 15 points in round seven and then landed the upset of the year against Wangaratta by eight points.

After a winless wooden spoon Rovers could, quite remarkably, find themselves in the top five at the halfway mark.

The Hawks trail Wodonga Raiders by a percentage of only 1.24, although they too will start strong favourites against Corowa-Rutherglen.

However, Rovers are missing two stars from their win over the fierce rivals.

Nick Murray was outstanding, particularly in the third term fightback, while Ed Dayman took a giant step in his development by shutting down first half best on ground Zac Leitch.

Dayman has Victoria Country under 19 duties, while Murray is unavailable.

The Hawks are certainly not the same team without the talented duo, but there's too much riding on the game to falter.