ARRIVALS
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Damian Cupido (Henty), Trent Castles (Yackandandah), Chris Willis (Henty), Russell Cowan (Bairnsdale), Damien Wilson (Rutherglen), Cam Wilson (Rutherglen/Murray Bushrangers), Joel Bihun (Wangaratta)
DEPARTURES
James and Matt Tanner (Rutherglen), Alex Wallis (Wahgunyah), Jack Bates (moved to Queensland), Rohan Davies (Hurstbridge), Tyler Spencer (Newtown and Chilwell, Geelong), Shane Tregear (uncertain of his plans)
The Roos haven't played finals for six years, but after only two wins last year it would be hard to see them break that drought.
COACH MARC ALMOND COPPED FLAK FOR SIGNING TWO 'OLD' FORWARDS IN DAMIAN CUPIDO AND TRENT CASTLES, IS THAT FAIR?
He was in a tough position. Look, the Roos' leading goalkickers in the past two years have been Alex Wallis (15 in 2019) and Cody Parker (16 in 2018) so Almond had to do something. His job is to get the best results for the Roos and kicking goals is the best way to do it. In a perfect world, sure, it would be great if they were in their 20s and not 30s, so they could get a handful of years out of them but, as any club will tell you, gun forwards aren't easy to find. It's hard to bag a bloke for trying his best for the club.
SO WILL IT BE A SUCCESS OR FAILURE HAVING TWO "BIG ROOSTERS" IN THE HENHOUSE?
That will be half the fun. Neither player lacks confidence, so they will be desperate to kick as many goals as possible. Again, Almond's job will be to do what's best for the club so he might have to tell one to give the other room if he's flying. Watch this space for how it develops.
IN OTHER NEWS:
SO HOW MANY WINS WILL THE ROOS GET?
They should be targeting a minimum of four, which is twice as many as last year. They will have Wodonga covered, so there's two wins and will fancy their chances of doing likewise to North Albury. It will be hard to see them toppling anybody else though as that top seven looks a clear standard above the bottom three. Still, if Cupido and Castles run red-hot, you never know with gun forwards, they might sneak another win or two.
HOW GOOD WILL CAM WILSON BE?
Terrific. He was co-captain of the Murray Bushrangers so is a strong character and an outstanding team player. His attack on the footy is comparable to Wodonga Raiders' Dylan Clarke and that's saying something because the rugged midfielder launches himself into every contest. Wilson isn't that big, but he certainly won't hold back in the physical stakes. The on-baller kicked three goals against a full-strength Gippsland Power last year at under 18 level, a top effort considering the Power had nine drafted.
Q&A WITH CAM WILSON
You haven't played senior O and M football, what do you think will be the biggest difference between the Murray Bushrangers and the O and M?
I think it will just be the bigger bodies and more experience.
Bushies' officials say you play a similar game to Wodonga Raiders' feisty Dylan Clarke, who plays with such ferocity.
Yeah, they used to get us mixed up at the Bushies actually. He (Clarke) left it all out there, which is good.
You are 171cms and 70kgs, so you don't have a lot of size.
Yeah, there's not much of me, that's for sure. My brother (Damien) and I used to get it (lighthearted flak) from team-mates about our size.
What are your goals for the year?
Well getting fit after Christmas was the first goal. I missed a fair bit through work with the harvest, so after Christmas it was about really knuckling down. I just want to have as much of an impact as I can. If it's not on the field, I'd like to do it off the field.
Given you were a co-captain of the Murray Bushrangers, you will carry a profile, particularly for a teenager, do you expect to be targeted?
I feel like I'm going to come in as the underdog. Hopefully I come in and nobody really knows of me and I slip under the radar, that's the way I like to go about it.