Wodonga coach Jordan Taylor vows to make changes after loss to Raiders

Wodonga had lost the last six games to its strongest rival by an average of 59 points and while it still went into the match as underdogs after showing strong improvement from its wooden spoon season in 2019, the sidelined mentor (calf injury) said it was the club's worst performance of the first month.

"Yep for sure, we'll cop losses, but the effort's got to be better and I didn't feel like the effort was there," he reasoned.

Teenager Josh Mathey was the only player to enhance his reputation, showing poise on both sides of his body, defender Liam Andrews had a strong first half, while profile players Josh Clayton and Tom Johnson had their moments.

Mathey kicked the team's fourth goal at the 23-minute mark of the second quarter and Oscar Willding landed the next - and last - after six minutes in the final term.

Taylor pleaded with his players to lift at three-quarter time in front of one of the Bulldogs' biggest crowds (2100) since their last finals in 2009 - the league's longest drought.

"No, I don't really feel like we did," Taylor admitted.

"We were very flat and obviously it's a big game (the annual Anzac Day game) and we've got a lot of young players, so maybe they worked themselves up a little bit too much before the game and came out pretty down."

Taylor was asked if there will be changes for Saturday's game against North Albury.

"Yeah definitely, there will definitely be a few that come in," he revealed.

The Hoppers remain winless, while Wodonga scored its only win against Yarrawonga in round two.

ALSO IN SPORT:

Raiders, meantime, will be outsiders away to Myrtleford, but the club should be quietly confident of pushing the top three contenders after they just edged out the winless Yarrawonga by 10 points on Saturday.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: