Corowa-Rutherglen thirds out to snap 22-year premiership drought against Wangaratta

Having only just snuck into finals, the fifth-placed Roos have since knocked off Wodonga Raiders, Wangaratta Rovers and Albury to set up a decider against Wangaratta.

As the club's last side standing in 2022, they'll have the full backing of a passionate supporter base.

"You only have to go to the footy and see how many supporters are coming to watch," Roos coach George Sandral said.

"Every game in finals, we've outnumbered every other club five or six to one.

"There's so many people that get really emotional and it's a huge deal for them.

"The club hasn't had a lot of success, it's been a long time, so it would mean a lot to a lot of people.

"The town's really getting behind us and they're super excited."

Having suffered a second major knee injury after joining Corowa-Rutherglen as a player two years ago, Sandral put his hand up to coach the under-18s and hasn't looked back.

"I don't have a lot of coaching experience so it was a big leap of faith by the club," Sandral said.

"It's been a huge learning curve and I've enjoyed it a lot.

"They're a great bunch of boys and they stick together.

"I've just tried to give them belief and confidence in each other.

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"I try to have quite a relaxed approach and not put too much pressure on them, really taking it back to enjoying their footy.

"There's a lot of mates within the group, they all play for each other and they really enjoy each other's company so it's highlighting the fun about footy and not worrying about the rest."

The Roos have been playing knockout football ever since round 18, when they beat Myrtleford 8.11 (59) to 8.8 (56) in a winner-takes-all clash for fifth spot.

Not many would have tipped them for the grand final at that stage but Sandral always had faith.

"I'm a very optimistic person so I had huge belief that if we could make finals we would go alright," he said.

"I don't think many others would have thought that.

"Our boys were pretty confident but we've definitely exceeded expectations.

"We only just got over the line against Myrtleford and we've been riding a bit of momentum ever since.

"This is a dream come true.

"We've been working all year to get to this stage, to be able to play in the grand final, and the opportunity to win one is what we all play footy for.

"It's a credit to the boys' work and they're not finished yet."

Wangaratta finished third, 14 points above the Roos.

They beat them by 54 points in round three but only seven points separated the sides last time out, the Magpies narrowly prevailing.

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