Matthew Wilson joins Howlong following the demise of Corowa-Rutherglen

The 24-year-old is the latest Corowa-Rutherglen player to find a new club and the Spiders have made a big first impression on Wilson.

And the man known as 'Mattress' believes it could turn out to be a dream move.

"For the first in forever, I'll be able to genuinely focus on enjoying footy without worrying about it four or five days a week and doing everything that's expected at Ovens and Murray level," Wilson said.

"My brother-in-law, Tyson Logie, has had a couple of stints there and his brother-in-law is (coach) Matt McDonald.

"Macca's been trying for two or three years now but I'm Corowa through-and-through so I was probably never going to go, definitely not this early, but the way it's all panned out, it was the best fit for me.

"I've been pretty impressed with the set-up there, the training standards, the numbers they get and the deck alone, the surface at Howlong is really good to play on.

"Being exposed to Corowa, we haven't sat in the top half of the ladder but Howlong should be right up there and I'm really looking forward to it."

Wilson played 59 senior games for the Roos and his arrival has further fuelled the positivity and expectation swirling around Howlong.

"Matty was always going to stay at Corowa unless they did fold," McDonald said.

"When all of this started to happen, he trained with us a couple of times and the writing was on the wall there.

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"We hope we can provide an environment where Matty will enjoy his footy.

"He's a small forward and that's an area we've lacked the last few years, hitting the scoreboard.

"Matty's pretty smart, with his leading patterns and work-rate, so it's going to be exciting for us."

A quieter football pre-season has allowed Wilson to focus more on his cricket at Corowa, where he's plundered 211 runs in his last three innings.

"My cricket's been massive," he said.

"I've really enjoyed this season, Jack Thomas has come on board (as coach) and he's been great for me.

"He's given me a lot of confidence and he allows me to play my game, backs me in to play aggressively and that's been important.

"It's a bit of a relief to be honest - I don't have to worry about anything but playing my normal game.

"We've had some bloody good wins in our cricket season but it's also been disappointing the teams we've slipped against.

"But every year, we're becoming a better team with some good juniors coming through."

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