The Tigers have had a cruel start to the season, with injuries to star players impacting the performance on the field and three losses against quality opposition.
However, tomorrow they will look to turn things around when they welcome the Shepparton Swans to Moon Oval.
Rochester will be bolstered with the return of Ash Watson from a hamstring injury and it is waiting for duo Lachie Watson and Leigh Millard to return to the line-up from their respective injuries.
But with the return of Nick O’Connor and Jackson McEwen last week from injury and the superb run of form from defender James Gledhill, Rochester has a strong opportunity to clinch a vital win.
‘‘Nick’s a key player for us running through the midfield and forward line and James (Gledhill) has been in great form down back, the ball has been coming in pretty hot, but he’s stood up well deep in defence,’’ Rochester coach James Flaherty said.
‘‘We’ll hopefully have Ash (Watson) back this week and Jackson (McEwen) returned against Tatura, but we still have a few boys out.
‘‘In those first few weeks we got smashed a bit with injuries, but that happens in footy and we’ll look to start getting those guys back in.’’
Flaherty knows it will be a tough battle against an improved Swans line-up, but the reward for winning will do wonders for his winless side.
‘‘We know that the Swans are an improved side this year, they’ll bring the intensity to us and the midfield battle will be really important,’’ he said.
‘‘Obviously we are still chasing that first win, our confidence just isn’t quite there at the moment and grabbing a win will be great for the boys.’’
Quade Johnstone has been firing on all cylinders for the Swans — named best afield in their past three matches — while Tom Preece, Mitch Bell and Zac Alderton have provided quality input.
The Swans are coming off a 41-point loss against reigning premier Shepparton last weekend, but they were within striking distance in the final quarter — only trailing by 11 points.
‘‘Last week we put ourselves in a good position to win the game and hopefully if we can get the chance again this weekend, we can finish it off,’’ Swans coach Paul Hawke said.
‘‘Each week we are gaining more confidence in our game style and hopefully we can keep the effort up because once it drops off we tend to fall away from the contest.
‘‘Rochester are always a tough opposition at home and I feel they are going a bit better than what the ladder shows at the moment.
‘‘We will need to be smart around the stoppages and our onballers will need to be switched on from the get-go.’’
22°C