Reigning premiers Wangaratta Rovers launch into their second short block of games to start the season this Saturday, but the first of three hit-outs is far from a walk in the park.

Coming off last weekend’s ANZAC Day bye, the Rovers face Wodonga this weekend, ahead of clashes with Lavington and Albury before another weekend off for interleague.

Rovers football operations manager Mario Antonello said the gentle start to the season, with two byes in the first third of the year, was helpful for sides who went deep into September the previous time around.

“I know it was only three weeks from round one, we’d only played three games, but I think everyone enjoyed it - we had a few boys with natural soreness, so they’ll appreciate it, that’s for sure,” he said.

“When you go deep into finals, you have less of a rest at the back end of last season.

“It’s always nice to have sporadic weeks off through the year – you could probably argue for consistency it’s not great, but for the teams who played an extra four weeks at the end of last season, it’s certainly well worth it.”

There’s certainly been no premiership hangover for the Hawks, who are yet to taste defeat in season 2026.

While they’re absolutely flying in terms of wins and non-existent losses, Antonello said they had yet to play their best footy.

“To be honest, the most pleasing aspect is we’re getting wins and not playing anywhere near our best,” he said.

“We’ve definitely got three wins from the first three games, but definitely haven’t set the world alight.

“We’ve got patches where we sort of still fade in and out, but we’ve got enough good players we’re able to put the foot down when needed.

“It’s definitely pleasing we’re getting the win, but I wouldn’t say that we’ve hit top gear or there’s nothing to improve on - we can certainly get a lot better.

“It’s probably just a consistency thing for us, and I think it happened last year as well – we started off a little slow, and this year’s been no different but we’ve gotten over the line.”

The Rovers face a true test this Saturday in Wodonga, and their dual-pronged forward mixture in Hudson Garoni and Noah Spiteri, currently first and second on the Doug Strang Medal leaderboard.

However, the Hawks are blessed with a bevvy of brilliant backmen, who will be called upon to nullify their impact on the game.

“They’ve got a new full forward there in Hudson Garoni who’s come back from Werribee VFL, he might rekindle a relationship there with Nathan Cooper [former Werribee player], forward vs back, that might be something that happens,” Antonello said.

“It’s always been a really good match-up for us, Joel Smith or Charles Ledger go to Spiteri and have kept him relatively quiet in the past, so hopefully we can shut the forwards down and give good use to our mids and our forwards.

“We’re probably more worried about what we’re doing rather than what other clubs are doing, which is a luxury at the minute.”

The Hawks host Wodonga Bulldogs at W.J. Findlay Oval this Saturday, with thirds from 10am, reserves from 12pm and seniors from 2pm.

Elsewhere, Wangaratta Magpies make the trip to JC Lowe Oval to take on the Pigeons in what should be a cracker of a match.

Both teams have enjoyed a strong start to the season, sitting in the top five with 2-1 records.

The last time they faced each other was round 11 last year, a match which the Magpies soundly won to the tune of 52 points.