Tom Forrest and Mikaela Trethowan after winning the Seniors (Jim Sandral Medal) and A Grade Netball respectively. See award winners on page 15.
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Outgoing Corowa-Rutherglen FNC senior football coach Daryn Cresswell has departed the Roos on good terms before making the move to North Albury.
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At Saturday’s Best and Fairest awards night, Creswell thanked the club for the past two years.
The 55-year-old Sydney Swans Team of the Century member came to Corowa-Rutherglen after a successful AFL Cairns season with South Cairns Cutters, where he led the Cutters to a premiership in 2024.
The passionate coach praised the people and volunteers within the club, highlighting that they are the backbone of the organisation and thanked them for welcoming his family into the fold.
“I’ve been around football a long time, and that’s what makes clubs and the people here so caring and passionate,” he said.
The Roos have been on an upward trajectory since the 2023 reset year, progressing from one win in 2024, to three in 2025, and four this season.
Corowa has continued to see progress, building on Steve Owens’ tenure and consistently trying to better themselves to compete with the big sides of the O&M.
“I think we have made huge progress this year… obviously the win-loss ratio doesn’t look great, but the amount of games we were in was good to see,” Cresswell said.
The big highlights of the last two seasons were breaking the club’s biggest droughts against Albury Tigers and traditional rival Yarrawonga.
Daryn Cresswell was instrumental in the Roos drought breaking win against Yarrawonga after waiting 18 years
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Those games saw the club supporters having to wait 17 and 18 years respectively to defeat those sides.
The 244-game Sydney Swans legend was excited to see the calibre of youngsters coming through the ranks at the Roos and is keen to watch on from afar.
“There is a strong foundation within the playing group when you look at the kids coming through and the impact they’ve made,” Cresswell said.
“Guys like Deagan Purcell, Tom and Will Forrest, Tex Longmire; these guys have got lots of future potential.”
Cresswell also paid tribute to Darrell Spencer and Scott Parker, who guided the Under 16s playing group to the edge of a Grand Final, falling just short.
However, their progress is another strong indication of the talent the club possesses.
The former Roos coach was impressed by the resilience within the playing group and how they took on the rest of the season despite not having the results go their way.
“We showed some strong fight throughout the season, took it to the reigning premiers and lost by two goals,” he said.
Although Cresswell departs for North Albury, it can be reassured that he will be watching from afar.
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