Woodcock's injury takes shine off strong Latrobe win

The former Baldock Medalist snapped his hamstring just before half-time and is expected to miss at least six weeks of football.

"Gavin's our spiritual leader and was having a good game until he was injured," Latrobe coach Wade Anthony said.

"It's very disappointing for Gavin as he did so much work over the summer,".

Anthony is in his first year of coaching at Latrobe after making a return to the game and said he was satisfied with Latrobe's 80-point victory.

He was a former senior player with Devonport and Latrobe and in 2000 was selected in an All-Australian team after the national country football championships were held in NSW.

"We were a bit scrappy and inaccurate in front of goal but I couldn't fault the guys with their endeavour," he said.

The Demons gave Anthony little cause for concern by winning the toss and kicking with the breeze in the opening quarter and kicking 7.7 to 1.2.

"We started well and although we slipped away a bit in the second quarter, it was a satisfying result,".

Anthony was full of praise for Michael Flint who was a dominant player for four quarters while rover Rodney Coghlan showed his tenacity to win the ball.

Over summer Coghlan had considered switching to East Devonport but at the last minute decided to stay with the Demons and made his presence felt yesterday.

Anthony believes Latrobe will be a competitive side as the season rolls on and said the team still had Rory Gurr, Matthew Sheehan and Zane Good to return.

Although beaten, East Devonport showed signs of improvement from last year when it went through the season without winning a game.

The Swans now have some big-bodied defenders such as Nathan Gore and Stuart Carter who both played well and former best and fairest winner Nathan Applebee won his share of the ball in his first game back with the club.

East Devonport does have a deficieny in the forward line with another big player needed to support Michael Bloomfield and Sam Borlini.

The team suffered a blow when it was confirmed Jake McDermott had broken his ankle.