The 23-year-old – one of two Warrnambool products in the team alongside Nathan Rantall – said the feeling around the Falcons is optimistic following the thriller against Gippsland.

“We won 14-13 – we actually won in the last minute of the game,” Rowe said.

“Everyone was up and about. The year before we didn’t have a very successful year, so hopefully this will set us up for the season.”

Rowe is hopeful the new-look Falcons can return to play-offs this year, following a see-sawing first three seasons in the competition.

The Falcons went winless through their first season, but showed vast improvement in year two, making it through to the championship game against Bendigo.

“We won eight or nine games and made it through to the final,” Rowe said.

“But the third season we struggled against because we lost a few players after that championship game.

“This year, we’ve started off with a win. I think it’s an exciting-looking team.

“There’s a lot of new faces, a lot of younger players, a lot more athletic players.

“With the first win, it’s a very good start and a very good sign.”

Rowe has been at the team since its inception.

He plays in the defensive position of free safety, but also punts for the team, drawing on his Aussie Rules background.

As a junior, he played for Russells Creek and North Warrnambool Eagles, before transitioning into the American sport four years ago.

He has always liked gridiron, following the Arizona Cardinals in America’s National Football League, and jumped at the chance to play the sport himself.

Rowe said some people he had been talking to through work were starting up a team in Ballarat.

“I sort of got in their back pocket and from there we got training and then playing games,” he said.

The team trained and prepared for about eight months before taking on the Gridiron Victoria league, and have been a regular fixture since.

Most of the Falcons’ players come from Ballarat, but Rowe said there were also men making the trek from Melbourne and Colac.

Rowe and Rantall are the only players with Warrnambool connections on the team at the moment, but there have been others who have filtered through over the journey.

The Falcons are preparing for their second match at home this Saturday night against Northern Raiders.

Rowe encouraged anyone interested in playing gridiron to get in contact with the club, which is the closest team to Warrnambool and surrounds.