Border Mail | NORTH Albury scrapped their way to their first three-game winning streak under Jason Akermanis on Saturday, but will sweat on the availability of Dan Leslie after a second-quarter bump.
Akermanis praised the Hoppers’ “mature” performance in the 16-point win, led by a classy three-goal performance from returning Murray Bushranger Shaun Mannagh.
But it was soured slightly by Leslie’s hit on Saints youngster Justin Baldori, who was collected as he attempted to shepherd the Hoppers’ big man.
Baldori left the field and iced his jaw, and despite jogging up and down the boundary just before half-time, took no further part in the game.
Leslie was jeered by the Saints faithful for the remainder of the game as a result, but didn’t let it get to him as he did battled with Saints star Brad Murray.
Both sides played a similar style of zone defence, and it was an even contest at half-time, with the Saints coming back from a two-goal deficit at the first change to trail by just five at the main break.
North put the foot down after half-time though, with some inaccurate kicking the only thing keeping the Saints in the game as they were held goalless in the third quarter.
Myrtleford struggled to escape the well organised North Albury forward press, and the Hoppers showed that their disposal ability was a class above the Saints as they kicked three goals to none for the term, albeit with a costly five behinds as well.
The final quarter became an enthralling shootout, with the Saints kicking the first two goals o to catch a whiff of victory.
Murray and Kristian Height led the charge, while the likes of half-forward Willie Thorne and Billy Williams also lifted.
But they could never quite reel in the Hoppers, who found quick goals through Mannagh and Josh Lloyd just as it looked like the Saints would get a roll on.
After their lacklustre start to the season, Akermanis said altered training loads and a focus on hitting targets was paying dividends.
“We’ve been doing more one-on-one stuff and worked on winning the ball in traffic, and I thought we were really composed,” the coach said.
“We’ve stepped up our training and since then our games have been great.
“We’ve been challenged at times, but I thought we ran the game out with a lot of energy.”
The win sees North Albury cement itself in the top three, one win clear of the Raiders, Pigeons and Bulldogs.
