Border Mail |
LAVINGTON coach James Saker admits North Albury will have more star power heading into their clash at Lavington Oval tomorrow.
Saker candidly rated the Hoppers’ top-line talent better than his own.
He said the Panthers would have to be on their game if they wanted to shore up their spot inside the top-three.
Although former St Kilda ace Jason Gram is yet to return from a hamstring strain, the Hoppers still have star power in Jason Akermanis, Daniel Leslie and Adam Prior.
And Saker is more than wary of that.
“I’m not sure where their list is at, in terms of who is available,” Saker said.
“But if you looked at the two lists, I’d say their better players are probably more highly credentialed than ours.
“They’ve certainly got that element to them — we need to make sure we work hard to stop them from getting on top.”
Lavington, which last night regained key players Matt Pendergast, Luke Brauer, Adam Butler, Tom Hargreave and Jay Banks, enters tomorrow’s clash favourite in the eyes of most.
But Saker wasn’t so sure the Panthers should be favourites.
“Their best footy is very good,” Saker said.
“And we need to make sure we don’t let them play that.
“They’re very dangerous and well-skilled across the park.
“The guys we got back were fairly straight- forward selections and will give us a bit of experience which could be important, given the conditions expected.”
Tomorrow’s contest, which could have top-three repercussions come the end of the home and away season, is expected to be played in the season’s wettest conditions.
Patches of rain are expected to remain until at least Sunday.
“It’s a huge game for us,” Saker said.
“We get a chance to get a couple of games clear of fourth and fifth on the ladder.
“We need to do the basic things well, again, because of the conditions, more than anything.”
