Border Mail |
LAVINGTON moved into the Ovens and Murray Football League under-18 top five after beating North Albury by 29 points at Lavington Oval on Saturday.
The Panthers have recovered from a slow start to the season to record their third win and edge ahead of the Hoppers on percentage in fifth spot.
They jumped the Hoppers early and led by 18 points at quarter-time before the Hoppers reduced the margin to 10 points at half-time.
Lavington pulled away in the third quarter to open a match-winning break at the last change.
The Panthers had three main avenues to goal in Layne Heinjus, Aaron Jory and Rob Stewart, who all booted two goals.
Tyler Lampe, Aidan Rogers and Chris Annett were also integral players for Lavington in the trying conditions.
North Albury welcomed back Mitchell Mahady from the Murray Bushrangers and he figured among the Hoppers best players with John Carroll, Josh Minogue and Lindsay Musgrave.
But the Hoppers lost Tyler Berry, who was a late call-up to the Bushrangers.
Wangaratta Rovers beat arch-rival Wangaratta by 16 points at W.J. Findlay Oval on Sunday to be right among the contenders for this season’s premiership.
The Hawks made the running in the first half to lead by 14 points at the long break.
Alex Marklew, who represented the Ovens and Murray under-18s against Peninsula the previous week, was again a focal point up forward for the Hawks with three goals.
Stuart Booth, Brad Collihole and Ben Talarico also shone for the Hawks, who were without star midfielder Dylan Wilson due to the TAC Cup.
The Magpies also went into the game without one of their key playmakers, Patrick Eefting, who made his senior debut.
Albury retained top spot on the ladder with a 74-point win against Alpine Eagles at Albury Sportsground.
The Tigers bounced back strongly from their previous round loss.
Key forward Will McGrath booted seven goals and Alex Rowe, Caleb Simmonds and Jamin Barrett were other primemovers.
The Tigers next round take on fourth-placed Yarrawonga, which had an 18-point win against Wodonga at John Flower Oval.
Corowa-Rutherglen moved closer to the top-five with a 36-point win against Wodonga Raiders.
