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Hear that? That’s the sound of bookmakers winding in their betting boards after the odds of a record fifth straight grand final between Albury and Yarrawonga shortened considerably on Saturday when the Tigers accounted for Lavington by 32 points.The Panthers, seen by most as the greatest genuine challenger to the big two, had the chance to justify their recent wraps with a win over Albury a month after pushing Yarrawonga all the way.
But they didn’t.
It was a familiar tale for the Panthers against a competition heavyweight.
Close, but not close enough. And Lavington coach James Saker was the first to admit it.
“I think our best is good enough but our best isn’t consistent enough,” he said.
“I thought we played the game on our terms, which is a really pleasing thing, but we dropped our intensity and attitude and it was costly.
“We’ve got plenty to work on.”
The Panthers are still in the mix, there’s no doubt about that.
But in truth it looked to be a matter of when, not if, Albury would wear down Lavington on Saturday.
The Panthers led for 90 per cent of the game but were never quite able to shake the Tigers.
Consecutive goals from Matt Pendergast and Jay Banks had Lavington 15 points clear, almost 17 minutes into the third quarter.
But in the blink of an eye, Albury was 10 points in front heading into the final change.
Adam Flagg reeled the deficit back to four points on the three-quarter-time siren and 10 minutes into the last term, Albury was up by just three points.
But that was as close as Lavington would get as the Tigers steamed home with the game’s final five goals.
John Mitchell may have played better games for Albury. But he hasn’t had more influence on a contest than he did on Saturday.
Mitchell, with four goals, broke the game open for the Tigers.
He kicked two brilliant snaps on the run in the opening quarter, goals that kept the Tigers in touch after an impressive start from the Panthers.
He kicked two in the final term, too, with his third of the game giving Albury a handy nine-point buffer at a crucial stage.
He then saved his best effort until last, spinning around two opponents before cooly slotting home the sealer on the run from 40 metres.
Mitchell took one of the grabs of the season in the opening minutes of the game, too.
Albury co-coach Daniel Maher was in awe.
“For influence on the game, it was definitely one of his best,” Maher said.
“A horse fell on him about a month ago and he’s just starting to get back and feeling good again.
“He’s probably only had 15 touches but he’s had a huge influence.”
Luke Wells dominated in the ruck while Dean Polo was the most productive of Albury’s midfielders.
Veteran Panthers Kade Stevens, John Hunt and Pendergast toiled hard but were unable to take control of the game.
Andy Carey got through the game fine for the Tigers and finished with three goals.
More importantly, though, he looked anything but restricted by his troublesome knees.
Saker, who played much of the game on Carey, admitted it was frustrating to again come up short against a league heavyweight but said it wasn’t critical to beat either the Pigeons or Tigers in the lead up to finals.
“Obviously it would help but it’s not the be all and end all,” he said.
“We saw in this game our best is good enough.
“If we get things right on our day, whether that be round 14 or the first week of the finals, we’ll be confident.
“I don’t see it so much as having to knock off one of those two but we’re in that top-three mix and this game was a chance to solidify that position and we didn’t do it.”
