IT was a nail-biting thriller at W. J. Findlay Oval on Saturday when the Rovers managed to withstand a fit and firing Lavington Panthers outfit.
The match was contested throughout, but the Rovers managed to bank the four points 9.16 (70) to 9.9 (63).
Lavington kicked the first major of the day through Alex Swinnerton, but the Rovers’ back six locked down hard.
Only four goals were kicked through the first quarter, a testament to the pressure across the ground and the contested nature of the game.
The Rovers worked into the game in the second term, but some skill errors allowed the Panthers to take the margin out to 10 before two quick goals saw the home side retake the lead.
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The Hawks held a 10-point advantage heading into the second half, but squandered chance after chance to pile on the scoreboard pressure.
Lavington would dominate possession in the fourth and final quarter, but the Rovers had enough on the scoreboard to take the win.
Rovers football operations manager Barry Sullivan said it was a high-pressure match from start to finish.
“Lavington really brought the pressure right from the first quarter all the way through the match, they were quite impressive in terms of their overall fitness," he said.
“We probably turned the ball over unusually often in the third quarter, but I think our talent eventually shone through.
“We had opportunities to increase the lead on a number of occasions, but missed fairly gettable set shots at goal.
“One thing you couldn’t criticise our guys for was the effort, everybody was putting in 100 per cent.
“At the end of the day, we were very fortunate to get the win.”
Ed Dayman was tremendous at stoppages, while Charlie Thompson, Lochie O’Brien and Will Christie (two goals) were impactful.
“All over the ground, it was really competitive, but I thought our back six held up pretty well given that we’ve still got Tom Boyd out and we didn’t have Kieren Parnell this week,” Sullivan said.
“Our senior players stood up as well, Sam Murray was awesome in that last quarter.
“Everyone really put in – look at Brodie Filo’s efforts in the last quarter, Lockey McCartney is very good as well, so it was a good all-round fightback.
“Jai Dal Zotto kicked a fantastic goal in the last quarter that sort of sealed the game for us.
“We’ve really got good depth at the moment, there are a lot of our young kids in the reserves playing good footy, they’ll get their opportunities over the coming weeks.”
Elsewhere, Wangaratta were outdone by just four points in their ANZAC Day clash with Myrtleford, 8.13 (61) to 9.11 (65).
The Saints fired out of the gate, and led at every break to hand the ‘Pies their first loss of the season.
Scoring efficiency would spell ruin for Wangaratta, sitting at 3.9 at half-time.
Waitai Tua and Alex Federico performed well for the Magpies, while Aiden Tilley was swung forward and kicked two goals.
