Onwards and upwards: Magpies ready to rock Raiders

THE character of any team is tested in the week after a tough loss, and Wangaratta’s footballers will look to wash the taste of defeat from of their mouths with the wine of victory this weekend. The Magpies were on the wrong end of an upset result over at Lavington Sports Ground on Saturday, where the Panthers produced one of the second halves for the ages, overcoming a 15-point half-time deficit to run out winners by 22 points. For the Magpies, it was a staunch reminder of just how close the competition is this year, and how any team can take it away from you if you’re even slightly off. Wangaratta coach Jason Heatley said the result stung, but there was plenty to take from it. “We just got beaten by a very good Lavington outfit - it was a really good game of footy, they took their opportunities and won the game, rightly so in the end,” he said. “We didn’t capitalise on our opportunities, we started very well, probably left a few out there in the first half which would’ve put scoreboard pressure on. “They stayed within reach, they got a sniff, they got running and rolling and hit the scoreboard. “That tells a story over the course of the year - if you’re off by any given percentage points or any measure of performance, you’re going to be vulnerable.” The Raiders have been the whipping boys of the O&M for the better part of the last four years, having only won five games of senior football since the start of the 2022 season. Regardless, they’re a proud group, and will be eager to notch their first win of the season over the black and white. “We’ve just got to get back to what we do really well and what we want to stand for,” Heatley said. “If you look at their form lines, they’ve been really competitive up to half-time and entering third quarters, so we know we’re going to have to be on our guard because their good footy can certainly test some sides. “We make no bones about it, we’re going to be focussing on things we need to be better at, and our opposition will need to take note of that.” If the weather forecast is in any way accurate, we might be in for some old school classic winter football, with a top of 14 degrees and up to 10mm of rain predicted by the Bureau of Meteorology for Saturday. Regardless, the Magpies will look to bank the points in each of the grades of football when they welcome Wodonga Raiders to Norm Minns Oval this Saturday. Elsewhere, a surging Wangaratta Rovers will head up the Great Alpine Road to take on Myrtleford, with the Saints still raw after being stifled by Wodonga on the weekend.

Onwards and upwards: Magpies ready to rock Raiders

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