What just happened?

For the first time since round 14 2024, Wangaratta Rovers have been beaten twice in a row in senior football.

Hosting the then second-bottom Albury Tigers at WJ Findlay Oval on Saturday, the Rovers fell in the upset of the season, 5.10 (40) to 7.10 (52).

The low-scoring contest went the way of the Tigers early, with Albury leading by five points by quarter time.

The second quarter was essentially a breakeven affair, with just three minor scores recorded, not shifting the momentum of the match in any great sense.

The hammer would be brought down after half-time, with Rovers hitting the front through a Mitch Hardie goal.

However, Albury hit back soon after, winning the teams and sending Rovers into the final quarter behind by 16 points.

Goals to Brodie Filo and Will Christie would bring the margin back to a goal with 20 minutes played, however Albury’s Jake Pitt would kick the sealer and complete one of the most stunning results in years.

Rovers football operations manager Mario Antonello said the squad had been off for a few weeks.

“We’re not playing the greatest at the minute, it’s not a surprise going by the results,” he said.

“We’re just not in form at the right time of the season.

“We need to turn that around within the next two or three weeks, that’s for sure.

“It wasn’t the most physical game that we’ve played, but we made a lot of mistakes.

“Usually, one of our biggest strengths is our kick-mark game, and we couldn’t really get that going on Saturday, guys have just been off the last couple of weeks, missing targets and whatnot.

“I wouldn’t say it’s one thing, it’s a combination of a lot of small things we’ve got to turn around and get right.”

Will Christie was the only multiple goal kicker for the Rovers, with Jace McQuade, Sam Cattapan and Alex McCarthy performing well in the loss.

The bad news continued for the Rovers, with coach and midfield gun Sam Murray reaggravating a hamstring injury, while forward Nathan Cooper will be sent for scans on a suspected dislocated knee.

“We’re confident with the players we’ve got that we can still manage okay, but you feel more sorry for these guys,” Antonello said.

“Muz tweaked his hammy again, that’s not ideal - he came straight off, it was nowhere near as bad as his last hammy he did three weeks ago, he took himself off.

“Nathan Cooper dislocated his knee in the last quarter, he’s getting some scans on that.

“We’ve got three more weeks, hopefully we can put a few things into place this week against Raiders and then build on that for the next few weeks.

“Realistically, we’re staring down the barrel of second or third now, so we know where we’re at and we’ve got a few extra weeks to play.”

Meanwhile, Wangaratta moved a game clear of their neighbours on top of the ladder with a solid 13.10 (88) to 10.9 (69) win over Lavington at the Lavington Sports Ground.

The match was an arm-wrestle throughout, with neither side gaining much of an advantage until the Magpies started to stretch their legs from quarter time onwards.

Tyson Young kicked a handful, Jackson Clarke and Aidan Tilley kicked two apiece, while Jack Mapleson ran riot through the midfield and defender Lachlan Di Sebastiano did an admirable job on Lavington’s Tim Oosterhoff.