WODONGA’S fears about a short turnaround from Anzac Day were misplaced as the Bulldogs upset an out of sorts Lavington by eight points on Saturday.
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The Bulldogs had two less days to prepare for last year’s runner-up, but pulled off one of their best wins in recent seasons by kicking 7.0 to 5.4 after half-time.
The first two quarters were largely forgettable as both teams were guilty of some horrendous skill errors before Wodonga upstaged their more fancied rivals due to sheer determination and will to win by experienced heads, Matt Seiter, Josh Hicks and Sam Livingstone and some promising up and comers including George Haynes and Reed Jackson.
The against the odds victory has left the Bulldogs heading a list of four teams eyeing off a spot in the top five and the Panthers’ spot inside the upper echelon suddenly under threat after losing to Myrtleford seven days earlier.
Bulldogs coach Dean Harding said the win was the ideal way to bounce back from Anzac Day loss to cross-town rival Wodonga Raiders.
“It is huge, but we've seen it coming because we have been working extremely hard,” he said.
“There were some key moments last week where we just didn’t execute the way we wanted, but today I thought we stood up in those key moments.”
The Bulldogs suffered a blow at the opening bounce when recalled ruckman Sam Maher injured his knee in a clash with direct opponent Justin Koschitzke and took no further part in the match.
The match looked like slipping away from the Bulldogs when Jack Nunn had a purple patch early in the third term that netted two goals and enabled the Panthers to open a 13-point lead.
But Wodonga dug deep and kicked two goals in quick succession from another Bulldogs primemover, Tom Johnson and key forward McKye Turner to stay in the match.
Some fireworks erupted on the centre wing which led to Lavington’s Kade Stevens and Wodonga’s Tim Kindellan both reported for striking and sent from the ground.
The Bulldogs settled the better from the fracas and Turner added two more goals to his tally in the term to finish with five and be a strong presence in the forward 50m.
The Panthers responded to his influence by sending their best player on the day, Brant Dickson, to him in the final term.
The Bulldogs went to the final change with a 15-point advantage and withstood the inevitable rally at the start of the final term from Lavington which included an early goal from Matt Pendergast.
Seiter marshalled the troops superbly in defence and further left his imprint on the match by ending Luke Garland’s day with a strong bump at the 11-minute mark.
The Panthers struggled for four quarter contributors with Jono Spina, Tom Hargreave and Will Lenehan having some impact.
Coach James Saker said the loss was a “low ebb” in his team’s season.
“Not because of the opposition, but the way we played,” he said.