LAVINGTON coach James Saker saw enough on Saturday to be confident the Panthers can earn another crack at Albury in a fortnight.
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The Panthers will contest their fourth preliminary final in a row after going down to the Tigers by 28 points in Saturday’s second semi-final at Birallee Park.
The Panthers kicked four goals on the trot in the second quarter to trail by just five points at half-time and the margin hovered around 10 points for much of the third term before some Josh Mellington magic gave the Tigers breathing space at the final change.
Saker said the Panthers refused to buy into talk the flag was a one-horse race and was buoyed by Jake Way’s performance on Joel Mackie, Matt Sharp’s clearance work and Brant Dickson’s ability to shine at both ends of the ground.
“Externally, I don’t know what people thought was going to happen today, but the effort we brought was high and if you bring that effort you’re going to be in any contest,” he said.
“That’s an expectation for us.
“Our hardness was fitting of the final we played in.
“That was a tick.
“We probably just made some errors, myself included, late in that third quarter that gifted them one or two goals that just got that margin out.
“We’ve just got to be a bit more consistent and take our opportunities against a good side.
“We will regroup, review as per normal with a view that if we do get another chance, there was enough out there to show that we can take it up to any side.”
Saker said Tom Hargreave, who was a late withdrawal from Saturday’s side, and Jono Spina would play in the preliminary final barring a mishap at training during the week.
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