Albury certainly made a statement against Pigeons’ gun Mark Whiley.

He and interleague team-mate Elliott Powell came to grips midway through the first quarter and Whiley won the free kick.

Then his direct opponent Will Blomeley gave away a free kick in the second term.

Pigeons’ trouble-shooter Drew Barnes loves the rough stuff, while Brad O’Connor is likewise rugged, so co-coaches Chris Kennedy and Damian Sexton would have loved the pair to be in the vicinity to help out Whiley.

TOUGH STUFF

Wangaratta might have passed a physical test which will have as much influence as any factor come finals time.

It’s well-known Wodonga doesn’t have the firepower of the other teams, so it needs to out-bustle its opposition, at the very least.

The Bulldogs launched themselves at the youthful Pies, a la their frenetic showing and stunning win over Albury in round two.

“There was some pretty physical brutal hits early on,” Pies’ coach Dean Stone said.

“We were really good, we stood up and we were able to withstand that and deal with the adversity.

“You’re going to get battered from time to time and really good sides, good players, can deal with that.”

MR CONSISTENCY

Is there a more consistent player than Raiders’ Brad St John?

He doesn’t have the profile of many of the league’s stars, but he generally plays close to his best and that’s all you can ask.

He landed a running 50-metre goal against Wangaratta Rovers and he’s starting to make a name for that after handing the O and M the lead in the second term against Goulburn Valley the previous week.

DEFENSIVE MINDSET

Still on rep level, and two of the O and M’s stars backed it up at club level.

Wangaratta’s Michael Bordignon blanketed Wodonga’s spearhead Steve Murray, while Albury’s Michael Duncan kept the mercurial Jess Koopman to two goals.

Mind you, one of those was yet another contender for goal of the year.

In the second term, Koopman was under pressure from the Tigers’ tenacious defence, but he stepped calmly to avoid a tackle and from one step, landed a 35-metre goal from a tight angle.

The Pigeons must find a way to get the classy goalsneak involved more often because his unpredictability is priceless.

KEY GAMES

There’s a stack of pivotal games in the coming weeks.

Lavington is currently third, on percentage, with a four-two record, but it now faces the rest of the top five in Raiders, Albury, Yarrawonga and Wangaratta.

If form holds up, Wangaratta could go a long way to sealing the double chance.