Albury has lost one of its most improved players for the season in Jay Hillary.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The rugged defender injured his knee against Wangaratta Rovers on April 20 and while it was originally hoped the damage wasn't severe, scans have revealed a damaged anterior cruciate ligament.
"Initially we thought it wasn't too bad, but the physio spoke to him during the week and it didn't sound great, he didn't play against North Albury (on Anzac Day) and then had the scans and, unfortunately, he's done his ACL," Tigers' co-coach Shaun Daly revealed.
The 22-year-old started the season in career-best form.
"His first couple of games were arguably his best for the club, he had got himself in good condition and he's been standing up in the backline," Daly said.
Hillary joined Albury in 2018 and debuted at senior level the following season.
He split his time between the Tigers and home club Yackandandah in 2021 and stayed with the latter for 2022, before returning to the O and M last year.
"We had a good chat to him about getting his body in the shape to play O and M footy and he put in a lot of work and played most of the year and, to his credit, he then put in a lot of work this year and got himself really fit and into that position to play a lot of senior footy," Daly explained.
The Tigers will resume from a 16-day break away to Wodonga on Saturday.
Wodonga (16 points) is fourth, a win above Albury, so if the latter falls, it would be two wins out of the top three, a third of the way through the season.
It's a cracking round with six of the top seven clubs meeting each other.
Seventh-placed Wangaratta is home to Lavington, which is sixth.
