Four losses puts Tallangatta in freefall

The Hoppers had plenty of ball in the first half against Yackandandah but couldn’t make the most of their opportunities, eventually succumbing to the eighth-placed Roos by 12 points.

It was a relatively even contest for most of the game, with the Hoppers taking a one-goal lead into the last change, but they again ran out of legs, as the Roos piled on four goals to one to snatch the win.

Trent Castles was again the go-to man for Yackandandah, but found good support from Kiale Crowther and Dylan Wright, with the trio bagging four goals each.

James Breen kicked three goals for the third week in a row for Tallangatta, while Andrew Dear showed continued good form on his way to three goals of his own.

Having now defeated two top-five teams in successive weeks, Roos co-coach Greg Newbold said the club was showing signs of a more consistent performance.

“We’re meeting the right standards more consistently than we have in previous seasons,” Newbold said.

“I certainly think we’re a much better side than what we have been in the past, but we can’t hang our hat on two good wins.

“The challenge for us now is to maintain the effort we’ve seen in the past fortnight.”

With the Roos just one game and percentage out of the five the incentive is certainly there, but they’ll have their work cut out for them with Danny Atwell, Ben Keep and Hamish Cahill all set to be absent from this week’s clash with Rutherglen.

Atwell and Keep will be unavailable, while Cahill will spend some time on the sidelines after fracturing his leg.

“There’s an opportunity now for some of those younger or fringe type players to step up and make their mark on a game,” Newbold said.

“This year we’re seeing one of the most competitive and high level competitions I’ve seen for a few years.

“There’s no doubt we’ve got some key outs next week, but we’ll go in and try and play to the same standard we have in the past few weeks. We’ve hit some form, now we have to maintain it.”