Lavington star Nick Meredith is uncertain if he'll return for Saturday's away clash to Wangaratta Rovers.
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An automatic selection for the O and M, Meredith has struggled since a piece of timber fell on his shoulder a fortnight ago.
"It just got me in the wrong spot between the shoulder blades, it's almost like a giant corkie," he said of the nagging injury.
"I've got good range of movement, I just can't load it up in certain ways, like when I mark the footy, the jarring motion really aggravates it.
I just can't load it up in certain ways, like when I mark the footy, the jarring motion really aggravates it.
- Nick Meredith
"The hip and shoulder stuff is fine.
"It's feeling a lot better than it was and I don't think it's anything major.
"I'll train this week and see how I go, but I'm not optimistic."
There were initial fears the 26-year-old had carried a fractured shoulder into the game against Albury on April 13.
Meredith winced in pain a number of times during the Panthers upset of Albury and then missed Good Friday's 60-point win over Wodonga Raiders.
It highlights the club's rapid development from elimination finalists to a premiership threat.
The prospect of Lavington toppling two finalists last year, either with an injured Meredith or without him at all, would have been long odds, but the ability of its district recruits to immediately handle O and M standard, in particular sweet-kicking full forward Aidan Johnson, along with the natural development of Jack Kirley and Co. has the Panthers primed.
"It's exciting to be a part of."
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