One of Lavington's most improved players last year will be out to kick-start his season at home against Yarrawonga on Saturday.
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Chris Annett will play his first senior game .
"I broke my toe about two weeks before the season started and then I tweaked my knee against Wodonga (in reserves in round one)," he said.
"It's been frustrating, I sat down with (coach) Simon (Curtis) during the pre-season and was looking to push for the midfield, but the broken toe set that back a bit."
Annett has been a regular senior player over the past four seasons, racking up 75 games in that time.
But he had a breakout 2018 in defence, which highlights why he was in the running for the midfield.
That's a difficult position to break into, given the stellar form of Marty Brennan and strong performances by Tom Hargreave and Nick Holman.
The Panthers are coming off their first loss, a 42-goal shootout against Wangaratta.
The visitors became the first team in almost 20 years to kick 19 goals and lose.
Lavington has made five changes, recalling captain Luke Garland.
He injured his groin at training last week and given the interleague bye follows this round, clubs quite often err on the side of caution, particularly with star players.
However, Garland obviously feels he's totally recovered to face the Pigeons.
Yarrawonga holds down fifth spot, but a loss would see them overtaken by the winner of Wangaratta Rovers-Wodonga Raiders.
The Pigeons made three changes, losing defender-cum-ruckman Jake Wild to injury.
That will rob the visitors of some size, making it more difficult to upset the second-placed outfit.
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