At 200cms, Hanna is rarely out-sized, but he meets 209cm former AFL big man Dawson Simpson at Myrtleford's home ground.

"Yeah, it's a bit different looking up to Dawson, but I actually enjoy playing against him," Hanna offered.

The pair has never met in a competition game, but the teams have played practice matches over the past two seasons.

Simpson was superb in the first half last week against Wangaratta, but like so many of his team-mates failed to have an impact when the Pies dominated after the break.

It's been a disrupted start for Hanna, who's missed the past two games after a cut on his knee became infected.

Coincidentally, team-mate Nico Sedgwick also had an infection on his leg from a cut just prior to his first game.

"It just swelled up around my knee," Hanna explained.

"It was niggling a bit last week, but I don't know where I got the infection from.

"I had an infection on my arm earlier in the year, I'm not sure if they're related, but I'll go back to the doctor's and get some bloods taken."

This is one of two crackerjack clashes of round three, with Wangaratta Rovers to host Wangaratta on Sunday.

While Wangaratta has the league's best list, teams two through five should also have riveting contests.

Given how tight Lavington, Myrtleford, Rovers and Albury appear to be, matches involving that quartet will be crucial in deciding the top three.

Lavington has already fallen to Rovers, so even though it's only early in the season, they will be behind that pack in relation to snaring the double chance with a loss.

"We're pretty evenly matched sides," Hanna admitted.

The Panthers are a smaller side and have a distinct pace advantage in midfielders Sedgwick and Shaun Mannagh.

The inclusion of Did Simpson medallist Mannagh stunned the league, given he's linked to VFL outfit Werribee, which kick-starts its season this weekend.

Mannagh was the league's best player in 2019, kicking five goals in the grand final win over Wangaratta.

It will be intriguing to see how many games he plays for the Panthers, which will have a monumental impact on their chances.

Both teams head into the game without coaches.

Lavington's Simon Curtis hasn't been the same player since he fell off his mountain bike just 48 hours before the first game against Wangaratta Rovers, although he remains one of the competition's finest.

IN OTHER NEWS:

And Saints' co-coach Jake Sharp might not return until around the halfway mark after injuring his ankle, ironically against Lavington, in the pre-season on March 6.

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