Wangaratta Rovers topple Wangaratta in crackerjack clash by 14 points

The biggest crowd of the opening month - 3400 - watched an absorbing clash between the league's fiercest rivals with the Hawks snaring a 14.12 (96) to 12.10 (82) win.

It was also Rovers' biggest home crowd since around 6000 flocked to watch former AFL superstars Barry Hall (Rovers) and Brendan Fevola (Yarrawonga) in 2012.

The current game didn't boast big names to match those two, but it had a stack of former AFL players, a host of new faces and a bunch of locals desperate for success.

It was a wonderful weekend for the league after Myrtleford and Lavington had produced the finest game to that point on Saturday night at Myrtleford.

The Saints bounced back after being belted (66 points) by Wangaratta the week before to post a thrilling five-point win.

"Wangaratta's obviously a great side, they've been in the past three grand finals, and it was a really top quality game, that's probably the pinnacle from what I've seen so far, it was pretty tough," Rovers' co-coach Daryn Cresswell offered.

While the league has been buzzing with a host of gun recruits and a year off with COVID, there was a fear the star-studded Pies were a step above.

The Hawks' running game has destroyed that theory, although the Pies are still premiership favourites.

While former captain Tyson Hartwig was terrific in defence and a host of the Hawks' multiple point players, including Ryan Hebron and Tyler Cornish, were outstanding, it was also the work of unheralded players in Tristan Lenaz and Cody Schutt that helped Rovers to their best win since upsetting the Pies in the corresponding game in 2019.

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