Wodonga Raiders' Scott Meyer will stay with the club until end of year

Meyer stunned club officials early last week when he lodged a clearance to join junior club Beaconsfield in the AFL Outer East Premier Division.

However, Raiders quickly rejected the clearance and made it known they wanted him to finish the year, which the 35-year-old will now do.

"It is mate (great news), it's all we were after," coach Jarrod Hodgkin explained.

"He's been pretty important in the first half of the year and he's going to be pretty important in the back half, so it's good to have him back."

Written off as a top five team before the season after losing a handful of players, including big man trio Zach and Jordan Rouse, along with Brodie A'Vard, Raiders have done superbly to sit two wins clear in fifth spot with seven rounds left.

Lavington, Wodonga and Corowa-Rutherglen all trail by the eight points, but two have a clear percentage advantage.

Raiders sit on 89.60, followed by Lavington (104.23), Wodonga (99.78) and Corowa-Rutherglen (84.91).

Although Raiders shouldn't miss finals from here, they play the three teams they're battling for the final spot over the next five weeks, along with top four outfits Myrtleford and Wangaratta Rovers.

That's why Meyer, who has played either forward or ruck, is so important as Raiders target six straight finals.

"Footy's one of those sports and clubs are funny like that, there's always something happening, it was a bit of a different one with Scotty," Hodgkin revealed.

"One thing I've always said Scotty's a terrific person, although it was disappointing to the playing group, it gets back to he's a really good person and that's why we welcome him straight back in with open arms, if he was a bloke that was questionable, we would have shut the door on him."

IN OTHER NEWS:

Raiders host Wodonga on Saturday.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: