Jackson Weidemann returns for North Albury game due to Port Melbourne bye

Half-back Weidemann more than doubled his nearest rival in the Hoppers' top award before signing with VFL outfit Port Melbourne.

He's played every game and the club is delighted with his form.

The Hoppers are favourites to claim the wooden spoon, but they boast one of the league's best defenders in Sam Azzi.

He sits second in league marks with 131, trailing only Yarrawonga superstar Leigh Masters (158), and he's also third in contested marks with 36, behind Leigh Williams (43) and Masters (42).

The combination of Azzi and Weidemann will provide tremendous confidence for the visitors as they fell to the Panthers by only 15 points in round six.

The club is also buzzing after appointing current player Tim Broomhead as coach for the next three seasons.

Interim co-coaches Corey Lambert and Clint Gilson took over in early May after Luke Norman stepped down due to work commitments.

Lavington has been outstanding this year and defender Jack Harland is one of the many unheralded players to shine.

The 26-year-old made an interesting admission about his form.

"It's probably the most consistent run I've had at it, it's probably the most confident I've felt since the 2015-2016 grand finals (against Albury)," he suggested.

"I'm feeling confident in my body and the way the team's playing and how 'Schneids' (coach Adam Schneider) has got us going.

"I've really enjoyed it under 'Schneids', he's brought some enjoyment into it, it's just finding that balance between learning things about footy and having some fun on the outside."

The 187cm half-back maintains the 'fun factor' is a major reason for the club's record of seven wins and seven losses after some thought they would finish bottom three.

"We always have a competition after training on Thursdays with who does all the dishes and the cleaning up, little things like that where we split into the backs, forwards and mids," Harland revealed.

He was then asked who's letting the club down in the cleanliness stakes.

"The backs were on fire to start with, but the last two weeks we've been a bit ordinary," he laughed.

"But I'd have to say the forwards are letting themselves down, there's no doubts about that."

After the Hoppers, Lavington faces Albury (third), Wangaratta (first) and Wodonga Raiders (ninth).

ALSO IN SPORT:

Although the middle games are tough tests, the Panthers will be quietly confident, particularly against long-time rivals Albury next weekend.

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