Aidan Rees to play his 200th game for Albury United

The 31-year-old will celebrate the double-century when United take on local rivals Albury City, knowing victory could send them top of the ladder.

But Rees, who was part of the Green's historic treble last season, revealed he was ready to hang the boots up for good following the dramatic cup final win against Wangaratta at Lavington Sports Ground.

"I had no intention of playing this year," the forward known as 'Chops' said.

"I was going to give it away, I was going to retire, but I didn't announce anything.

"I'm not the sort of person who wants the attention so I was going to go quietly and it would have been a good time to do it.

"But with pretty much all the boys being back here, bar a couple, that was big influence on me coming back because it is a good time playing with the guys.

"I only came to pre-season in February, I missed all of January, but everyone had a slow start to the season which may be reflected by some of our results at the moment.

"We might have missed a month there so hopefully we can get back to where we were last year."

It certainly has been a mixed bag for United, who thrashed title rivals Cobram 8-0 but were held 3-3 at home by Myrtleford and lost 4-2 to a much-changed Wangaratta.

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However, they now sit second, just two points behind leaders Boomers ahead of Rees' milestone match.

"I didn't realise I was up to 200," he said.

"I thought I was a little bit less than that due to injury and a couple of seasons away.

"You don't really see too many people get there, it's been a hard slog, so it's a good effort to get that far.

"But it just feels like another game for me and I'm hoping there's not too much hype around it.

"All I'm wishing for is a win on the weekend and three points."

That's the margin which separates the top five clubs ahead of an intriguing round eight, with Boomers away to Cobram and third-placed Melrose hosting Albury Hotspurs.

"I reckon it's going to be quite tight this year," Rees said.

"Melrose can beat anyone on their day, Boomers are always pretty consistent and I don't think Cobram's score against us reflected how much of a team they are.

"Diamonds have picked up a couple of players as well so it'll be good to come out against them and see what they're like this year as well."

There's a top-two clash in the women's competition, with Hotspurs knowing an eighth straight win would take them 11 points clear of the chasing pack.

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