Lavington boasts one of the Ovens and Murray Football League's youngest teams and one of those teenagers faced a baptism of fire in round one.
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Wodonga Raiders' powerhouse Cam Ellis-Yolmen had the ball on the boundary line in defence, so he couldn't take the risk of kicking the ball back infield, in case of a turnover, so he had to charge down the line.
And the player standing in his way was Jack Costello.
Now the youngster would, conservatively, give away 30kgs to the league's most powerful player.
But he bravely stood in front of the ex-AFL player and tackled him, winning a free kick.
And in a nice touch, Ellis-Yolmen patted Costello in acknowledgement of his courage.
"Obviously the under 18s won the grand final last year and we've kept the majority of them, there's a lot of good ones coming through and there's a lot of them will play a lot of senior footy," Lavington coach Adam Schneider praised.
Another of the youngsters in Nick Paton had a blinding debut, posting 29 disposals against premiers Yarrawonga.
"He's very clever, defends really well and has a nice (kicking) leg on him, he did really well and is very promising," Schneider suggested.
Meanwhile, Conor Willis kicked two goals against the Pigeons.
"Probably the best game he's played for 'Lavi' over the last two years, he's got a great workrate and is very powerful and fast, it was good to see him let loose," Schneider confirmed.
The 20-year-old is on Collingwood's VFL list and has made the squad of 23 for Sunday's away game against Carlton, so even if he is named as the emergency, he won't play for Lavington, just in case a player is injured prior to the state level clash.
Willis is showing tremendous discipline, continuing to live in Albury, but travelling twice during the week to Melbourne for training, as well as once on the weekend.
"My work helps me out, letting me have the time off I need if I have to head down for a day," he praised.
While he will miss Lavington's away game against Albury on Saturday, Willis has played enough for the Panthers to realise how close they are to toppling a host of teams.
Lavington lost six of its 16 games last year by 10 points or less and has now lost its two matches by two goals or less.
"It's definitely frustrating in parts, but I'd say it's exciting too because we've got a very young team, so it's exciting for the future, but it's also frustrating putting together three-quarters of footy as we have against 'Yarra' and Raiders, but there's just that one quarter where we don't play our best," he offered.
The Panthers will have another youngster in Ryder Corrigan, who made the AFL under 16 All-Australian team last year, but there's also more experience in Ben Ashley-Cooper, who's on Sydney Swans' VFL list and has recovered from a hamstring complaint.
In other selection news, Jackson Clarke will play his first senior game in nine months at home against Wodonga.
Clarke suffered a serious foot injury last July, but made his comeback with a best on ground performance in the Pies' reserve grade win over North Albury last Saturday.
The seniors suffered a shock loss to the Hoppers, so they have to beat the Bulldogs in the night game to avoid a 0-3 start.
That match starts at 6pm.
Elsewhere, Wodonga Raiders are home to Wangaratta Rovers, Corowa-Rutherglen hosts North, while Yarrawonga is away to Myrtleford.
