A DEPLETED Myrtleford outfit came agonisingly short of a huge upset at Bunton Park on Saturday, falling at the final hurdle against flag contenders North Albury. The Saints were in front on the scoreboard at each of the first three breaks, but the Hoppers seized control late to hand the visitors a loss 10.5 (65) to 10.14 (74). With a handful of changes to the crew who stunned reigning premiers Rovers, it was scrappy early, but concerted efforts in the middle and goals to Toby Cossor, Ned Turner and Brody Ricardi saw the Saints take a narrow lead into quarter time. Myrtleford found the ascendancy though the middle of the ground and capitalised on the scoreboard, but only led by 10 points at the major break, and held just a nine-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. In the end, it would be North Albury’s day, with the Hoppers kicking three of the last four goals and having seven other scoring shots to snare the win by nine points. Myrtleford coach Craig Millar said while it was disappointing they weren’t table to walk away from Bunton Park with the four premiership points, they were able to walk with their heads held high. “They just got going at some critical moments in the last quarter, and we ran out of puff,” he said. “I was really proud of our effort, I thought some of our players played exceptional games, but we just unfortunately made some critical errors at critical times. “Good teams make you pay, and that’s what they made us do.” Simon Curtis played a game for the ages, racking up 41 disposals, 19 contested possessions, six inside 50s and a goal in a dominant display across half back and through the guts. Austin Wickes played a nullifying role on Hoppers coach Tim Broomhead to great success, while defenders Brady Sharp and Riley Calvene fought hard all day against some of the best forwards in the competition. “It’s nearly the best individual game I’ve seen a player play, Simon was just extraordinary,” Millar said. “Jaxon East’s played some good games, Mitch Dalbosco and these guys have played some really good games, but he was just everywhere, intercepting everything, his ball use is a real feature of his game. “Jaxon East basically didn’t train all week because he had the flu, but I thought he battled on bravely. “’Aussie’ Wickes did a super job on Tim Broomhead, I think it’s his lowest possessions and ranking points in the time we’ve had Tim in the competition, he was outstanding.” The Saints will look to right the ship when they return home to McNamara Reserve this weekend, hosting a languishing Wodonga Raiders outfit. The Raiders haven’t won a game of senior footy since 1 June 2024, but will be eyeing off the Saints as a potential upset scalp. With up to six players set to return to the senior side, including livewire forward Lachlan Murphy-Dale who has been out recovering from an injury sustained in round two, the Saints will be up and about. In other grades from the weekend, Myrtleford’s reserves suffered their first loss of the season, downed 5.10 (40) to 9.10 (64) to fall to second on the ladder, while the thirds went down by 41 points. Meanwhile, the A grade netballers succumbed to their sixth loss of the season, downed 45-50 by the Hoppers. The junior Saints flew the flag, with the under 17s winning 38-35 and the under 15s taking the points 52-42, while B grade (27-36) and C grade (40-42) were both edged out.
