Lavington hang tough to defeat Wangaratta by five goals in Ovens and Murray netball

The Panthers have now beaten both of last season's grand finalists in their last three games, having taken down Yarrawonga in round 14, but coach Linda Charlton felt this victory was even sweeter.

In tough conditions and against a hard-nosed opponent, Lavington prevailed 39-34 to make it six straight wins and enhance their prospects of securing the double chance.

"I feel like we're coming together right when it matters," Charlton said.

"Our second half of the season has been much stronger and the team has really gelled, which we struggled with a bit last year - getting everyone to know and buy into their role.

"I think having that difficult start to the season actually helped us gel together because we knew we didn't want to play like that so we've all stepped up the work-rate.

"If you have had a few disappointing losses, it does feel so much better when you get the wins when you need them.

"Against Wang was particularly important; the Yarra game was a great win for us but everything seemed to go our way on that day - Yarra probably didn't have their best game - but it wasn't like that against Wang.

"We really had to grind out the win so that's why it was pretty satisfying."

The Panthers are now just a win behind second-placed Wangaratta and level on points with Wodonga Raiders, who they face in a crunch match this weekend.

Charlton praised their durability in getting the job done at Lavington Sports Ground.

"Wang are a fantastic side, we rate them really highly," Charlton said.

"They play the game really well so to get a win over them, we were really pleased.

"It was wet and scrappy, a really hard-fought game and I thought it might be really high-scoring because both teams have really dominant shooters but it was actually really defensive.

"The defensive pressure was really elite from both teams so I thought we did really well to keep our heads.

"Wang are a quality side, they're never going to let you get a lead and run away with it, so we knew they'd keep coming at us.

"For our players to keep their heads out there, not everything went our way but they were able to keep steady and bring home the win so we were delighted."

Tayla Furborough continued her sensational season with another fine display in goal-defence and Maddi Lloyd got through a mountain of work in setting up Lavington's attack end.

Goal-shooter Christine Oguche again provided a fantastic target in the circle, coming through a physical battle to score 37 goals.

"We've had a focus for quite a while now about defensive pressure and all seven players contributing defensively and that's been paying dividends for us," Charlton said.

North Albury produced the upset of the day, winning 51-26 away to Myrtleford, while Raiders edged out Albury 45-43 in a thriller at Birallee Park.

The day's other game saw Wangaratta Rovers beaten 47-29 at home by Wodonga.

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