Wangaratta coach Ben Reid says powerhouse Jackson Clarke is coming off his best game of the season and will only improve in the Ovens and Murray Football League.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Clarke is now five games back after missing the second half of last year with a serious foot injury and his 26 touches in the win over Corowa-Rutherglen on Saturday, including a second match-high 13 scoring involvements, augurs well for the Pies.
"He got us going in the midfield at the start of the second quarter," Reid revealed.
"He's been building, he didn't have a pre-season and when you don't have a pre-season, it's pretty hard to jump into it.
"He just looked like he was covering the ground a lot better, which was a real highlight for us, he'll keep getting better and better."
Clarke played VFL under former Corowa-Rutherglen coach Peter German at Coburg, but his hopes of continuing at the state level with Essendon were derailed by COVID.
He was dynamic on his return to the Pies in 2022 and was in scintillating form against Yarrawonga last year, prior to the injury.
On the injury front, team-mate Michael Newton was forced off against the Roos with a calf complaint.
Meanwhile, Wodonga coach Jarrod Twitt has praised forward Noah Spiteri's goal sense after his match-winning four majors against Wangaratta Rovers on Saturday.
"He does that kick (around the corner) better than his usual ones, he's a natural forward and I think he certainly plays more physical than he's given credit for, he cops a lot and we challenged him on that as the season wears on, but he's responded to that and won't need a lot of touches to hurt sides," he said.
On a windy day where only 13 goals were kicked, the 187cm, 70kg Spiteri kicked half his team's majors.
He's now kicked 17 goals in his six games and admits his football has improved since he made it the priority over soccer.
"No disrespect to soccer pre-seasons, but you don't work as hard, you're not slogging it out in November, so I'm fitter and able to run out games longer," he offered.
Spiteri is one of the league's most accurate players in opportunistic situations.
"Around the corner I'm pretty confident, I've done it pretty much with dad (Mick) growing up, we always had a footy in the backyard," he suggested.
"I then went to soccer about nine and it was natural kicking around the corner, even when I drop punt, I kick it slightly around the corner."
And it's been revealed James McQuillan addressed Albury's playing group, prior to the Tigers' shock win over premiers Yarrawonga on Saturday.
McQuillian suffered a serious spinal cord injury playing for Albury in April, 2014 and was diagnosed with quadriplegia.
"James mentioned what the club meant to him, putting the jumper on and we all put the footy jumper on at the same time before we ran out, all our past players were in the room and it created a great feel," co-coach Shaun Daly explained.
Albury hosted its 2014 premiership reunion against Yarrawonga and that grand final win, given McQuillan's injury, sparked emotional scenes you rarely see on a sporting field.
Those 2014 premiership players also sang the team song after a pulsating clash.
"It was a great day for the footy club and to have the guys back and to win by a point against the best team in the comp, there's really good scenes at the moment," Daly added.
