Wangaratta Rovers have bolstered their big man stocks, signing former player Ed Dayman just before the June 30 clearance cutoff.
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Talented ruckman Will Christie has been sidelined with a foot injury since the away game against Yarrawonga on June 8.
"Regardless of Will's situation, we needed another big man and we've been speaking to Ed about next year, but the timing has worked out well," coach Sam Murray explained.
"Ocean Grove has been very supportive, which we appreciate, and it's good to get Ed back.
"He's put on a lot of size, he's looking really good and matured a lot."
Dayman debuted for Rovers at senior level as a teenager in 2017 and played alongside Murray in the COVID-shortened 2021 season.
He then joined AFL Barwon outfit Ocean Grove.
Dayman showed tremendous potential in the O and M and recently produced a game for Ocean Grove where he recorded a Premier Data Ranking Points score of 250.
To highlight how dominant that is, Wodonga Raiders' superstar Cam Ellis-Yolmen was judged the best player against Albury in the Ovens and Murray League last Saturday with a RP of 172.
He had 35 touches and 25 contested possessions.
Unfortunately, Dayman hasn't played since May 25 with an ankle complaint.
"We expect that will keep him out for the next two to three weeks," Murray offered.
The Hawks' mentor is hopeful Christie's injury won't stop him playing again this season.
Rovers haven't won a premiership in 30 years, but are ideally situated to finish in the top three with seven rounds left.
The Hawks hold down second spot, three wins ahead of Wangaratta, Albury and Wodonga.
Yarrawonga leads the competition, a win ahead of Rovers.
Given the extremely tight and unpredictable nature of the competition, it's difficult to tip some games with any confidence, but a potential fascinating scenario emerged after Saturday's round 11.
The O and M could be facing extremely rare double-barrelled local derbies in the first week of finals.
Wangaratta still trails third-placed North Albury by a win, but many pundits now expect the Pies, who have won six of their last seven games, to leapfrog the Hoppers and claim third, potentially setting up a clash against arch-rivals Rovers in the qualifying final.
Quite remarkably, the neighbours haven't contested a final since 1989.
Of course, Rovers will still believe they can grab top spot, while North will justifiably argue the same over a top three finish.
However, if North does fall out of the top three, it remains the early favourite to play Albury in the elimination final.
But, again, Wodonga and Lavington, which is a win behind the grouping of Wangaratta, Albury and Wodonga, will be just as confident of jumping into the top five.
The most pleasing aspect of the O and M is, despite all the speculation of what might happen, we might not know until after the final round.
