THEY say the class of the best players is accentuated in the wet.
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And so it proved for the Wagga Tigers on Saturday, whose prime movers overran Leeton-Whitton late to inflict the first loss of the season on the Crows with a 9.13 (67) to 5.8 (38) win at a sodden Robertson Oval.
The Tigers' strong finishes to the second and third quarters, where they kicked two goals deep in time on in each, effectively proved the difference.
The result, plus Ganmain-Grong Grong-Matong's win over Osborne and Mangoplah-Cookardinia United's defeat of Turvey Park, means the top four teams now have a 2-1 record before they play each other in a crucial round next week.
Leeton-Whitton camped themselves inside their attacking 50 metres for a long period in the second quarter, but couldn't find a goal.
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The Tigers made them pay with goals to Luke Gestier and Shaun Campbell, who finished with three, just before the major break to build a 16-point lead.
Leeton-Whitton closed the gap early in the third through a nice finish from Nathan Ryan, but the Tigers again pounced with two late goals to take a three-goal lead at the final change.
Two more early goals in the final quarter from the Tigers sealed the game.
The Crows lost Jayden Lehman (shoulder) and Sam Hopper (knee) in the final term, and were already without many key players including coach Daniel Muir, John Spina, Bryce O'Garey, Lucas Meline and Coopa Steele.
Muir said he expects all of those players to return against Ganmain-Grong Grong-Matong this week.
He said the Crows didn't take their chances when they needed too late in the second and third terms.
