James Virgili scored a few minutes either side of halftime to give Jaffas a 2-0 win over second-last Lakes at Blacksmiths Oval on Wednesday night. The result lifted fourth-placed Jaffas to 26 points, equal with Broadmeadow and three behind leaders Charlestown and Maitland, with two games in hand on the top seven.

It came three days after Lambton lost 2-1 to a last-gasp free kick from Valentine at the same venue, which has been used instead of home ground Edden Oval because of the wet weather.

With defenders Josh Piddington (injured), Luke Virgili and Reece Papas (suspended) out, Jaffas fielded a makeshift back-line against Lakes and coach Shane Pryce was glad to still get away relatively unscathed with the points.

"It was good to bounce back from the loss," Pryce said. "It was a decent performance from us."

Rooke, who has five goals this season, came off in the first half with a hamstring problem but Pryce believed the injury could sideline him for only one to two weeks.

That will still be a blow for Jaffas, given their busy schedule and Rooke's importance to their side. They back up on Saturday against Cooks Hill at Edden Oval in round 20 before a midweek catch-up with Valentine at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility.

On Wednesday night, Bren Hammel returned after time away to fill in at the back alongside Nathan Verity, Matt Hoole and Luke Remington. Centre-back options Luke Virgili and Papas will return on Saturday, but Piddington could miss the rest of the season.

"Nothing against Lakes, but if you put that [back-line] out against a better side, you might be found out a bit more," Pryce said.

"They had a few chances, but we controlled the game to a point and missed a few chances we should have taken, but a win's a win."

Virgili scored with a one-on-one chance in the 43^rd minute after a turnover in the Lakes defence. He doubled the lead in the 47^th with a deflected strike over the keeper.

MORE IN SPORT:

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: