IT’S a fight between North Bendigo and Colbinabbin this Saturday to qualify for the Bendigo Bank Heathcote DFNL senior footy grand final.
The Bulldogs and Grasshoppers will contest the preliminary final in Elmore from 2.15pm.
Winner advances to a grand final showdown with Mount Pleasant at Huntly’s Strauch Reserve.
North Bendigo won both contests with Colbinabbin in the home-and-away series by 22 and 24 points.
A Bulldogs team coached by Rob Bennett, non-playing, and Ryan Hartley, playing, was beaten just once in the run to the finals.
The team to break the Bulldogs’ streak was Mount Pleasant which also won last Saturday’s second semi-final with North Bendigo by a goal.
The Linton Jacobs-coached Colbinabbin bounced back from a qualifying loss to Mount Pleasant to win the first semi against the Harlowe Huntly Hawks by 14 points.
There will be many crucial match-ups in the preliminary final.
A strong Bulldogs’ attack includes Jake Dean and Dylan Klemm.
North Bendigo also regains the athletic Cody Riddick from a leg injury to play across half-forward or closer to goal.
Billy Robertson will also play his first senior match since round five.
Able to play across half-back or midfield, Robertson’s comeback match was in the reserves second semi-final.
A highlight of Saturday’s match will be in the ruck where Bulldogs’ gun recruit Jordan Hargreaves takes on Brandyn Grenfell.
It was Grenfell who is also a huge threat inside the forward 50m arc who played a crucial role in Colbinabbin’s first semi-final victory.
The Grasshoppers also have the height and marking power of Hadleigh Sirett to play in attack or ruck.
A key to North Bendigo’s play is the run and skill of Nic Waterson, Ryan Gillingham, Bailey Cain and Liam Dillon.
The Bulldogs also have the experience of captain Aaryn Craig, Ryan Alford, Matt Ford, Tyson Findlay and Matt Gray.
Big roles for Colbinabbin will be played by captain Will Lowe as ruck-rover, Nathan Basile as rover, Jude Ryan in the centre, Alex Carr and Nick Knight in attack.
The green and gold also has Isaac Carracher, Jai Carn, Daniel Hill and Connor Aldous capable of setting up their team’s moves or nullifying opposition attacks.
In the reserves competition, North Bendigo takes on the Harlowe Huntly Hawks from noon.
Unbeaten in the 16-round home-and-away series, North Bendigo was outplayed by Mount Pleasant in the second semi-final.
The Blues raced to a 31-13 lead by quarter-time and had all the answers on the way to a 77-40 victory.
The Bulldogs beat Huntly by 29 points in the fourth round at Bendigo Club Oval in North Bendigo’s Atkins Street.
The round 13 match went the way of the Dogs, 47-28 at Huntly’s Strauch Reserve.
Huntly bounced back from a 55-point loss to Mount Pleasant in the qualifying final to score a 69-47 victory against Lockington Bamawm United in last Sunday’s first semi-final.
The Bulldogs’ squad for the preliminary final includes captain Jack Towers, Josh and Nathan Newlan, Callum Tardrew, Manny Thalasinos, Zaidyen Richards, Jeremy Lambden and Jack Pysing.
Huntly will look for big games from the likes of captain Thomas Kairn, Daniel Artavilla, Lachie Ross, Brad Chalmers, Jack Daley, Judd Gilchrist, Nathan Grace, Jameson Barber, and Lachlan and Toby Brook.
Preliminary final day kicks off with the under-18s clash between White Hills and Lockington Bamawm United at 9.45am.
It was one-all in their meetings across the home-and-away series.
The LBU Cats charged to a 50-34 win against White Hills in round nine at Lockington’s Nichol Trading Oval.
The Demons fired up for a 76-35 win against LBU in the Scott Street den in the 18th round.
White Hills kicked off its finals campaign by scoring a 62-39 win against Heathcote in the qualifying final.
The Cats marked a 90-57 victory to put Mount Pleasant out of the premiership race.
Last Saturday the Demons faced the unbeaten North Bendigo in the second semi-final.
The Bulldogs led 30-28 at three quarter-time and then scored three goals in the last to complete a 51-28 victory.
Best for White Hills were Tamba Basha, Finn Millar, Will Malone and Dustin Crawford.
The Demons’ team to tackle the Cats includes captain Noah Jorgensen-Slimmon, Jackson Lowery, Tom Kuchel, Harry and Max Miller, and Patrick Conlan.
Lockington Bamawm United dominated the first semi-final against Heathcote.
James Brentnall kicked five goals and was best afield in the 106-42 victory.
The Cats had Flynn Carr slot four goals and captain Nicholas Mitchell kicked three.
Axel Dixon, Zac Somerville, Ted Voss and Flynn Carr are in-form players for the LBU Cats.