THE Goldacres North Central FNL marks All Cancers Awareness Round across this Saturday’s footy, netball and hockey action.
On the senior footy front it’s the unbeaten Wedderburn up against reigning premier Calder United at Wedderburn’s Donaldson Park.
The showdown between the Redbacks and Lions starts at 2.30pm.
When these clubs met in round one it was Wedderburn which marked a 67-45 victory at Nullawil.
Since then the Tom Metherell-coached Redbacks have gone on an unbeaten streak of six matches.
Wedderburn faces a huge test against the third-placed Lions who will be determined to bounce back from a 28-point loss at Sea Lake.
Latest hit-out for Wedderburn ended in a 39-point win on St Arnaud’s turf at Lord Nelson Park.
In-form players for the Redbacks include Noah Furlong, Mitch McEwen, Corey Lowry and Zach Pallpratt.
Wedderburn’s defence faces a strong attack led by Steven Stroobants, Dale Pearce and Rylee Smith.
Key players for the Redbacks include Tyler Curtis, captain Jackson McEwen, Adam Postle and Danny Benaim.
The Lions are jointly coached by Jordan Humphreys and Tom Bickley.
Calder United will look to Boe Bish, Jordan Hughes, Justin Laird, Oscar Madden and Dean Putt to lead the way to victory.
Another big match will be at Birchip’s George Cartwright Oval where Birchip-Watchem takes on Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers.
In round one the Tigers beat the Bulls by 31 points.
Runner-up last season, Birchip-Watchem is in fourth place, but just a win ahead of Donald after last Saturday’s 64-all draw on Donald’s turf.
Best for the Bulls against the Royal Blues were Joseph Madio, Meyrick Buchanan, Heath Smith and Mac Lewis.
A Birchip-Watchem squad coached by Ash Connick, a premiership-winning coach at Sandhurst includes Ricardo Liparota, Lachy Foott, Dale Hinkley and Will Lee.
Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers has plenty of attacking options.
The Tigers’ win against Calder United included a five-goal haul by Billy McInnes.
Players to watch in the SLN line-up include Max Cahoon, Charlie and Thomas Cox, Kane Donnan, co-coaches Boyd Bailey and Wade Donnan, and former Richmond and North Melbourne forward/mid Robin Nahas.
Boort takes on Donald at Boort Park.
The Andrew Rutley-coached Boort is sixth on a two-five record, but just two points behind Donald.
When these teams met in the season opener it was Donald which marked a 10-point victory.
Key match-ups include Danko Bzenic ruck-roving for Boort against Donald co-coach Daniel Pearce, and Liam Bianco at half-back opposed to Luca Rice.
Best for Boort in last Saturday’s win at Charlton included Carlos Egan and Jack Smith.
The Magpies’ squad for this round includes Keiren Wilson, Kayne and Tyson Rutley, Connor Dalgleish and Carlos Egan.
Was a superb effort by Donald to fight for a draw against Birchip-Watchem.
Best for the Royals in that match included Bill Sam, Pala Kuma and Blake Grant.
Key roles will be played by Charlie Campbell in the ruck, Cooper Mackenzie-George and Thomas Reekie in attack, Harry Forrest and Parker Sneddon in defence.
Donald has Matt Walder in a co-coaching role.
It’s the Saints against the Navies as St Arnaud faces Charlton at Lord Nelson Park.
In round one the Saints won on Charlton’s turf by 118 points.
Both teams are on the rebound from defeat.
Was a tough hit-out for the Saints against Wedderburn in which Sean Holroyd, Harley Durward, Mitch Egan and Nick Maishman were best.
A St Arnaud squad coached by Harley Durward and Darby Schilder includes Max Hungerford, Jackson Needs, Torin Petrie and Max Witherden.
Charlton will have gained a lot of confidence from scoring 82 points against Boort.
Previous best for the Navies this season was 31 at Donald in round three.
Among the changes for Charlton this week are Brownlow medallist and Collingwood gun Dane Swan, and Golden Square and Mount Pleasant premiership winner Adam Baird being out.
The Carl Thiesz-coached Charlton is also without James Magner who kicked six goals against the Magpies.
Players to watch for the Navies include Bailey Hooper-Dixon, Ben Lanyon, Jake Lawry, Billy Sexton and Jed Thompson.
North Central senior footy ladder:
Wedderburn 253 per cent, 28 points; Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers 244, 24; Calder United Lions 178, 20; Birchip-Watchem 135, 12; Donald 89, 12; Boort 68 , 8; St Arnaud 66, 8; Charlton 16, 0.
Leaders in the goalkicking race:
36 Max Cahoon, SLN; Steven Stroobants, CUL.
29 Dale Pearce, CUL.
28 Matt Perri, W.
20 Ricardo Liparota, BW.
19 Joseph Reid, BW.
18 Ashley Reed, D.
14 Lachy McClelland, SLN.
13 Kayne Rutley, B.
12 Tyler Curtis, W.
11 Thomas Cox, SLN; Max Hungerford, SA; Rylee Smith, CUL.