CHARLTON and St Arnaud will be desperate to end their winless streak when they meet in Saturday’s sixth round of the Goldacres North Central Football League.
It’s also Community Umpiring Round in the NCFL after last week’s general bye in football and netball because of state hockey championships.
On the footy field, Charlton hosts St Arnaud at Charlton Park.
It’s been a tough run for the Andy Nisbet-coached Navies.
After a one-point loss at home to Boort in round three, Charlton went down to Donald and then Birchip Watchem by margins of 149 and 85 points.
In both of those matches, Charlton was held to three and six goals.
Generating more scoring chances will be a key to the Navies winning this contest with the Saints.
Key players for Charlton include Thomas Finlay, Tim Hill, Patrick Soulsby and Rhys Thompson.
The attack in the clash with Donald was led by Charles Patullo on two goals.
The Navies will also look for big games from the likes of key forwards Anthony Judd and Kris Clifford, Aaron Walklate on a wing, and ruck-rover Kade Blow.
St Arnaud’s best against Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers were William Bertalli, Ben Batters, Jake Hicks and Daniel Gifford.
Josh Hicks has kicked goals in four of the Saints’ five matches.
St Arnaud coach Torin Petrie will be urging there be more dare from a midfield and on-ball division that includes Mitch Egan, Kurtis Torney, Jacob Tillig, Mitch Birthisel and Joe Pickthall.
Match of the day status goes to Donald and Wedderburn on the Royal Blues’ turf at Donald Recreation Reserve.
The Royals won their fifth-round match at Wycheproof by 49 points as Brody Haddow kicked three goals and Will Burke added two.
A powerful Donald line-up includes Josh Potter at centre half-forward, Ryley Barrack in defence, Ross Young and Rian McGough in midfield, and Seamus Young in attack.
Wedderburn has a forward line to trouble the Royals.
Tom Campbell and Jordan Rosengren both kicked four goals in the Redbacks’ win at Boort Park.
An Achilles injury to key forward Ben DeAraugo is a huge blow, but Wedderburn still has Danny Benaim, Isaac and Luke Holt capable of doing plenty of damage in the forward 50m arc.
Best for the Redbacks against the Magpies were Jackson Guan at half-back, Jayden Jones on a wing, Tom Campbell, and Tyson Webster in defence.
It’s the clash of the hyphens as Birchip-Watchem takes on Wycheproof-Narraport at George Cartwright Oval in Birchip.
The Bulls won the match at Charlton, 125 to 40 as Will Sheahan, six goals, and Daniel Castellano, four, were in top form.
Key players for the Trevor Ryan-coached Bulls include ruckman Locky Sirett, Dale Hinkley, Marshall Rippon, Stefan Pye and Sam Simmons.
Wycheproof-Narraport worked hard to be within 13 points of Donald at half-time, before the Royals added 8.8 to 3.2 in the final hour.
Best for the Boe Bish-coached Demons in that match were ruckman Lachlan Van Schaik, Damien Horbury at centre half-forward, Joe Kenny at half-back, and Samuel Faure.
The play of Gedd Hommelhoff, Justin Bateson, Cody Green and James Coatsworth will be crucial to the Demons keeping the heat high every quarter.
Just how to stop Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers’ gun forward Billy McInnes will have taken up a lot of the pre-match planning by Boort coach Andy Hawker.
The Magpies take on the Tigers at Boort Park.
McInnes kicked seven goals in the Tigers’ win against St Arnaud and has a season tally of 28.
A powerful Sea Lake Nandaly attack includes Will Simpson, Matt Elliot, Cooper Roberts and John Summerhayes.
Gun ruckman Ryan O’Sullivan was best afield in the Tigers’ latest win as Austin Mertz and Trent Donnan also starred.
It’s another massive test for a Boort defence led by James and Keiren Wilson, Pat Bogers and Tom Potter.
Levi Moss kicked three goals for the Magpies against Wedderburn as Cody Gunn and Keanu Padula chipped in with two each.
Players to watch for Boort include ruck-rover Matt Chisari, rover Sam Green, ruckman Jesse Muscatello, Darcy Hawker, and the experienced Ben Knight and Brodie Leonard-Shannon.
North Central FL senior footy ladder:
Donald 329 per cent, 20 points; Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers 429, 16; Birchip Watchem 218, 16; Wedderburn 161, 16; Wycheproof-Narraport 58, 8; Boort 49, 4; Charlton 29, 0; St Arnaud 28, 0.
Leading goalkickers:
28 Billy McInnes, SLN.
18 William Sheahan, BW.
16 Daniel Castellano, BW.
15 Tom Campbell, W’burn; Jordan Rosengren, W’burn.
14 Danny Benaim, W’burn.
13 Blake Grant, D; Justin Ellis, SLN.
10 Leigh Burke, D.
9 Ben DeAraguo, W’burn; Cody Green, WN; Riely Thiesz, C.
8 Joshua Hicks, SA; Elliot Jaeschke, BW; Josh Potter, D; Will Simpson, SLN.
7 Dylan Adkins, BW; Brody Haddow, D; Jaran McKay, W’burn.
6 Will Burke, D; Matt Elliott, SLN; Brodie Leonard-Shannon, B; Ross Young, D.
Written by Nathan Dole.