BY NATHAN DOLE
Donald tries to halt Birchip-Watchem’s charge
DONALD will try to stop the rampant Birchip-Watchem Bulls in Saturday’s round 11 action in the Goldacres North Central senior footy season.
The Royals will be on home their turf at Donald to tackle the unbeaten ladder leaders from 2.30pm.
When these clubs met in round two it was the Trevor Ryan-coached Bulls who dominated play at George Cartwright Oval to mark a 102-28 victory.
The Josh Potter-coached Donald goes into this round in third place with a record of six wins, a draw, two defeats.
Crucial roles will be played by Donald on-ballers Ryley Barrack and Ross Young.
Massive test for the Royals defence against the in-form Ben Edwards and Nicholas Rippon.
Donald’s team for this contest includes Hayden Geddes, Blake Grant, Noah Berry, Jamie Papalia, Jesse Wallin and Andrew Browne.
Best for the Bulls in last Saturday’s 100-plus point win against Nullawil included ruckman Hamish Hosking, Darcy and Joseph Reid, and Angus Butterfield.
The Birchip-Watchem squad includes Meyrick Buchanan, Ty Colbert, Lachy Foott, Sam Simmons and Lochlan Sirett.
Back on the fourth rung, Wedderburn faces a huge task on its turf at Donaldson Park against Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers.
A great battle between the Redbacks and Tigers in round two ended in a 16-point win for Sea Lake Nandaly.
Wedderburn coach Tom Metherell will have spent plenty of time working on ways to combat the impact of Tigers’ star forward Josh Jenkins who played at AFL level with Adelaide and Geelong.
The Redbacks’ attack is brilliantly led by Tom Campbell and Oscar Holt.
Wedderburn will also look for big games from Jackson McEwen, Jacob DeAraugo, Noah Furlong, Michael Zelencich and Jordan Hargreaves.
A Tigers’ line-up jointly coached by Billy McInnes and Bryce Delmenico has plenty of scoring power.
Jenkins is the number one target for the yellow and black, but also has strong support from the likes of McInnes, Lachy McClelland and Tyson McKenzie.
Players to watch for SLN include Kane and Wade Donnan, captain Ryan O’Sullivan, Max Cahoon, Brody Weir and Will Simpson.
After a rest, Charlton will be back at Charlton Park to take on Boort.
In round two it was Boort which beat the Navies by 45 points.
Been a tough run for the Mitch Collins-coached Charlton.
Maintaining a high level of defensive pressure and winning a quarter or two will be a goal for the Navies.
The play of Chris Gavaghan, Patrick Soulsby, Jackson Zagame, Mason Heenan, Kade Blow and Thomas Finlay will be crucial in achieving a breakthrough victory.
A Boort line-up coached by Dale Cameron has a chance to jump another rung or possibly two on the ladder.
Best for the Magpies against Sea Lake Nandaly last round were Tom Potter, Jayden Dick, Matt Austin and Ryan McGhie.
Boort’s squad includes Ethan, Jacob and Malachi Coleman, Keiren Wilson, Will Perryman and Jarrod Starr.
St Arnaud will be on home turf at Lord Nelson Park against Wycheproof-Narraport.
Both teams are on the rebound from defeat.
A high-scoring match between the Saints and Demons in round two ended in a 50-point win for Wycheproof-Narraport.
The Scott Driscoll-coached Saints were overrun in the second half of last Saturday’s match at Wedderburn.
Best for St Arnaud in that match included Thomas Bertalli, Mitch Birthisel, Harley Durward, Brayden and Zac Phillips.
The Wayne Mitrovic-coached Demons could move back to fourth place by 5pm on Saturday.
Key players for Wycheproof-Narraport include Josh and Nick Graboswki, Koby Hommelhoff, Boe Bish, Spencer Allan, Josh Walsh, George Turner and Maysen Murgov.
Nullawil has the bye.
North Central senior footy ladder:
Birchip-Watchem 208 per cent, 34 points; Sea Lake Nandaly 218, 32; Donald 122, 26; Wedderburn 120, 18; Wycheproof-Narraport 93, 16; Nullawil 89, 16; Boort 78, 14; St Arnaud 41, 4; Charlton 41, 0.
Leading goalkickers:
57 Ben Edwards, Birchip-Watchem.
28 Mitch Farmer, Nullawil.
28 Josh Jenkins, Sea Lake Nandaly.
27 Tom Campbell, Wedderburn.
26 Nicholas Rippon, Birchip-Watchem.
25 Trent Grant, Donald.
21 Jack Exell, Nullawil.
20 Billy McInnes, Sea Lake Nandaly.
19 Anthony Zelencich, Wedderburn.
18 Nicholas Grabowski, Wycheproof-Narraport.
18 James Keeble, Boort.
18 Joseph Reid, Birchip-Watchem.
15 Oscar Holt, Wedderburn.
13 Ethan Coleman, Boort.
13 Blake Grant, Donald.
12 Ty Colbert, Birchip-Watchem.
12 Tyson McKenzie, Sea Lake Nandaly.
12 Lachy McClelland, Sea Lake Nandaly.
11 Noah Berry, Donald.
11 Will Simpson, Sea Lake Nandaly.
10 Daniel Bell, Birchip-Watchem.
10 Darcy Jackson, Wedderburn.
10 Will Perryman, Boort.
10 Rylee Smith, Nullawil.