BY NATHAN DOLE
THE showdown between Birchip-Watchem and Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers highlights this Saturday’s 11th round in the Goldacres North Central FNL senior footy action.
The Bulls are on home turf at George Cartwright Oval in Birchip to take on the unbeaten Tigers.
A goal separated these teams when Sea Lake Nandaly won in round two.
Both line-ups are in great form.
Birchip-Watchem won last Saturday’s match at Nullawil by a goal as the Tigers scored a 56-point win at home against Boort.
Key players for the Trevor Ryan-coached Bulls include Jos Builder, captain Dale Hinkley, Ben Hogan, Marshall and Nicholas Rippon.
Birchip-Watchem’s defence will be up against the likes of former Adelaide and Geelong forward Josh Jenkins, Tigers’ co-coach Billy McInnes, Thomas Cox and Will Simpson.
Other players to watch for the yellow and black are ruckman Ryan O’Sullivan, co-coach Bryce Delmenico, and Kane, Trent and Wade Donnan.
Another big match will be at Wedderburn’s Donaldson Park where the Redbacks take on Wycheproof-Narraport.
A crucial contest for the Sam Barnes-coached Wedderburn which starts the day on 16 premiership points and in sixth place.
Wycheproof-Narraport is fifth on 18 points.
The round two showdown between these clubs ended in a 39-point win for the Boe Bish-coached Wycheproof-Narraport.
The Demons are on a 32-point loss to Donald, while Wedderburn won by 26 points at Charlton.
Key players for Wedderburn include Tom Campbell, Jordan Hargreaves, Danny Benaim, and Isaac, Luke and Rhordan Holt.
Wycheproof-Narraport will look for big games from the likes of Gedd and Koby Hommelhoff, Joel Turner, Josh Walsh and Lachlan Van Schaik.
The Demons have also named former North Melbourne forward Corey Jones for his third match of the season.
Jones kicked three goals against St Arnaud in the fifth round.
Boort and Charlton clash at Boort Park.
The Dale Cameron-coached Boort won at Charlton by 83 points in round two.
Boort’s best in last Saturday’s defeat at Sea Lake were Ryan McGhie, Jack Smith, Alex Davis and Nathan Twigg.
The Andy Nevins-coached Charlton has played some terrific quarters at times, but battled to put four together in most matches.
Key players for the Navies include Nick Thompson, Chris Gavaghan, Jed Carey, Jed Thompson, Cobi Fitzpatrick and Jackson Zagame.
St Arnaud is on home turf at Lord Nelson Park to take on Nullawil.
In round two the Maroons beat the Saints by 111 points.
Rested by the bye, the Anthony Bourke-coached St Arnaud faces a huge challenge against a Nullawil line-up on the rebound from a six-point loss at home to Birchip-Watchem.
Key players for the Brett Barker-coached Nullawil include Zach Caccavilello, Dean Putt, Adam Thomson, Andrew Casey and Jordan Humphreys.
Donald has the bye.
North Central FNL senior footy ladder:
Sea Lake Nandaly 271 per cent, 36 points; Birchip-Watchem 184, 24; Nullawil 158, 24; Donald 111, 24; Wycheproof-Narraport 89, 18; Wedderburn 96, 16; Boort 95, 14; Charlton 41, 4; St Arnaud 29, 0.
Leaders in the goalkicking race:
43 Sam Dunstan, Donald.
35 Ben Edwards, Birchip-Watchem.
28 Billy McInnes, Sea Lake Nandaly.
28 Adam Thomson, Nullawil.
24 Sam Barnes, Wedderburn.
23 Nathan Gordon, Birchip-Watchem.
21 Tom Campbell, Wedderburn.
21 Gedd Hommelhoff, Wycheproof-Narraport.
20 Daniel Castellano, Birchip-Watchem.
20 Will Simpson, Sea Lake Nandaly.
19 Mitch Farmer, Nullawil.
17 Josh Jenkins, Sea Lake Nandaly.
17 Nicholas Rippon, Birchip-Watchem.
15 Jarrod Fitzpatrick, Boort.
14 Danny Benaim, Wedderburn.
14 Thomas Cox, Sea Lake Nandaly.
14 Cody Green, Wycheproof-Narraport.
14 John Summerhayes, Sea Lake Nandaly.
14 Nick Thompson, Charlton.
12 Ben Fraser, Wycheproof-Narraport.
10 Andrew Casey, Nullawil.
10 Natnael McLaren, Boort.
10 Dean Smith, Nullawil.