BY NATHAN DOLE
Wedderburn tries to rein in Bulls
WEDDERBURN will try to rein in the Birchip-Watchem Bulls in Saturday’s 16th round of the Goldacres North Central senior footy season.
Huge task for the Tom Metherell-coached Redbacks on the Bulls’ turf at Birchip’s George Cartwright Oval.
The showdown between the Bulls and Redbacks starts at 2.30pm.
A record of 12 wins, one defeat and one draw has put the Trevor Ryan-coached Bulls back on top of the ladder.
Wedderburn starts the day’s play in fourth place, but just two premiership points in front of Nullawil.
When the Redbacks and Bulls met in round seven a great match ended in an 82-all draw at Wedderburn’s Donaldson Park.
Birchip-Watchem marked a 38-point win at Boort last round as Wedderburn defeated Wycheproof-Narraport by 27 points.
Bulls’ star Ben Edwards has kicked 83 goals in 14 matches.
Best in the win at Boort were Nicholas Rippon, Patrick Veszpremi, Hamish Hosking and Daniel Bell.
The Birchip-Watchem squad includes Ty Colbert, Lachy Foott, Darcy Reid and Sam Simmons.
After kicking six goals last Saturday, Oscar Holt looms as a big threat to the Bulls’ defence.
Other key players in the red and black include Tom Campbell, Jordan Hargreaves, Joe Lockhart, Jackson McEwen, Adam Postle and Jacob DeAraugo.
Nullawil will be back on home turf to tackle Boort.
In round seven the Darryl Wilson-coached Nullawil won at Boort Park by nine points.
The Maroons charged to a 143-point win at Charlton last Saturday as Adam Thomson kicked six goals in a best afield performance.
Nullawil’s best in win number seven were Ben Brennan, Andrew Casey, Sol Kelly, Andrew Oberdorfer and Matt Wade.
The Dale Cameron-coached Boort will be determined to mark an upset victory.
Key players in the Magpies’ squad include James and Keiren Wilson, Jhye Baddeley Kelly, Jarrod Fitzpatrick, James Keeble, Jarrod Starr and Natnael McLaren.
Donald is at home to play Charlton.
The Josh Potter-coached Donald played brilliant footy to mark a one-point win at Sea Lake last round.
A record of eight wins, four defeats and a draw has Donald in third place in the premiership race.
Donald’s line-up to take on Charlton includes Ryley Barrack, Andrew Browne, Logan Geddes, Trent Grant, Jamie Papalia and Jesse Wallin.
Will be another huge test for Charlton on the Royals’ ground.
Players to watch for the Navies include coach Mitch Collins, Chris Gavaghan, Patrick Soulsby, Sean O’Connor, Tyler Fehsler and Kade Blow.
St Arnaud is up against a Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers line-up stung by just its second defeat of the season.
The Scott Driscoll-coached Saints will be working hard on their turf at Lord Nelson Park to limit the amount of scoring chances the SLN line-up creates.
St Arnaud will look for big games from the likes of Mitch Egan, Torin Petrie, Kurtis Torney, Harley and Bailey Durward, Mitch Birthisel and Jake Hicks.
A powerful attack for Sea Lake Nandaly includes former Adelaide and Geelong key forward Josh Jenkins teaming up with co-coach Billy McInnes, Tyson McKenzie and Lachy McClelland.
Tigers’ captain Ryan O’Sullivan, Kane, Trent and Wade Donnan, and co-coach Bryce Delmenico have played key roles in Sea Lake Nandaly’s sustained success.
Wycheproof-Narraport has the bye.
North Central senior footy ladder:
Birchip-Watchem 209 per cent, 50 points; Sea Lake Nandaly 202, 48; Donald 112, 34; Wedderburn 126, 30; Nullawil 113, 28; Wycheproof-Narraport 86, 22; Boort 82, 22; St Arnaud 38, 4; Charlton 38, 2.
Leading goalkickers:
83 Ben Edwards, Birchip-Watchem.
41 Tom Campbell, Wedderburn.
38 Mitch Farmer, Nullawil.
38 Josh Jenkins, Sea Lake Nandaly.
30 Nicholas Rippon, Birchip-Watchem.
27 Oscar Holt, Wedderburn.
25 Trent Grant, Donald.
24 James Keeble, Boort.
24 Joseph Reid, Birchip-Watchem.
22 Billy McInnes, Sea Lake Nandaly.
21 Jack Exell, Nullawil.
21 Nick Grabowski, Wycheproof-Narraport.
21 Adam Thomson, Nullawil.
19 Ethan Coleman, Boort.
19 Blake Grant, Donald.
19 Tyson McKenzie, Sea Lake Nandaly.
19 Anthony Zelencich, Wedderburn.
17 Rylee Smith, Nullawil.
16 Noah Berry, Donald.
16 Lachy McClelland, Sea Lake Nandaly.
15 Josh Grabowski, Wycheproof-Narraport.
15 Will Simpson, Sea Lake Nandaly.
14 Daniel Bell, Birchip-Watchem.
14 Max Cahoon, Sea Lake Nandaly.
14 Thomas Cox, Sea Lake Nandaly.
14 Wayne Mitrovic, Wycheproof-Narraport.
14 Maysen Murgov, Wycheproof-Narraport.
13 Ty Colbert, Birchip-Watchem.
13 Brody Weir, Sea Lake Nandaly.
12 Will Perryman, Boort.
11 Wade Donnan, Sea Lake Nandaly.
11 Junior Miller, Wedderburn.
11 Torin Petrie, St Arnaud.
10 Jhye Baddeley-Kelly, Boort.
10 Chris Gavaghan, Charlton.
10 Cody Green, Wycheproof-Narraport.
10 Darcy Jackson, Wedderburn.
10 Natnael McLaren, Boort.
10 Jamie Papalia, Donald.
10 Josh Potter, Donald.
10 Tom Potter, Boort.