The clash between Newstead and Navarre in the Bendigo Bank MCDFNL is a contest that many people have been waiting for as two of the premiership contenders will do battle at Newstead Recreation reserve on Saturday.
Newstead has taken all before it this season and is sitting on top of the ladder undefeated, while Navarre has only lost one game which was to premiership favourite Carisbrook in round 1.
Both teams have been winning quite comfortably, but Newstead has been posting big scores in all of their games. Navarre is very strong defensively with Brent Flood, Tom Kaye and Luke Hendy setting up a lot of forward moves from Half back and it will be a good battle against the forward structure of Newstead with leading goalkicker Daniel Christmas and Tom Reece have proved difficult to curtail so far this season.
Lewis Baker and Daniel Parkin are a formidable onball team and they will have their work cut out against Ethan Ford and Nathan Webster who are both coming off a very good game against Maldon.
Newstead Full Back, Mark Ramsey, will have to be at his best against either Kris Brennan or Zane Bigmore, while Ben Scott is also very dangerous around the goal mouth for the Grasshoppers.
This is expected to be a very tight contest and it is only the home ground advantage that may see Newstead in front at the final siren.
Newstead
B: Zachary Tanner, Joe Park, Ben Krol
HB: Dylan Connor, Liam Bright, Matthew Culvenor
C: Mitchell Williams, Nathan Webster, David Wall
HF: Adam Hunter, Adrian Conn, Andrew Lovett
F: Thomas Reece, Daniel Christmas, Mark Ramsey
R: Jayden Bott, Ethan Ford, Mitchell Gilboy
Int: Niko Cakitaki, Ashley Webster, Courtney Brown, Jonty Entwisle
Emg: Michael Checkley
In: Niko Cakitaki, Dylan Connor, Jonty Entwisle, Ben Krol
Out: Sam Kerr, Andrew Kraulis, Jay Milward
Navarre
B: Jayden Fowkes, Brent Flood, Matt Newton
HB: Tom Kaye, Luke Hendy, Josh Driscoll
C: Bryce Tickner, Brian Lovison, Jeremy Harrington
HF: Nicholas Murphy, Ashley Driscoll, Ben Scott
F: Lewis Baker, Kris Brennan, Zane Bigmore
R: Rhett Murphy, Louis Hannett, Daniel Parkin
Int: Josh Fowkes, Lachlan Slorach, Zach Parry, Jesse Eckel
Emg: Tyler Mc Sparron, Nigel Greenaway, Curtis Bibby
In: Lachlan Slorach, Zach Parry, Matt Newton, Nicholas Murphy, Josh Fowkes
Out: Daniel Reading, Joshua Rathgeber
Royal Park v Dunolly
The clash at Hedges Oval between Royal Park and Dunolly should provide an entertaining game as Dunolly opened their account last round with a good win over Maryborough Rovers and Royal Park who despite being well beaten by Harcourt, showed glimpses of what they are capable of. The Tigers defeated Rovers in the local derby back in Round 3 and this should provided some confidence as they go up against the Eagles on Saturday.
Dunolly has been boosted this season by an influx of Under 18 players who are stepping up at senior level with Justin Laird and Matt Gibbs showing that they will be players of the future with some outstanding form in recent games which will please Coach Tony Bellenger who is also playing well through the middle of the ground.
Royal Park will need to curb Bellenger if they are to get first use of the ball and it should be a good contest with Brendan Birch and Trent Pye who are attracting plenty of the ball for the Tigers.
Royal Park
B: Zack Short, Ben McKay, Ben Clay
HB: Matthew Walker, Laurence Parker, Shane Gray
C: Steven Shovan, Jarrod O'Connor, James Shelton
HF: Hamish Blake, Jayden Humphrey, Tristan Maher
F: Zachary Stewart, Dayne Baker, Jibb Iglesias
R: Dylan McLean, Brendan Birch, Trent Pye
Int: James Collicoat, Sammie Souied, Shaun Collicoat
In: James Collicoat, Ben Clay
Out: Sam Anderson, Matthew Levings, Mitchell Milne
Dunolly
B: Jamie Townsend, Bradley Schodde, Desmond Mollingin
HB: Brett Thomson, Nicholas Manley, Joe Thompson
C: Damian Hughes, Tony Bellenger, Ricky Miler
HF: Dylan Gordois, Paul Edwards, Lee Jackson
F: Brendan Nolan, Graham Crawford, Justin Laird
R: Evan Kovesy, Murphy Longmuir, Jesse Hawkes
Int: Matthew Gibbs, Hayden Wellard, Michael Campbell, Grant Raven
Emg: Luke Schodde, Jason Hunt
In: Desmond Mollingin, Evan Kovesy, Murphy Longmuir, Brendan Nolan, Ricky Miler, Graham Crawford
Out: Cory Collins, David Jackson, Thomas Hanson, James Thomas, Michael Mazzocato
Maldon v Harcourt
It is very rare that Maldon lose at home which happened last round when Newstead defeated the Bombers by a big margin and coach Brett Williams will have his players switched on this week to get back on the winners list when they take on Harcourt at the Bill Woodful Reserve on Saturday.
Harcourt is currently in sixth place on the ladder, just one spot behind Maldon and they have been improving as each week passes. The Lions were unlucky to lose against Lexton in Round 5 with a kick after the siren winning the game for the Tigers, and they had a very good win against Royal Park last round with Jack Douglass proving unstoppable down back and Kyle Mclean getting amongst the goals with six majors.
This promises to be a very good contest as both teams are potential finalists and the winner will set themselves up in the top eight and make it difficult for the teams that are pushing for a spot in the finals.
Maldon
To be selected from:
Nicholas McKnight, Justin Trevan, Wayne Bell, Kel Chaffey-Jones, Thomas Elliott, Mark Webb, Mark Folwell, Matthew Kile, Shaun Burchell, Hayden Kelly, Ryan Dickson, Wayne Burchell, Luke Davey, Jamie Cox, Jake Elliott, Nicholas Kelly, Timothy Conway, Xavier Mawson, Damien Gatti, Tommy Horne, Jacob Fitzpatrick
In: Wayne Burchell, Matthew Kile, Kel Chaffey-Jones, Justin Trevan
Out: David Carroll, Kyle Winstanley, Xavier Teasdale, Josh Pascoe, Marc Carroll
Harcourt
SIde not submitted
LEXTON vs CARISBROOK – TIGERS LOOK TO MAKE THEIR MARK
Lexton will be out to make their mark on the MCDFNL in this week’s round seven match-up with an unbeaten Carisbrook.
The Tigers have been something of a dark horse so far this season, despite dominating the 2012 home-and-away season, and will view Saturday’s cash with the reigning premier as the perfect opportunity to make their mark on season 2013.
Lexton’s biggest strength so far has undoubtedly been its defence, reflected by the selection of Michael Jennings, Jordan Phelan and coach Paul Phillips in the MCDFNL interleague side. This defensive unit has been able to lock down on most opposition forward lines this season, but will have its work cut out against a Carisbrook forward line bursting with goalscoring firepower.
The Tigers will also need to keep wraps on the Redbacks’ potent midfield, and will need to pay special attention to star midfielder Matt Bilton, as well as rising star Nick Wright, who seems to have escaped a lot of opposition attention so this season and is taking advantage of his freedom, booting the second most goals of any Redback this season.
Lexton full-forward Matt Brown seems to have recaptured some of his 2012 form in recent weeks, including a 13-goal haul against Campbells Creek last round, and will need to be at his best against a solid Carisbrook defence if the Tigers are to push the 2012 premiers.
Lexton
B: Bryce Karslake, Michael Jennings, Lewis Alexopoulos
HB: Robert Hind, Jordan Phelan, Trevor Johnson
C: James Templeton, Paul Phillips, Daniel Chester
HF: Robert Mosby, Cohan Poulton, James Morrish
F: Lachlan Pryor, Matthew Brown, Colin Wakefield
R: Timothy Oliver, Nathan Barnes, Damon Aspland
Int: Michael Smith, David Impey, Thomas Fisher, Bradley Adams
In: Michael Smith, David Impey, Thomas Fisher
Out: Michael Walsh, Dean Murray, Matthew Torpey
Carisbrook
B: Nathan O'Keefe, Christopher Dunn, Timothy Heenan
HB: Jay Anderson, Justin Sculley, Benjamin Kick
C: Jake Bucknall, Ryan Hudson-Morgan, Nichlos Wright
HF: Travis Cornwill, Nathan Wright, Nick Robinson
F: Luke Robinson, Thomas Wright, Clayton Furniss
R: Patrick Jenes, Matthew Bilton, Jonathon Gray
Int: Jakob Tidyman, Brayden Collicoat, Isaac Long, Brady Neill
In: Brady Neill
Out: Sheldon Robertson
NATTE BEALIBA vs AVOCA – ARCH RIVALS SET TO SQUARE OFF
Bitter rivals Natte Bealiba and Avoca will come face to face this weekend, with the Swans’ sights firmly fixed on added a much-needed win to its record.
The long-time rivals have fought out some gripping battles in recent years, and this one promises to be much the same, with both sides enduring an up-and-down season so far.
After a slow start to the year, Natte seems to have finally found some form in recent weeks and will view this match-up as a prime chance to land some points, as well as inflicting some pain on its arch-enemy.
Avoca has also endured an inconsistent season thus far, scoring a couple of wins, but has let more than a few chances slip through its fingers.
The fitness of coach Adrian Pilgrim and star recruit Murray Bond also remains under a cloud, and if neither is able to take the field on Saturday, it will rob the Dogs of their two main targets in attack.
The Swans also have some injury worries of their own, with both star utility Zac Perez and ruckman/forward Lachlan Cameron both suffering hamstring strains in the side’s round six loss to Carisbrook, however the side will welcome the return of star midfielder Stephen Ross, who sat out the match-up with the Redbacks due to a quad strain.
All these factors will make for an intriguing match-up some Saturday, in a game that both sides will be desperate to win.
Natte Bealiba
To be selected from:
Jacob Long, Shane Mortlock, David Miles, Benjamin Weir, Nathan Ross, Ryan Mc Clelland, Thomas Douglas, Tarran Neill, Evan Weir, Laurence Chadwick, Daniel Rothenberger, Dean Graco, Ryan Weir, Alexander Banko, Matthew Stagg, Stephen Ross, Mark Fitzgerald, Brent Mortlock, Brayden Mills, Braedan Turtle, Daniel Gifford, Lachlan Cameron
In: Tarran Neill, Stephen Ross, Nathan Ross
Out: Daniel Trewella, Christopher Jardine, Zachary Perez
Avoca
To be selected from:
Lachlan Edwards, Adrian Pilgrim, Alec Wiltshire, John Bucknall, Nathan Coghlan, Beau Ketchen, Bradley Martland, Luke Polson, Brad Schiltz, Jesse Britton, Murray Bond, Matthew Jukes, Jacob Glen, Sam Kaye, Thomas Nankivell, Jayden Molloy, Nicholas Barker, Toby Beavis, David Stewart, Jaye Farnsworth, Ben Howell, Hugh Bucknall
In: Murray Bond, Sam Kaye, Luke Polson, Beau Ketchen
Out: Ashley Lang, Nathan Field, Bryce Howell, Samual Goold
CAMPBELLS CREEK vs TALBOT – VITAL MATCH-UP FOR BOTH SIDES
Campbells Creek will be hoping to keep its solid 2013 record on its home turf intact this weekend as the Magpies host a resurgent Talbot.
While the Creekers made a solid start to the year, they haveb been less than convincing in recent rounds, particularly in last round’s 100-plus point touch-up at the hands of Lexton. Admittedly, however, the Magpies have been hit hard by injury, and the loss of high-flying forward Joel Smith has hit hardest of all, robbing the side of their major attacking threat.
Talbot also endured an embarrassing loss last round, failing to score a single goal in the wet against a rampant Navarre and will be keen to atone for such an effort.
The Hawks have shown that they are more than capable of producing some good football this season, mixing it with some of the competition’s best sides and scoring a major upset over Natte Bealiba in round five. They will need to produce a similar effort against the Creek this weekend, with both sides out to prove that they belong in the MCDFNL’s top eight come finals time.
Campbells Creek
To be selected from:
Christopher Stone, Joshua Adamson, Aaron Murray, Cordie McKendry, Davin Nicholls, Jake Peake, Shane O'Toole, Gary Bradford, Aaron Fellows, James Burzacott, Sam Noble, Rhys Griffiths, Brendan Connelly, Daniel Klimeck, Chris Klimeck, Sahy Keillor-Reed, Mark Williams, Joel Smith, Tristan Bennett, Nathan Stubbings, Sean Smith, Jarrod Hodoras
In: Tristan Bennett, Joel Smith, Mark Williams
Out: Cody Adamson, Sean Moss, Ryan Hughes
Talbot
B: Timothy Solomon, Karl Gunther, Troy Cunningham
HB: Aidan Matthews, Lukas Mortimer, Mathew Whiteman
C: Kane Heathcock, Matthew Smith, Ross Wise
HF: Brandon McRedmond, Josh Sullivan, Nathan Smith
F: Darren Burns, Brett Tottenham, Jonathon Arnel
R: Nathan Bourke, Rowan Prentice, David Clark
Int: Richard Clark, Trent Barras, Boe Gilmour, Ryan Erkamps
In: Aidan Matthews, Boe Gilmour, Ross Wise, Brandon McRedmond
Out: Jack Kenden, Cole Harris, Lachlan Fishwick, Paul Evans
Maryborough Rovers v Trentham
After a good performance against Avoca last round, Trentham travel to Jubilee Oval on Sunday confident of posting their first win of the season against the Rovers who are struggling this season and are also yet to win a game.
Rovers were soundly beaten by Dunolly last round but coach Scott Sellers was carrying an ankle injury that he sustained in the interleague game into that encounter and much will depend on Sellers fitness if they are to get their first win of the season.
Trentham nearly caused a boilover when they stormed home in the final term against the Bulldogs, but could not quite get over the line and if they can continue with their good form then they should post their first win of the season.
Maryborough Rovers
To be selected from:
Tristan Knights, Travis Moschetti, Simon Rowland, Scott Berg, Matthew Stiles, Frank Towers, Nicholas Hoban, Brent Ritchie, Raymond Bulger, Scott Sellers, Christopher Gunn, Andrew Jardine, Trent Monk, Peter Ward, Andrew Nelson, Luca Campanelli, Jack Potter, Neville Pratt, Brent Hudson, Daniel Jennison, James Rowles, Jesse Hennessy, Ben Hoban
In: Ben Hoban, Simon Rowland, James Rowles, Raymond Bulger, Jack Potter, Neville Pratt, Nicholas Hoban
Out: Daniel Rossi, Leigh Tranter, Matthew Batson, Guy Cornwilll, Andrew Fletcher, Richard Phillips
Trentham
Side not submitted
Last Modified on 14/06/2013 15:49