Talbot v Carisbrook
Talbot’s newfound winning form will be put to the test this weekend, with the resurgent Hawks set to face a red-hot Carisbrook.
After their slow start to the season, Talbot has been the talk of the MCDFNL in the past few weeks, stringing together three impressive victories on the trot and breaking in to the top eight.
However, regardless of Talbot’s recent run of form, the prospect of facing the Redbacks, who have lost just one game so far this season, will surely be causing Talbot coaches Matt Smith and Dallas Byars more than a few headaches.
Trent Barras, Luke Kemp and Ross Wise have been in stellar form in front of goal for Talbot in the past few rounds, which has been a major catalyst for the Hawks’ turnaround, but they could find the going a little tougher against a miserly Carisbrook backline.
In the midfield, the Hawks may have to sacrifice one of their major ballwinners in the form of Liam Belcher in an attempt to curb the influence of Redbacks’ dynamo, Matt Bilton, who has been nigh-unstoppable in his nine games for the Brookers so far this season, both in the midfield and up forward, with his 28 goals for the year putting him in sixth place on the competition’s goalkicking table.
While it may mean that Talbot lose a major source of drive in the midfield, if Belcher can curb the influence of his former Maryborough teammate, it will go a long way to improving Talbot’s chances.
Smith and Byars will also have their work cut out finding a way to stop Carisbrook spearhead Nathan Wright, who has returned from suspension in an emphatic manner, booting 11 goals in two games after a stint on the sidelines.
If Talbot can limit the impact some of Carisbrook’s big names on Saturday, they may have a chance of causing an upset, but it will take a major effort from the boys in brown and gold if they are to halt the Redbacks juggernaut.
Talbot
B: Shaun Carroll, Luke How, Josh Sullivan
HB: Matthew Smith, Timothy Carroll, Brendon Shine
C: Timothy Solomon, Drew Hancock, Nicholas Perry
HF: Ross Wise, Tom Sutherland, Mathew Whiteman
F: Daniel Romeo, Jonathon Arnel, Jarrod Kemp
R: Robert Conroy, Luke Kemp, Trent Barras
Int: Kallan Boucher, Lachlan Griffiths, Jorde Bux, Liam Belcher, Ryan Kenden, Bradley Coffey
In: Mathew Whiteman, Jonathon Arnel
Carisbrook
B: Benjamin Kick, Hayden Barby, Timothy Heenan
HB: Nathan O'Keefe, Jake Bucknall, Kurt Bruechert
C: Riley Herd, Nichlos Wright, Jacob Dyer
HF: Ryan Hudson-Morgan, Adam Hurse, Liam Mottram
F: Matthew Bilton, Patrick Jenes, Clayton Furniss
R: Ty Stewart, Lachlan Edwards, Ashley Robinson
Int: Mark Cox, Jakob Tidyman, Travis Cornwill, Mitchell Whelan
In: Liam Mottram, Timothy Heenan, Mitchell Whelan, Patrick Jenes
Out: Nick Robinson, Nathan Wright, Andrew Lovett, Timothy McKay
Natte Bealiba v Dunolly
Natte Bealiba coach Shane Green will have percentage on his mind as the Swans prepare to take on bottom-of-the-ladder Dunolly this weekend.
Currently locked in a three-way battle for fourth place, and the double chance it brings come finals time, with Harcourt and Royal Park, if the Swans can score heavily against the Eagles this weekend, it will go a long way to securing that all-important double chance, particularly given somewhat of a rocky run home for Natte.
One factor which will please Green ahead of Saturday’s clash with Dunolly is the issue of Natte’s goalkicking accuracy, which seems to have been redressed in recent weeks after a sloppy start to the season in front of goal cost the Swans precious percentage.
The form of Natte’s goalkickers has also been a major boon for the Swans in recent weeks, with Adrian Pilgrim and Zac Perez continuing to cause headaches for opposition sides, backed up by Matt Stagg, Lachlan Cameron, Jarrod Bateson and Brent Mortlock, all of whom booted multiple goals in their side’s hefty win over Campbells Creek last round.
This surplus of height for Natte appears likely to test Dunolly’s young backline, which is light on in terms of tall timber, and has unfortunately found itself on the wrong end of some fairly one-sided scorelines this season.
First-year coach Shaun Smith has put together a good young group however, and he will challenge his players to see if they can keep pace with one of the best ball-moving sides in the competition on Saturday.
Natte Bealiba
B: Jamie Evans, Jack Kennedy, Dean Graco
HB: Trent Mortlock, Kurt Mortlock, Brayden Mills
C: Thomas Douglas, Jacob Long, Daniel Gifford
HF: Mark Fitzgerald, Matthew Stagg, Evan Weir
F: Brent Mortlock, Adrian Pilgrim, Zachary Perez
R: Lachlan Cameron, Jarrod Bateson, Stephen Ross
Int: Ryan Weir, Shane Mortlock, Michael Columbro, Jarrod Graco
In: Ryan Weir, Mark Fitzgerald, Michael Columbro
Out: Ashley Evans, Karl Morley, Jye Mortlock
Dunolly
B: Jason Haley, Grant Raven, Steven Shovan
HB: David Bilton, Matthew Stiles, Michael Campbell
C: Jeremy Hancock, James Blackwell, Patrick McGregor
HF: Jackson Baker, Peter Wytkamp, Jordi Philbrick
F: Joe Thompson, Justin Moore, Bradley McHugh
R: Justin Laird, Matthew Gibbs, Jamie Townsend
Int: Cory Collins, Craig Gloury
In: Cory Collins, Craig Gloury
Out: Charlie Knowles, Corey Dawson, Hayden Wellard, Dean Foster
Newstead v Navarre
Navarre will be confident of extending its unbeaten run to a whopping 33 games this Saturday as the Grasshoppers prepare to face off with and up-and-down Newstead.
Currently boasting one of the longest winning streaks in country football at the moment, the Hoppers have showcased their club’s incredible depth in recent weeks, continuing to stand tall, despite missing as many as five of their top players.
After suffering a slight scare against Royal Park in round nine, which still yielded an 11-point victory, Navarre was back to its crushing best last week, demolishing Maldon by 157 points in a game which saw the Dons manage just two behinds for the entire day. Now Newstead is the latest side tasked with trying to curb Navarre’s dominance, which is no easy feat.
Key to the Grasshoppers’ success is their spread of versatility and depth in their playing list, which features multiple avenues to goal, one of the competition’s most dominant midfield units and a miserly backline, an equation which results in one of the most dominant sides the MCDFNL has seen in the last decade.
The young Newstead side, which has played some very good football this season, will now get a first-hand look at just what it takes to be the MCDFNL’s best, and unless coach Nathan Webster can find some way of curbing Navarre’s run, pinpoint passing and contested ball aggression, things could get ugly for the Roos.
Newstead
B: Blake Renfrey, Cody Kirby, Ashley Webster
HB: Thomas Cahill, Dale Bott, Adam Hunter
C: Kaleb Mcbride, Nathan Webster, Joel Thomas
HF: Oscar Lynzaat, Adrian Conn, Cameron Trait
F: Ricky Bastin, Jonty Entwisle, Darcy Ahern
R: Michael Dalrymple, Joel Smith, Cameron Hepburn
Int: Steven Pollard, Alex Maylor, Liam Gervasoni, Otis Rees-MacLean
In: Cameron Trait, Alex Maylor, Otis Rees-MacLean, Liam Gervasoni, Ricky Bastin
Out: Rhys Smith, Patrick Cummins, Kyle Hamilton, Matthew Hunter, Scott Beames
Navarre
B: Brent Flood, Shaun Clohesy, Matt Newton
HB: Ben Scott, Zach Parry, Nigel Greenaway
C: Lachlan Slorach, Sam Kaye, Riley Bibby
HF: Billy Parry, Jayden Fowkes, Jeremy Harrington
F: Jesse Hannett, Ashley Driscoll,
R: Josh Fowkes, Daniel Reading, Aaron Slorach
Int: Austin Squire, Louis Hannett, Dale Ansell, Nicholas Murphy
Emg: Matthew Grinham, Thomas Hannett, Thomas Dyke
In: Ben Scott, Zach Parry, Riley Bibby, Brent Flood, Ashley Driscoll
Out: Cody Driscoll, Josh Driscoll, Bryce Tickner, Jackson Birthisel, Danny Grellet
Maryborough Rovers v Avoca
After defeating Trentham last week it will be a confident Avoca Bulldogs that travel to Jubilee Oval on Saturday to tackle Maryborough Rovers who are also coming off winning form after a strong victory over Dunolly last round.
Avoca will possibly go into this game with a full list of players to choose from after a horror run of injuries, and will also welcome back their ruck man Rangi Vickers to the team who was unavailable last week. Vickers will have to be at his best this week as he faces the Hedger Brothers who are two of the better ruckmen in the MCDFNL and both are in stellar form at the moment.
Avoca will also have to be competitve up forward as Rovers are well served in defence by Danny Whitnall and Brad Fraser, while David Popovski is also a key player across half back and he will most probably match up on Haydn Slater who is on the verge of a big haul for the Bulldogs, so this will be a key match-up for the game.
The midfield battle will also be a key to the game with the Bulldogs Joel Carter, Taylor Hall and Bryce Howell taking on Rovers Dylan Gibson, Bryce Fletcher and Brayden Guareschi. It looks to be an evenly matched contest and could be a very instrumental element in who is the winner at the final siren.
Rovers have been very competitive against the top sides in the league and will go into the game as favourites, but it could be a close contest that could go either way.
Maryborough Rovers
B: Aaron Westbrook, Danny Whitnall, Brohdie Smyth
HB: David Popovski, Brendon Hedger, Brayden Guareschi
C: Daniel Jennison, Ryan Guareschi, Lauchlan Williams
HF: Dylan Gibson, Bradley Fraser, Grant Ryan
F: Richard Phillips, Karson Guareschi, Scott Sellers
R: Dion Hedger, Bryce Fletcher, James Rowles
Int: Christopher Gunn, Adam Mclean, Tristan Knights, Corey Wilson, Trent Monk
In: Trent Monk, Lauchlan Williams
Out: Kel Chaffey-Jones
Avoca
B: Toby Beavis, Jesse Britton, Taylor Hall
HB: Joel Carter, Matt Veitch, Hugh Bucknall
C: James Walton, Lachlan Morganti, Brady Williams
HF: Xavier Slater, Haydn Slater, Bryce Howell
F: Jay Armstrong, Ben Howell, Andrew Hewston
R: Rangi Vickers, Jacob Nicholson, Michael Henningsen
Int: Cameron Holland, Devon Svilicic, Jackson Steel, Paul Loaney, John Bucknall, Joel Howell
In: Andrew Hewson, Lachlan Morganti, Rangi Vickers
Maldon v Campbells Creek
In what is usually a competitive match between these two rivals, Campbells Creek will go into this game as odds on favourites after Maldon failed to score a goal against Navarre last round in what would be their darkest day in their proud history.
The Bombers will be looking to regain some pride after their performance last week and given that the game is played on their home ground, it will certainly be of assistance as they play there small ground very well.
Interestingly, Maldon sit above Campbells Creek by one rung on the ladder and are only out of the top eight by percentage, so to lose by such a big margin last week would be very disappointing for the Bombers faithful. Maldon’s three wins for the season came early in the season and their form has tapered off, although they did give a good account of themselves against Maryborough Rovers recently.
Campbells Creek are coming off a big defeat at the hands of Natte Bealiba, but were very good the week before against Dunolly and also pushed Rovers all the way in the previous round, so if they can take that form into the game, then they could come away with their third win of the season.
Listen to this game LIVE from 1:00pm Saturday on Fresh FM 101.5, or through the “MCDFNL Radio” button on the league’s mobile app through Team App
Maldon
B: Matthew Gray, Mark Webb, Lachie Josey
HB: Damien Gatti, Michael Mulholland, Vaughan Williams
C: Bryce Roberts, Hayden Kelly, Jackson Douch
HF: Jeremy Cross, Nicholas Kelly, Leigh Halliwell
F: Isaiah Hartley, Jamie Cox, Kyle Winstanley
R: Josh Pascoe, Shaun Burchell, Joshua Hutchinson
Int: Harley Brereton, Jake Elliot, Dean Primmer, Christopher Milham
In: Christopher Milham
Out: Ashley Woodman
Campbells Creek
B: Matthew McLean, Jayden Molloy, Ryan Jeffrey
HB: Chris Klimeck, Ross Slater, Matthew Lorenz
C: Tim Conder, James Boag, Matthew Halacas
HF: Shaun Boag, Shannon Berriman, Carl Simmons
F: Luke Ashmore, Mark Ashmore, Joshua Adamson
R: Dylan Gordois, Brandon Greenwood, Daniel Klimeck
Int: Cordie McKendry, Jayson Gilbert, Anthony Taylor, Cody Adamson
In: Luke Ashmore, Cody Adamson, Ross Slater
Out: Rhys Griffiths, Luke Pritchard, Andrew Valli
Lexton v Harcourt
A top-five battle between Lexton and Harcourt promises to be a quality game of football at Lexton on Saturday.
Harcourt were defeated for only the second time for the season last week, inflicted by Carisbrook who are rolling along in exceptional form, while Lexton handed Royal Park a football lesson in the Battle of the Tigers.
Lexton play their home ground better than any team in the league as they use their wide open spaces to create the run and carry game and move the ball well from the stoppages. Jordan Phelan was exceptional last week as he put the ball in front of his leading forwards in Matt Brown and Lachlan Murray who took full advantage. Matt Brown will most likely be matched up on by the Lions star defender in Alan Mack, or Josh Collinson could be another that is capable of a stopping role on the Lexton forwards.
Harcourt are also a very good running team, but the loss of Paul Chaplin has hampered a lot of their ability to win the ball out of the middle, and this is an area that Lexton are particularly strong in. The ruck match-up between the tall timber of the Tiger’s Nigel Reid against Adam Pollock will also be a highlight of the game.
Matt Giri’s return in recent week will boost the Lions forward structure, but the Tigers should have the upper hand in the defensive area and were bolstered with the inclusion of Mick Jennings last round as he returned for his first senior game of the season.
A competitive contest is expected with Lexton favoured to take the points.
Lexton
B: Bryce Karslake, Ryan Wait, Jordan Egan
HB: Liam Cullinan, Michael Jennings, Nicholas Spolding
C: James Templeton, Nathan Barnes, James Morrish
HF: Scott Clark, Jordan Phelan, Mitchell Kennedy
F: Lachlan Murray, Matthew Brown, Justin White
R: Nigel Reid, Damon Aspland, Dylan Barr
Int: Lachlan Pryor, Michael Smith, Trevor Johnson, Luke Evans
In: Damon Aspland, Lachlan Pryor
Out: Jacob Spolding, Tim Buby
Harcourt
B: Alex Birch, Joshua Collinson, Jack Douglass
HB: Jordan Gartside, Sam Gale , Michael Dwyer
C: Matthew Giri, Brendan Josey, Christopher Ling
HF: Alan Mack, Kyle McLean, Jeffrey McMurtrie
F: Christopher Smart, Adam Pollock, Sean Moss
R: Daniel Smith, Joel Smith, Sean Smith
Int: Paul McKay, Adam Ward, Brendan March, Christopher Stone
In: Brendan March
Out: Michael McConnell
Trentham v Royal Park
Royal Park will be hoping a visit to Trentham this weekend can keep the Tigers in the hunt for a top four berth come finals time.
After a mid-season slip, the Tigers are now two games off the pace behind Natte Bealiba and Harcourt, and desperately need to make up ground on their rivals in the run towards finals.
The Tigers promised plenty in the off-season, and now is the time to deliver, beginning with Saturday’s match-up against the Saints.
Royal Park has all the pieces to be one of the competition’s top teams, but it simply boils down to finding a way to fit them all together.
The trip to Trentham is undoubtedly one of the toughest in the competition, owing to the town’s notoriously inclement weather, but Royal Park coach Greg Stewart needs his players to put that out of their minds and focus upon improving the Tigers’ record and percentage with a big victory.
Star Bushy forward Josh Brown will be keen to bounce back to his best after an uncharacteristically quiet game against Lexton last round yielded just one goal for the Tigers’ spearhead, and he will be keen to inflict as much scoreboard damage as possible against the Saints.
However, the Tigers will be missing one of their key players this weekend, with leading midfielder Jake Pring set to watch on from the sidelines after earning a one-match suspension for striking Lexton’s Jacob Spolding. In his absence, Stefan Pye will have to lead the Tigers’ on-ball brigade, and do plenty of the inside midfield work.
The Tigers will also have to pay some mind to their opponents, particularly up forward, where Trentham boast some of their strongest talent, including Luke Whitehouse, Mark Strickland and Lewis Bruton, while star teenager Jake Keogh is likely to re-enter the Saints’ side after forming part of the AFL Goldfields trip to Cairns last round.
Trentham
B: Luke Adams, Brendan James, Paul Smith
HB: Jonathon Nadin, Curtis McNamara, Taylor Drew
C: Lewis Bruton, Christopher Whelan, Jamie Cutler
HF: Michael Day, Mark Strickland, Hayden Sundblom
F: James Gray, Luke Whitehouse, Daniel Lendrec
R: James Wicker, John Cowell, Kasey Williams
Int: Justin Hoffman, Trystan Paderno, Jared Muir, Luke Willes
In: Trystan Paderno, Curtis McNamara, Justin Hoffman
Out: Jake Beecham, Isaac Jennings, Brok Wightman
Royal Park
B: James Lindeback, Chris Cowan, Zachary Dunne
HB: Jay Anderson, Zachary Tunbridge, Taylor Stewart
C: Hamish Blake, Lawrence Perks, Shane Gray
HF: Jacob Cahill, Zachary Stewart, Stefan Pye
F: Brendan Murdoch, Joshua Brown, Michael Noonan
R: James Sutherland, Ross Waters, Ben Clay
Int: William Short, Trent Baird, Trent Pye, Ashley Hardy
In: Michael Noonan, Brendan Murdoch
Out: Jake Pring, Matthew Walker
Last Modified on 10/07/2015 14:54