Big guns face off to sort out top dog in Bendigo Football League
A TOP-OF-THE-TABLES clash kicks off the second half of the home-and-away season for two Bendigo Football League powerhouses today.
A TOP-OF-THE-TABLES clash kicks off the second half of the home-and-away season for two Bendigo Football League powerhouses today.
Reigning premier Strathfieldsaye has nine straight wins this year, while Golden Square, which won five senior flags from 2009-13, is 8-1 after dropping the Round 3 meeting of the two sides by 47 points.
Inclusions compared to that game include former AFL players Travis Baird and Corey Jones for Golden Square, and Stephen Milne for the Storm.
But injuries have ruled out other big names: Strathfieldsaye’s David Gallagher was expected to miss today’s match and possibly one more with a knee injury, and Golden Square vice-captain Jack Geary, who was named in the initial Vic Country 1 squad last week, has a torn arm muscle.
Bulldogs coach Nick Carter said James Sullivan and Ryan Herring were in good form in the midfield and centre half-forward, respectively, but everyone would need to play their best consistently to topple the premiers.
“We’re well-prepared to compete with Strath … the rest is really going to come down to will and effort,” Carter said.
“The game either way is going to be a tight tussle and we’ve just got to be better at executing on our game plan when it gets high pressured, which it will.”
Strathfieldsaye coach Darryl Wilson said the Round 3 win “wasn’t as big as what it looked”, and the league’s top four was “pretty even”.
“They’re a very good side and we can’t afford to let them run. When they run and spread they’re a very good side so we’ve got to prevent that from happening,” Wilson said.
Today’s match in Strathfieldsaye starts at 2.20pm.
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