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00:00 Welcome to Team Talk on a Thursday night. I'm David Brio and I'm joined by Edward Holland.
00:04 G'day David, how you doing?
00:06 Round 15 in both the Central Highlands and Ballarat Leagues and we've been talking about
00:12 finals for a little while but I tell you what, they are just coming up so quickly now.
00:16 It's just hard to get that out of your head.
00:18 Yeah, well blue skies, you know, freshly cut grass,
00:22 spring feeling, it's just around the corner so I'm getting very excited.
00:25 Yeah, if you're watching this on Thursday night or Friday morning, that has been the story,
00:30 but the forecast for Friday is rain and we'll see what impact that has on some of the grounds.
00:35 All right, well I know nothing apparently, that's all good.
00:38 Yeah, very good. All the coaches, they know all about the weather
00:41 and some of them do quite a bit of homework on that,
00:44 particularly in the Central Highlands Football League where it can have such an impact on their
00:49 ground surfaces. Okay, highlight of Round 15 in the Ballarat League on Saturday.
00:55 The contest out at Daly Park, Daly and North Ballarat going
00:58 head to head, it's almost a winner keeps their top two hopes alive.
01:02 So the clash of the black and whites?
01:05 Yep, yep, so I've seen that a few times. I think it's also just as big of a clash
01:09 in their netball as well so it's going to be a good day out there at Daly.
01:13 Okay, let's quickly run through the Central Highlands matches and what a round we have.
01:20 A bit of a teaser I think for what we can expect in the finals because we've got the top
01:25 six sides playing each other. So yeah, it's worked out beautifully
01:31 and then there's another game between Learmonth and Dunstown.
01:35 Learmonth just outside the eight and hanging on by not even a thread in the sense of playing finals
01:42 up against Dunstown who are, they're safely heading towards finals but certainly not only
01:48 a game ahead of Learmonth at the moment. But look, if you had to say there's a game of the day,
01:52 gee I'll tell you what would be a toss of the coin. Let's just run through those big
01:56 three and we've got Karnum Linton at home to Gordon.
02:00 Now 12 months ago, I know it means nothing now but wow, this was one of the mismatches
02:05 of the decade but now Gordon, well you know, they're still very much a benchmark,
02:11 reigning premier and they really don't know what to expect against Karnum Linton.
02:17 I'm sure this game at Snake Valley, big news for the Saints is that Justin O'Brien is back,
02:24 their centre-half back, so that's a big plus. Although they do lose a couple of players
02:29 including their leading goal kicker Brad McDonald. Gordon, not a lot of change there,
02:35 although Ben Schultz who damaged a shoulder late in the win over Bungaree, he is out and
02:44 they're hopeful that he will be back in time for finals but they certainly won't be rushing him
02:49 back before then. So Karnum Linton v Gordon, toss of the coin, the Saints, wow, who knows.
02:59 Okay, Bungaree and Hepburn, Bungaree coming off their first loss of the season but they didn't
03:08 lose that many admirers in that game, it was just an unusual contest with the way the wind
03:14 dictated terms. This game at Bungaree, Hepburn's been a bit, I think, hot and cold. We saw them
03:22 at their absolute best against Skipton but we've seen them a little bit disappointing
03:28 against both Gordon and Springbank. I'm going to stick with the Demons, Bungaree, to bounce back
03:36 at home and get the points against Hepburn and if that's the case that'll certainly do some damage
03:41 to the Borough's hopes of finishing in the top four. The other big game is at Wallace, Springbank,
03:47 up against Skipton. Of course these two sides met in the finals last year, you might remember
03:52 Edward Skipton in a semi-final, three goals up, 19 points up at three quarter time, absolutely
03:58 coasting and lost by a goal. So while that's a long time ago, there'll be a few players out there
04:05 with a point to prove but certainly this game is very important. Springbank on a winning streak
04:10 of 11 games, excuse me, what a run they've had. Skipton, they've again, they've sort of had some
04:18 ups and downs. That loss to Hepburn sticks in my mind but certainly what also stands out is the
04:24 win they had against Gordon, the second year in a row they've inflicted Gordon's first loss. Some
04:30 changes in both these sides for Skipton, they get back Nathan Olver, Daniel Kilpatrick and Jethro
04:37 Kirby who'll be playing his first senior game in more than 12 months after coming back from a knee,
04:42 Rico. For Springbank, among their changes are Kieran Ma and Fletcher Tooze back from travel,
04:48 Jared Curran and also Chris Quinlan who was a late withdrawal with some hamstring soreness
04:53 last week, he is back. So I'm looking forward to a really good game here. At Wallace, this is the
04:58 game that I'll be at and we'll be live streaming this on our website. I'm going for the Tigers
05:04 but look, any of those three games could go either way. Just going through the other guys,
05:09 we mentioned Dunstown and Learmonth. Learmonth, well they want to hold on to those slim hopes of
05:15 making finals. They have to win, there's no ifs or buts. They lose this, they're done for for sure
05:20 because the fixture goes against them. If they're going to get into the finals, they need to replace
05:26 Newell and Newell's draw is just too easy in that sense. Jack Leonard is back as in Ryan Walsh who
05:32 hasn't played since about round six when he did a shoulder, a recruit for Dunstown this year so
05:38 they'll be wrapped to have those two blokes back. Dalesford at home to Warburra, two sides that have
05:44 had a real struggle. Warburra coming off their first win of the season. Dalesford's had only
05:49 the one win and a draw. A real chance for either side here to get a win on the board. I'm going for
05:54 the Roos to win this one. A special day for Dalesford with big Scott Winders, a Henderson
06:01 medallist in years gone by, an absolute legend of the Dalesford footy club and a great of the
06:07 Ballarat Football Netball League and Central Highlands League. He plays his 400th senior
06:14 club game, that's seniors/reserves. He'll be going around in the reserves because these days he sort
06:20 of fills in if you like but he's kept going and so that'll be a special day for the Bulldogs with
06:28 Winders playing his 400th game. For those that can remember back to when he was at his absolute peak,
06:35 he was part of a great team, a great era for Dalesford and one of certainly the all-time great
06:41 ruckmen in the local competitions. Kreswick at home to Bunion. Bunion, disappointingly now out
06:48 of the finals hunt. They'll be missing their star to Aidan Dommick with a hamstring. They should
06:53 still win this. Kreswick, they'll give it a real crack and be hoping they can get a win but I think
06:58 the Bombers get home. Beaufort still looking for that first win. They're at home to Clunes.
07:04 Clunes has been playing well without winning. They haven't won since around six. It's amazing
07:09 how long they've run. They had a great start, made the most of their draw if you like but they just
07:15 keep coming up short but they'll get a win against Beaufort. And Beland plays Newland at
07:22 Bacchus Marshes, Mattingly Park this week. Back on a good deck there. Newland, all they need to
07:28 do is win, make sure they win and they will play finals as well. I can't see them dropping this
07:34 game against Beland. So that's the Central Highlands Football League round 15. We've already
07:38 had a taste of the Dali North game. You've only got four games again. So let's run through the
07:43 other three in the Ballarat Football Nepal. Yes, so just the four games in the BFL this weekend.
07:47 They've got two games that are similar to yours with the top six sides going head-to-head. So the
07:51 main one of the weekend is that Dali clash with North. So North handed Dali its first loss of the
07:57 season back in round nine and they kind of need to replicate that again on Saturday if they want
08:02 to keep their top two hopes alive. I think looking at the fixture, Sebastopol who had to buy this
08:07 weekend, probably favourites to finish top two but Dali would be right up there. They've got
08:12 all four games left so that could be 16 points there which would lock them into a top two finish.
08:18 So there's a lot riding on this game and it's a nice accidental segue. So Jack Riding is lining
08:24 up alongside Sam Glover. So two BFL players still available for North Ballarat. They've
08:30 held on to them for a while now which is quite lucky and Jamie Quick who was concussed last
08:35 week against Sebastopol is out. He's out. That's the Roos' first loss since about round five. So
08:41 they'll be motivated to get back on the winners list and I'm going to do my tipping. I don't
08:47 think they will. I think I'll go with Dali. So Dan Jordan, a freshly extended Dan Jordan,
08:53 signed a two-year contract extension so he's going to be at Dali Park until the end of season 2025.
08:58 So pretty safe club out there, safe vibe. So good to see the Devil's Army up and about.
09:05 And the other game between two top six sides is Melton and Sunbury. So this time last year,
09:11 Sunbury actually upset Melton at Clark Oval. Only one of two teams to beat the Bloods last season
09:19 and earlier in the season, round two, they almost matched it with Melton. I think it was just a
09:23 little blitz in the second quarter that Melton got on top of them and ran away. But a win could lock
09:31 in finals for Sunbury. It's still mathematically possible they miss it but just looking at the
09:36 fixture and run home between Sunbury, East Point and Redenna. They make it surely. Yeah, a win would
09:41 lock them in now. Whereas a win for Melton would, once again looking at the fixture of the other
09:46 teams run home, would probably lock them in as minor premiers. So once again a lot riding on
09:53 this game so looking forward to seeing how that one unfolds. I think Sunbury's a bit more of a
09:58 chance than people are realising but you can't really tip against the Bloods. Two games clear
10:01 on top of the ladder and looking to wrap up another minor premiership and just running through
10:06 the other two games. Lake Winner E and Redenna. Redenna back off the bye and Lake Winner E off
10:12 at 111 point loss to Dali last week. So this is the run home for Redenna that's a little bit easier
10:21 than the rest of the league which has them in finals contention well and truly. So they've got
10:24 Lake Winner E, Ballarat and Melton South which you can probably lock away as three wins. So that's
10:29 12 points and a final round game against Sebastopol. They're home. Yeah, they're home. We can lock them
10:36 in. So that last spot is really between Sunbury and East Point. East Point with the bye this
10:41 weekend. The last game of the round Melton South and Bacchus Marsh. Bacchus Marsh only has two wins
10:46 this season, one of them against Melton South but they're the only team not to beat Melton South by
10:51 triple digits. So that's what they can look to do this weekend. They beat them by 98 points earlier
10:57 in the season. So a win could keep their eighth place hopes alive. A little battle there with
11:02 Ballarat. So they've got Melton South this week and then Lake Winner E next week. So could go on
11:08 a little two-game winning streak chasing William Sight. Okay, if you're in the Ballarat Football League,
11:12 where would you rather finish if you're about to play finals? If I'm about to play finals?
11:18 If you're playing finals, where would you like to finish in the top six?
11:22 Well, I'd rather the minor premiership, wouldn't you? You will find, going back, I was talking to
11:28 someone today and it reminded me of the third position. There's long been a favourite spot to land
11:35 in the top six system. In the great days early this century, in the 2000s, of Redan, they
11:45 made a habit of finishing third. The reason being, do you know why? Third is potentially a very good spot.
11:53 You can still get through the grand final just as much as second, can't you?
11:59 Well, put it this way, if you finish third, you play the weakest link most likely in the top six.
12:06 You get through that and you then get the double chance closer to the grand final.
12:11 If you finish second, you're going to play the top side. In this case, someone's going to come up
12:16 against Melton, pretty tough assignment. You'll lose that qualifying final, which was the double chance,
12:22 and you drop immediately in the second week to a knockout semi-final.
12:28 It was interesting to recall that third place can work in very well, although you're probably
12:36 going to throw at me, if you're as far in front as Melton, it doesn't matter.
12:40 Maybe a little bit. I'm just looking at who's in third at the moment. It's Dali in third at the
12:44 moment, but I've tipped them this week. It might be Sebastopol in third, but we'll have to-
12:50 Do they win? They finish third, they come up against Redan?
12:56 Yeah, let's say they come up against Redan. Maybe Redan causes an upset, but
13:01 sixth place often that team is just falling into the top six, not a big
13:08 threat. You get through that and the top side beats up the second side and suddenly you're
13:14 in a second semi-final with a double chance and at least a preliminary final, guaranteed.
13:19 Anyway, that's a little bit of trivia, but something we used to always talk about, particularly in
13:25 those great years for Redan. Just keep an eye on that and see how it pans out. It might
13:30 noise you up at the premiership, but it can give you a nice lead up and pathway to a grand final.
13:38 Anyway, that's enough of that. It's amazing how often it's happened.
13:43 Thanks for joining us. As you can see, some fantastic match-ups coming up. The top six teams
13:52 in the Central Highlands are meeting each other. It's going to have a big say. Who gets those double
13:56 chances and finishes in the top four? Some great battles there in the Ballarat football league.
14:02 Anything to add?
14:03 No, I'm looking forward to going out to Daly Park, Sebastopol, Ballarat and East Point with the
14:11 bye this weekend. Maybe Aidan Domic can come out and hang out with his old teammates. He won't even
14:16 get the opportunity to watch them. I was going to say he could come watch them, but they're going to
14:19 be quiet. No, he's got to stick with the black and red.
14:22 All right, no worries at all. Thanks for joining us on this Thursday evening. We'll be back
14:29 on Sunday with a wrap-up of everything that takes place in these Round 15 matches.