Top two go head-to-head at Gisborne

TOP teams Gisborne and Strathfieldsaye clash in Saturday’s fourteenth round of senior footy in the Bendigo Bank Bendigo Football League.

The ladder-leading Gisborne has home-ground advantage at Gardiner Reserve for the match of the day.

A goal separated the Bulldogs and Storm when they met in round five at Triple M Park in Strathfieldsaye’s Tannery Lane.

On that day it was Matt Merrett who led Gisborne’s attack on four goals as Jack Scanlon, Jaidyn Owen and Jack Reaper were best.

Both teams had big wins over different Magpies in round 13.

Strathfieldsaye beat Castlemaine by 141 points on Storm’s turf and Gisborne marked a 172-point win at home against Marybrough.

A powerful Gisborne line-up includes ruck-rover Flynn Lakey, ruckman Braidon Blake, Scott Walsh, captain Pat McKenna and Harry Thomas.

Storm will look for big games from the likes of Lachlan Sharp and James Schischka in attack, Kallen Geary, Jake Moorhead and Caleb Sheahan.

Another big match will be at Queen Elizabeth Oval where Sandhurst takes on Golden Square.

The Dragons scored a two-goal win in the Ron Best Memorial match on Square’s ground in round five and will eye another upset against a team on the rebound from a seven-point loss to Eaglehawk.

Sandhurst’s best in their round 13 win at Kangaroo Flat were Harvey Gallagher, Lachie Hood, Jeremy Rodi and James Coghlan.

The Dragons’ defence worked well to limit the impact of Bulldogs’ forwards Joel Brett and Jayden Burke last time and will be determined to repeat the dose.

After a hat-trick of defeats, Kyneton will be determined to regain its winning ways against Kangaroo Flat at Kyneton Showgrounds.

Key players for the Paul Chapman-coached Tigers include Harrison Huntley, Louis Thompson, Rhys Magin and Hamish Yunghanns.

The Kangaroos will look to Nick Lang, Liam Collins, Lachy Wilson and Jake Hywood to lead the way.

Castlemaine takes on South Bendigo in the Magpies’ nest at Camp Reserve.

The Bloods are likely to have too much skill through midfield and scoring power for Castlemaine to hold across four quarters.

After a stunning win on Golden Square’s turf, Eaglehawk marks a return to Canterbury Park to tackle Maryborough.

The Travis Matheson-coached Hawks are sixth and need the win to keep the pressure on South Bendigo and Kyneton in the battle to decide fourth and fifth.

Players to watch for the Hawks include Billy Evans, Ben and Sam Thompson, and Lewin Davis.