The Peter Jackson VFL ABC TV Match of the Round will showcase a fierce battle between North Melbourne’s two aligned Club’s, the Werribee Tigers and North Ballarat Roosters, in what will be a do or die contest for the Roosters.
Werribee enters the match whilst just grasping onto a top four spot after encountering their last fixtured bye. On the other hand, North Ballarat sits on the outer, remaining in ninth on the ladder after a loss to Geelong last weekend.
The two sides went head to head in the first round of the season which resulted in a 35 point victory to Werribee. Tigers Coach Scott West has developed immense respect for the Roosters line-up.
“It seems so long ago since we played Ballarat back in round one, but the thing that never changes with them is their competiveness and want for the contest. They play a really good brand of footy and you know you will have to play the full four quarters to win the game.”
North Ballarat Coach, Gerard FitzGerald has dim memories of their last encounter, having been ahead by six goals at both the quarter and half time breaks.
“I’ve still got the shakes about that game. It started what was a trend for our blokes at that time of year; we were very good in patches and very ordinary in patches. The difference between our best and our worst back then was a mile. So we have evened out over the last eight weeks.
“What I took from that game is that our best is impressive and should be good enough if we are consistent,” FitzGerald said.
The sides have encountered a similar lead in period with this week’s selection, as both possess an alignment with the North Melbourne Football Club who competes on Sunday. The Roo’s have selected three new players for their AFL side this weekend; Levi Greenwood and Leigh Adams from the Werribee Tigers and Aaron Edwards from North Ballarat.
Scott West feels that his side is up to the challenge after their interstate trip for the Foxtel Cup Grand Final.
“We took a reasonably strong team to Perth last week, we were lucky that most guys pulled up well from the Box Hill game prior to the final. But we do have some players that have been injured that are now available for senior selection so we will have to make some tough decisions at selection.”
Due to the divided arrangement with their alignments, both sides possess a very strong VFL listed line-up with a lot of depth. Therefore, neither side has shifted their teams greatly for this contest.
The match presents the Roosters with an ultimatum. A win will keep their finals dreams alive, however a loss will dent their premiership and could leave their chances to percentage.
The Werribee Tigers currently sit in a much more comfortable position, holding onto fourth place with two teams snapping at their heels for an opportunity to seize the double chance come finals.West understands the magnitude of these next few rounds and the consequences.
“It would be fair to say I have been keeping a close eye on the ladder and results over the weekend but it was pleasing to see we stayed in the top four. We have a pretty simple approach for the last three games and that is just to keep trying to winning as many games as we can. I think if you do that you control your own destiny,” West said.
Werribee Tigers vs North Ballarat Roosters
Saturday 11th August – 1:10pm
Avalon Airport Oval, Werribee
Live broadcast on ABC TV from 1pm
Last Modified on 10/08/2012 13:08