On Sunday at Eureka Stadium, Ballarat. It is going to be COLD. And there is a 1:30 start for those lucky or brave enough to make it.
To be honest, Eureka Stadium is not a great place to watch football in: there is very little banking, so unless you are in the front row you don't see the game. That should not be an issue with the typical VFL crowd, but.....
After the bye we just had, we have some chance of regrouping: we need it after our recent efforts. There may also be a player or 2 returning from injury (or being banished from the seniors). The Preston side of the equation is not going to change much: Wilkinson has gone and Box Bransgrove (one of the few with some talent) is injured (again).
Last time we played the Ballarat boys, they gave us a drubbing at Etihad, with both Kreuzer and Warnock playing. Since then the Rooster have been mostly feather dusters, but they did record a good win against Frankston. With our list of injuries I cannot see us starting favourite. Nor can I see much coming from some of our serial underperformers: none of them has shown much in the wet, wind and mud.
However, as I wrote in the AFL pre game thread, hope springs eternal.
More details as they come to hand.
North Ballarat vs. Northern Blues
Sunday, Aug 02
Eureka Stadium at 1.30pm
North Ballarat
B: Lockyer Tippett Hoy
HB: Kiel Boseley Mullett
C: Warren Dumont Tsitas
HF: George Keeble Nahas
F: A Hooper Black Peters
R: Stephenson Sewell McKenzie
Int: Preuss Rippon Bacon S. Hooper* Schache Anderson Lanyon Marshall Staley
Northern Blues
B: Watson Fields J. Roberts
HB: Dick Foster Kilpatrick
C: Strachan Walsh Viojo
HF: Ellard Jaksch Johnson
F: Wilson Watson M. Jones
R: Aurrichio Walker Whiley
Int: Dirago Walton Armitage Bolger Ballard Cattapan Soncin McDonagh* Murray
Box Hill Hawks vs. Northern Blues
Saturday, Aug 01
Box Hill City Oval at 11am
Box Hill Hawks
B: Exon Summers L. Langford
HB: Crocker Fisher Walker
C: Evans S. Gibson Lock
HF: Lewis Lawlor Traynor
F: Switkowski Sheridan-Ferrie Jones
R: Z. Monkhorst Hardisty O'Donnell
Int: Pell Zema Sullivan Bond Carroll Donoghue Murphy Sandric Kidd Soccio Burt Vizzarri Dimasi
Northern Blues
B: Yelland Porter Zito
HB: McCabe M. Gleeson Declase
C: Haynes Soncin Armitage
HF: Toman Dirago Aujla
F: Walton Murray Cattapan
R: Bolger J. Gleeson Ballard
Int: Jenkins McDonald Bowkett Dawson Whillas Sidhom Gilbert Jordan Kur Wild
2015 AFL Victoria Development League
Box Hill Hawks 4.1 9.4 16.8 21.11 (137)
Northern Blues 1.1 2.3 2.5 7.8 (50)
GOALS:
Box Hill Hawks: Jones 3 Traynor 3 Fisher 3 Vizzarri 2 Kidd 2 Sullivan 2 Dimasi Sheridan-Ferrie Hardisty Murphy Evans Zema
Northern Blues: Murray 2 Haynes Soncin Aujla Zito Jenkins
BEST:
Box Hill Hawks: Fisher Crocker Hardisty Evans Monkhorst Lewis
Northern Blues: Haynes Murray Yelland McCabe Soncin Kur
https://twitter.com/nbluesfc
Three quarter time
NB-Roosters 19.11.125, Blues 1.7.13.
DISPOSALS: Walsh 22, Whiley 18, D. Watson 18, Cattapan 16, Walker 15
The Blues are down by over 100 points midway through the final quarter.
Oh dear.
I think we have the wind this quarter though ;)
absolutely expected given that the board/club pays lip service to the reserves and does not put enough resources into them
we have poor development in the seniors so we can expect less development in the reserves...
That is an understatement if there ever was one.
2015 Peter Jackson VFL
North Ballarat 6.6 9.10 19.11 20.17.137
Northern Blues 0.2 1.4 1.7 2.13.25
Looks like we actually had a decent last term. But the damage was more than done.
I wish you were wrong, but when I see the resources that Western Bulldogs put into Footscray or Melbourne put into Casey I sometimes wonder we can put a team on the field.
Certainly confirms as a club where we are , seniors & reserves show a real lack of depth , talent & results . Many times when we have been down , these are some hopes with players in the reserves, but this time the cupboard really is bare. Long way back coming up
DISPOSALS: Walsh 29, Whiley 26, D. Watson 21, Walker 20, Cattapan 19, Ellard 19.
Walsh has to be in contention for next week: 29 possessions when we got pounded is a real positive. Walker and Ellard did OK on their return from injury, but neither appear to have done enough to warrant an instant recall.
Orren Stephenson would have dominated the ruck so Walsh would have worked harder for his kicks....reckon they will play either Walker or Ellard next week...John Barkers CV is taking a bettering with these heavy losses and while the powers at be say Barkers stint as coach isnt results driven they didnt say anything about 10 and 20 goal defeats either and i think JB needs a very close game next week to stay in contention..
If Walks doesn't play seniors next weekend we are tanking, even quarter fit he's miles better than Tutt.
You are probably right. Orren Stephenson usually tears us a new one, and with only Auricchio to combat, it would have been pretty unlikely that we got many easy possessions in the centre. It also suggests that Whiley must have been OK.
Nahas got 7 goals!
also refers to lack of resources for coaching and development..pratts and mathiesons take note - you are wasting your money on the seniors if this continues...
Elevate any one we can and get rid of those who've shown they don't want to be there. >:(
Difficult to argue against lods.
So, who kicked all our goals?..lol.
Too true MF , at least we should have a lessor senior coaching bill next year , maybe they can fit development into the budget with that. But only thing you can make from spuds is chips and that won't win us games if we don't recruit players with passion & coach ability
It seems to me, most of the boys have raised the White Flag for the rest of this year....Bloody Malthouse has leeched $3million out of the club for his salary....and completly F....d us over in terms of drafting and player development...now a lot of them just want to get out of "Dodge"....very bad times ahead for the once mighty Blues :(
2015 Peter Jackson VFL
North Ballarat 6.6 9.10 19.11 20.17 (137)
Northern Blues 0.2 1.4 1.7 2.13 (25)
GOALS:
North Ballarat: Nahas 7 Hooper 3 Hooper 2 Tsitas George Sewell Hoy Keeble Preuss Black Peters
Northern Blues: Ellard Strachan
BEST:
North Ballarat: Nahas Sewell Rippon Tippett Hoy Hooper
Northern Blues: Walsh Whiley Ellard Kilpatrick Walker Jones
From the number of possessions he had, this must be a typo.
A bit of a flogging there Crash. Were the expected to lose by so much ? None of our guys appear to keep in touch with their opponents by the look of things. Carlton, NB ::)
Yep and which board factions that had control of the decision to sack ratten and engage mick must be held accountable. ..
Quite unexpected. I find it difficult to understand. Since the baby Blues obliterated Frankston, we've suffered a couple of real hidings with very little positive to come from them. Some of it is the injury problems we have. Some of it is simply that the guys we have remaining in the NBs are not looking good. Some of it is the relative lack of talent in the non Carlton side of things. Some of it is lack of leadership. As for the rest, maybe they've just had enough. But we certainly have not been showing the desire and the spirit that was commonplace in the first half of the season at NB level. Things could not be bleaker.
I'd only consider Walker if played forward - that can even be from the goalsquare. Otherwise, he can stay in the VFL.
Walsh must play AFL next week - and not as the sub!
Bring Holman back in also.
Tutt out. Wood out.
Walker and Yarran forward. Henderson back.
Jamison forward with Casboult and Everitt.
not bad suggestions at all, but we really are shuffling the deck chairs now
(http://i.imgur.com/C9cB0Fs.png)
(http://i.imgur.com/NzbN5Uj.png)
These statistics tell a terrible tale.