Ground: Rupanyup Recreation Reserve, Saturday, 2.20pm.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Umpires: G. White and G. Rigby.
Last time they met: Round three, 2014. Laharum 31.14 (200) d Rupanyup 6.10 (46).
RUPANYUP will go from one extreme to the other on Saturday when Laharum travels to Rupanyup Recreation Reserve.
The Panthers are fresh from a win against bottom-of-the-ladder Pimpinio at the weekend, but will face the undefeated reigning premier in what is set to be a big change of pace.
Rupanyup coach Mick Finnigan said his team faced the biggest challenge in district league football.
“Just because we’ve achieved a bit of success, it doesn’t mean we have to do anything differently.
“Last time we played Kalkee it was a pretty good game up until the last quarter when they blew us out of the water, but we proved that if we’re doing all the right things we can make a contest of it.”
Campbell Matthews, Dennis Finnigan and Harrison Baker are all unavailable for selection, but Glen Hodgins should be back after a week in the reserves and Scott Reading is to be recalled.
Laharum onballer Robbie Miller will be recalled after serving two weeks of a six-week suspension for racial abuse.
The other four weeks of the sentence are suspended for a year.
Also boosting the Mountain Men will be small forward Daniel Griffiths and young tall Angus Martin, who has a week off from North Ballarat Rebels duties.
Fellow young gun Matt Velthuis has been ruled out for the season with a broken shoulder blade and Rhys Bennett is out with work commitments, but coach Shannon Argall said the team was shaping up well.
“Losing Matt for the rest of the season is a bit of a blow for us, but we’ve got three handy inclusions and Dylan Parish has been cleared to start training, so we’re getting close to full strength,” he said.
“Rupanyup is a pretty fiercely competitive and physical side so it’s going to be a tight contest in close, but we have the experience to match it with the physical sides and the fleet-footed ones as well.”