WIMMERA rivals St Arnaud and Donald will clash for the third and final time this season at Lord Nelson Park, St Arnaud, on Saturday.
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The fortunes of these two clubs have varied greatly in 2014, with the Royal Blues still looking for their first win while the Saints have their sights on finals football and a top-two finish.
St Arnaud president Brett Douglas said the club would not underestimate the Royal Blues as it looked to rebound from a loss to Charlton.
“We like to run. We consider ourselves a running team but Donald has the ability to cause a lot of stoppages and bottle us up,” he said.
“That’s probably where we got beaten on Saturday.
“We were good around the stoppages, but Charlton spread beautifully.”
The Saints have dominated the Royal Blues in recent years, having won their past eight meetings. This season’s matches have been decided by an average margin of 70 points.
Donald coach Paul Brooks said his side would try to reduce the deficit between the teams.
“We’ve just got to keep going with the confidence we’ve had over the past month,” he said.
“Our lack of consistency has been hurting us – we’ve just got to put in a consistent four quarters.”
Brooks said his side would do its best to challenge the finals contender.
“Their run is crucial to their game, so we’ve got to make sure we are matched up and don’t give them any leeway,” he said.
“It would be nice to get a win to reward the boys for their effort throughout the year.”
The Royal Blues will look to the likes of Seamus Young, 28 goals, Glenn Wyatt, Brody Haddow and Will McAllister to continue their good form.
Brooks said Ross Funcke and Billy Sexton were likely to return, as could Jordy Bath.
For the Saints, centre half-back Dan McGrath is set to return.
However Douglas said Shane Thorne, knee, Jimmy Wray, knee, Sam Dyke, broken leg, and Nathan Brown, ankle, would miss.
Douglas said with the business end of the season approaching, maintaining winning form was essential.
“Because the top four is pretty clustered, every team has got to keep winning,” he said.
Saints’ forward Daniel Needs kicked five goals at the weekend, while playing coach James McNamee and Caleb Bloomer have been consistent performers in recent weeks.
In other matches, Birchip-Watchem will most likely return to the top four if it can account for Wycheproof-Narraport at George Cartwright Oval, Birchip.
The Bulls sit four points behind fourth-placed Boort, who face ladder-leader Wedderburn on the Redbacks’ home turf.
