at Beaufort, Saturday, 2.30pm

Last time: Beaufort 14.11 (95) d Springbank 5.8 (38), round 2, 2016

The emerging powerhouse meets the proven champion in one of the most anticipated Central Highlands Football League battles of the season on Saturday.

Unbeaten after the opening six rounds, Beaufort will host a Springbank side that is also yet to drop a game in its bid for a history-making third-straight senior premiership.

And the Crows have the wood over the Tigers in recent times, with wins in both 2015 and 2016.

Springbank heads into this clash on the back of a week off through the bye and without gun forward Tom Eltringham and utility Mitchell Keighrey, who have left for overseas travel. The pair will be joined after this game by fellow senior players Mitch Couch and Justin Simpson.

Springbank coach Michael Searl admits the five or six weeks without the quarter could prove a vulnerable period for his team, but says it will still go out thinking its game plan is good enough to win.

Crows coach Rohan Brown is excited by the prospect of playing the Tigers and said the fixture offers a great learning opportunity for his charges.

“We are giving ourselves every chance to beat a great side and we will learn a lot win, lose or draw,” Brown said.

The experienced Chris Drew and Scott Howard are the two key inclusions to the team that beat Dunnstown last weekend.

Prediction: Beaufort

Daylesford v Carngham-Linton

at Daylesford, Saturday, 2.30pm

Last time: Daylesford 14.19 (103) d Carngham-Linton 0.5 (5), round 14, 2016

Daylesford coach Marcus Goonan remains happy enough with where his team sits in its bid for back-to-backs finals appearances despite Saturday’s upset defeat at the hands of Creswick.

The Bulldogs are 10th on the ladder following six rounds and enter a run of weekends where they should be able to climb up the table.

Goonan said the impact of the loss to the Wickers was somewhat eased by the win over arch-rivals Hepburn – when his team was underdogs – earlier in the campaign.

“If you had have offered me 3-3 (win-loss) at the start of the year, I probably would have taken it,” Goonan said.

“We are back in that ruck of sides that are just going to miss out (on finals) or just going to make it at the moment.”

A terrible run with injury hasn’t helped Daylesford’s cause, with Goonan revealing about nine players currently missing from the senior side.

The latest to join that list is forward Jack Nulty, who has been left out of the team that will take on Carngham-Linton on Saturday with what Goonan has described as a back issue.

In a boost, the experienced Rob Rodgers returns for this fixture.

The Saints are up and about after their second win of the season on the weekend and have made one change to the team that beat Newlyn.

Prediction: Daylesford

Bungaree v Creswick

at Bungaree, Saturday, 2.30pm

Last time: Bungaree 10.9 (69) d Creswick 3.4 (22), round 17, 2016

Creswick coach Ryan Knowles heads towards Saturday’s clash with a good level of optimism that his side can cause an upset against Bungaree.

His confidence follows an impressive win over last season’s finalists Daylesford and a string of matches where the Wickers were in winnable positions, but faltered late in the match.

They have included losses to Clunes and Newlyn by less than a goal and a defeat at the hands of Learmonth when leading at the final change.

Knowles said given the way his side performed on the weekend against the Bulldogs, he expected to be a good chance of success against the Demons.

“We need to keep winning to stay in touch with the eight,” Knowles said.

Heading into the round seven clash, the Wickers are ninth and just percentage outside the top eight bracket.

And this shapes as an important game to win given the tough encounters with Gordon and Buninyong in the coming weeks.

The Demons, meanwhile, are sixth following last Saturday’s success against Skipton.

That result followed a good win over Rokewood-Corindhap.

Bungaree coach Heath Pyke and his selection panel have made just one change to the side that got over the Emus, with Sam Mewett coming in for his first senior game of the season.

Prediction: Bungaree

Ballan v Waubra

at Ballan, Saturday, 2.30pm

Last time: Waubra 15.8 (98) d Ballan 3.8 (26), round 10, 2016

Ballan: The Blues will field arguably their best team of the year on Saturday, with onballer Jarryd Graham available and fellow midfielder Darren Tanti back from a hamstring injury.

And Ballan is set to debut recruit Jack Connor, who comes in to fill a gap in the team's ruck stocks.

Waubra: The Roos are fronting from their first defeat of the season after going down to Buninyong in a thriller last Saturday.

Waubra gets back North Ballarat Roosters-listed James Lukich for this clash, while forward Jackson Kinna is set to miss after badly dislocating his finger on Saturday.

Prediction: Waubra

Buninyong v Rokewood-Corindhap

at Buninyong, Saturday, 2.30pm

Last time: Buninyong 23.13 (151) d Rokewood-Corindhap 5.2 (32), round 8, 2016

Buninyong: With North Ballarat having a bye in the VFL, Roosters-listed onballer Hayden Walters is set to play his second game of the year for the Bombers on Saturday.

He will join a team that secured a much-needed five-point win over Waubra last weekend.

Rokewood-Corindhap: Coach Jarrod Thompson and his assistant Jason Hutchins look set to spend Saturday afternoon on the sidelines with respective hamstring issues.

But in some good news, young Jesse Johnson will make his senior debut for the Grasshoppers in the clash against Buninyong.

Prediction: Buninyong

Dunnstown v Hepburn

at Dunnstown, Saturday, 2.30pm

Last time: Hepburn 10.16 (76) d Dunnstown 11.8 (74), round 11, 2016

Dunnstown: Another week, another 2016 finalist for the Towners to contend with.

The tough start to the season continues on Saturday for Dunnstown, which remains the only team without a point after the opening six rounds of the year.

Hepburn: Onballer Dan O'Halloran was close to being named for the Burras' senior team this weekend, but instead looks set to make his return from a serious back injury in the showdown with Beaufort in round seven.

O'Halloran is running and training with the Hepburn squad following the injury he received against Newlyn in round one.

Prediction: Hepburn

Gordon v Skipton

at Gordon, Saturday, 2.30pm

Last time: Gordon 23.17 (155) d Skipton 3.5 (23), round 15, 2016

Gordon: Ruckman Luke Gunnell is unavailable for the game against Skipton, while forward/onballer Mick Nolan is set to miss with a reported ankle injury.

Backman Gerard Clifford is back in the team that beat Rokewood-Corindhap last weekend, while Richmond-listed Tom Langford has again been named for the Eagles.

Skipton: The Emus were outclassed by a finals-destined outfit in Bungaree last weekend and it's hard to see the side upsetting Gordon in this fixture.

After the Eagles, Skipton has another tough game against Buninyong before it takes on lowly Ballan.

Prediction: Gordon

Newlyn v Clunes

at Newlyn, Saturday, 2.30pm

Last time: Newlyn 12.14 (86) d Clunes 3.5 (23), round 9, 2016

Newlyn: Looking to get back on track after a shock defeat at the hands of Carngham-Linton, the Cats welcome back Northern Territory-based duo Henry Armour and Liam McGregor for the home game against Clunes.

But the team will be without ruckman Jarrod Fryar, who has been ruled out with a hamstring injury.

Clunes: The Magpies will wear specially-designed jumpers to support indigenous round on Saturday.

And it's an important game for Clunes, which has dropped its past three fixtures to Carngham-Linton, Springbank and Learmonth.

Prediction: Newlyn