BALLARAT will need to snap a nine-game losing streak against Redan if it is to qualify for the Ballarat Football League grand final.
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The Swans have not triumphed over the Lions for four long years – ironically the preliminary final in 2010 when Ballarat won by 49 points, only to go down in the grand final against Lake Wendouree.
Since then, however, the maroon and gold have reigned supreme in one of the BFL’s most historic rivalries.
A new chapter is set to be written in the chronicles on Saturday, but which way the result will go is anybody’s guess.
Redan will arguably go in as favourites on the back of better form and previous meetings between the pair, while Ballarat is taking an injury-depleted line-up into the clash.
The Swans have ruled out Mitch Rodd after he again succumbed to injury in his first senior game of the year last week, with serious question marks over the fitness of key big men Luke Brennan and Sam Conroy.
Brennan is still feeling the effects of a stray knee from a teammate and will again miss with a back injury, with Ballarat coach Ash Baker saying the former AFL-player would “need a miracle” to play.
Baker said he hoped Sam Conroy would be able to play through the pain of a sprained ankle to fill his post in the ruck.
Sam Caldow will return from suspension and should Conroy not be declared fit, will play as ruckman.
Mitch Martin comes up from the under-18.5s and Matt Dawson also gets the call up from the reserves.
For Redan, Damien Horbury seems all-but certain to return from an ankle injury that has kept him out for two weeks, named on the wing, although he is likely to play in defence.
He will take the place of Nathan Blomeley, who was struck down with illness this week.
Pat Britt failed a fitness test at training on Thursday night and has been ruled out for a second consecutive week with a shoulder injury sustained against North Ballarat City in the qualifying final.
Left with the welcomed – but difficult – decision of deciding who to drop, Lions coach Eammon Gill said there was strong competition for a spot in the senior side this week.
“Whoever misses out is genuinely unlucky,” he said.
PREDICTION: Redan too strong for the injury-depleted Swans, 26 points.
