Peter Jackson VFL - Round 5
Northern Blues vs North Ballarat
Etihad Stadium
1:15pm, Saturday 16 May, 2015

Last 5
Blues: 2
Dolphins: 3

Last Time They Met
North Ballarat 15. 13. (103) defeated Northern Blues 8. 15. (63) – Round 14, 2014 at Eureka Stadium

The Northern Blues will be looking to make it three on the trot against North Ballarat, in what will be a historic Saturday afternoon at Etihad Stadium.

For the first time in 12 years, a Northern Blues match will act as a curtain raiser for the Carlton game to follow.

The two sides have history at Etihad Stadium, with the Roosters winning two consecutive grand finals against the then-Northern Bullants in 2009 and 2010.

After a difficult week for the AFL side, half a dozen players have been dropped from Carlton and have been named to feature for the Northern Blues.

Blaine Boekhorst, Clem Smith, Dylan Buckley, Liam Jones, Mark Whiley and Nick Graham are all selected for the contest against the Roosters.

Headlining the exclusions are Troy Menzel, Matthew Watson, Jason Tutt and Matthew Dick (all of whom have been recalled to Carlton’s senior side), as well as the suspended Blaine Johnson.

Matthew Kreuzer will again front up for the Northern Blues, after a successful return to football last week against Frankston.

Zach Ballard has been renamed his status as 23rd man after his debut last week, while Paul Dirago, Tyrone Armitage and Sam Cattapan have been included in an extended squad.

The Blues will come into the game on Saturday full of confidence against a North Ballarat side coming off the back of an 82-point loss to the hands of Richmond last week.

Since their opening round victory against Collingwood, the Roosters have yet to get another win on the board, seeing them teeter perilously close to the foot of the ladder.

North Melbourne-listed Joel Tippett and Sam Durdin have been named for the Roosters, with the two looking to do the job down back against a Blues forward line spearheaded by Kreuzer and Jones.

At the other end, Tom Fields looms as the likely opponent for Aaron Black, who has found it difficult to find a spot in the AFL given the Roos’ plethora of tall options.

A Carlton-littered midfield will go head-to-head against a North Ballarat side boasting the likes of Sewell, Nick Rippon and Luke Kiel (the Roosters’ best last week) in an intriguing inside battle; North Ballarat is one of the best contested football sides in the competition despite its 1-3 start to the year.

It will be a question of Northern’s outside running ability to expose a lack of pace through the Roosters’ midfield that may influence the end result.

Northern Blues team* to take on North Ballarat:

*Team subject to Carlton-listed players not playing against St Kilda in Wellington.
**Denotes 23rd man.
BOLD = Carlton-listed player.