North Ballarat news

From Ballarat Courier
Reported by Melanie Whelan
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STABILITY is important for North Ballarat Roosters as they seek to build a full four-quarter effort this Victorian Football League season.

The Roosters last night named an unchanged line-up, plus extended interchange, to face Werribee on Sunday.

There has been plenty of in-depth match analysis and soul-searching at Eureka Stadium after the Roosters lost a fifth match this season from a one-quarter blow-out.

This line-up pushed Box Hill and staged a late resurgence at home last week. It has lots to prove and momentum to gain before the Roosters enter a bye round.

From Ballarat Courier
Reported by Melanie Whelan
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ROOSTERS captain Michael Searl has been ruled out of action for at least three weeks with a broken hand.

It is a heavy blow for North Ballarat Roosters, who host fifth-placed Box Hill tomorrow, but it comes in a week that defender Liam Hoy has been cleared to return to the backlines from a broken thumb.

Roosters team manager Marg Richards confirmed yesterday that it was a clean break in Searl’s hand and the skipper would not require surgery.

Searl sustained the injury in the Selkirk Roosters’ 44-point loss to Northern Blues in Victorian Football League action on Saturday.

From Ballarat Courier
Reported by Melanie Whelan
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THERE are those who naively tell North Ballarat Roosters coach Gerard FitzGerald that today’s game is a free win already – no stress, easy points.

FitzGerald said it was “a bit too convenient” of an assessment.

Frankston is no longer the cellar-dweller easy beat of the Victorian Football League.

Already this season, the Dolphins have nabbed wins against traditional heavyweight Port Melbourne and Collingwood, a team that defeated the Roosters by 52 points in round one.

This is no fluke.

From Ballarat Courier
Reported by Melanie Whelan
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THIS is just business for Essendon.

The Bombers’ AFL team played amid the added hype and emotion of Anzac Day at the MCG on Thursday.

Their Victorian Football League match in Ballarat today is like the finishing note before they sign out and move on for another week.

They will field a string of players pushing for AFL selection – like Tayte Pears, Ben Melksham, and Joe Daniher, the athletic tall who was almost granted an AFL debut this week.

North Ballarat Roosters coach Gerard FitzGerald said the VFL was no longer just about developing lists when it came to AFL clubs.

From Ballarat Courier
Reported by Melanie Whelan
Full Story Click Here

Lucas Cook will make his senior debut for North Ballarat Roosters tomorrow.

The Selkirk Roosters last night named Cook at centre half-forward for their home clash with Essendon.

Cook, recruited from Melbourne’s AFL list, has been settling back into Eureka Stadium with the Roosters’ development team for the opening three rounds.

The former North Ballarat Rebel, from Hopetoun, was drafted to the Demons in 2011 and spent two seasons on the Dees’ list before he was delisted last year, without having played an AFL game.