North Ballarat news

NORTH Ballarat coach Gerard FitzGerald is confident Tom Roach will be right to line up against Coburg Tigers in the Victorian Football League at AUSTAR Arena tomorrow.

While FitzGerald said he was unable to declare Roach over the line, he had been encouraged by what his hard-running midfielder had done on the training track.

"I'm more confident now than I was before training on Wednesday night," FitzGerald said yesterday.

Roach left the ground late in the first quarter against Casey Scorpions six days ago with a slight thigh strain and did not return.

Jacob Spolding is not so fortunate.

He remains sidelined with a corked thigh for a third match.

FitzGerald said Spolding was able to run, but his kicking was substantially restricted.

The inclusion of the Kangaroos' Kasey Green for the injured Tristan Cartledge (knee) is the only change to the team which defeated Casey by 14 points.

Cartledge is out four to five weeks with a strained medial ligament.

FitzGerald plans to increase the workload of key forward Callum Urch tomorrow.

FItzGerald eased Urch back after a long-term hamstring injury in the win over the Scorpions - using him off the bench.

As one of the VFL's best defenders, Moloney is accustomed to "saving" games.

This time he provided the impetus in attack to lead the Selkirk Roosters to their fifth win in 10 rounds - 16.13 (109) to 14.11 (95).

Moloney kicked three telling goals in a gripping last quarter in which the Scorpions constantly surged.

With Tristan Cartledge sidelined with a knee injury and Callum Urch struggling to find touch in his first senior appearance in two months, Moloney went forward in the second half and, using the same desperation he shows against

the competition's best goalkickers, helped North Ballarat keep its nose in front.

Roosters coach Gerard FitzGerald dedicated most of his post-match address to Moloney's inspirational performance, which might easily be a catalyst for North Ballarat finally getting some genuine momentum.

From Ballarat Courier

NORTH Ballarat coach Gerard FitzGerald is confident the Roosters can get back into winning form against Casey Scorpions in the Victorian Football League at AUSTAR Arena in Ballarat today.

But he also felt the same going into the Williamstown encounter six days ago and the Selkirk Roosters suffered a caning.

They let themselves down badly.

There had a been massive build-up to the previous assignment, when the Roosters had inflicted reigning premier Sandringham with its first defeat of the year.

And as it turned out they could not cope with the same type of pressure two weeks running.

This has been an issue for North Ballarat most of the season with it being unable to win two matches in a row.

Now it runs into the Scorpions, which appear to have turned the corner.

After being on the end of four consecutive losses, Casey turned around its fortunes with a 24-point victory over Port Melbourne - a team rated highly by North Ballarat.

So there is no respite, especially with Casey lining up with St Kilda's Raphael Clarke and Andrew Thompson.

Positively for the Roosters, Steve Clifton (foot) and Ben Taylor (ankle) passed fitness tests last night to confirm their returns to the line-up for what shapes as a season-defining match as each team battles to get into the top eight.

Sharkey has not played since foot surgery pre-season.

The 2006 VFL Team of the Year member had a bone graft and pin inserted to repair a stress fracture in his left foot.

The defender initially dismissed the injury, but was shocked to learn he had a fracture on the outside of the foot.

The Selkirk Roosters originally hoped Sharkey would miss no more than six matches, but he has returned with them on four wins and five losses, outside the top eight in ninth position, and in desperate

need of a victory over the St Kilda-aligned Scorpions after losing to Williamstown by 40 points.

Sharkey has been named on a half-back flank after proving his match fitness in two appearances in the reserves.

The 21-year-old established himself as one of the best in the VFL last year, playing in all North Ballarat's 20 matches, including two finals.

Sharkey and the Kangaroos-listed Callum Urch are pivotal inclusions for the Roosters.

Urch has not played in the seniors since straining a hamstring in round two.

He lasted only a couple of minutes in that match against Coburg Tigers and has missed seven games. He got through 70 per cent of a VFL reserves match on Sunday.

Roach has missed the Selkirk Roosters' past two matches after dislocating a collarbone against Port Melbourne on May 12.

The Victoria-Western Australia clash between those home and away fixtures provided Roach with an extra week to recover.

Roach was in season-best form when injured.

Ruckman Orren Stephenson is also among eight inclusions in an expanded line-up named last night.

Stephenson missed North Ballarat's gripping win over Sandringham on Saturday after failing to recover from a groin strain.

Roosters coach Gerard FitzGerald has also included Kangaroos trio Blake Grima, Shannon Watt and Matt Campbell, AFL rookie Ben Hughes, Steve Clifton and Matt Sharkey.

Grima, Watt and Campbell have been named by the Kangaroos on an expanded interchange for their clash with St Kilda on Sunday along with Ed Lower and Eddie Sansbury, who are also in the Roosters team.

Lower has been in season-best touch for North Ballarat and promotion would be a fitting reward for the youngster.