From Ballarat Courier
Reported by David Brehaut
Full Article Click Here
NORTH Ballarat has regained Leigh Harding for Sunday's clash with the Northern Bullants in the VFL grand final at Etihad Stadium.
Harding became an automatic selection once given a medical clearance after recovering from broken ribs.
Roosters coach Gerard FitzGerald had originally planned to delay the announcement of his final line-up until after training tonight.
However, with the North Melbourne-listed Harding given the green light he confirmed the grand final line-up yesterday.
Harding's selection means heartbreak for first-year player Oliver Tate.
Tate has had a roller-coaster ride late in the season, being in and out of the team.
He regained his spot for the preliminary final to cover the loss of Gavin Urquhart.
The 19-year-old put in a solid performance as the Selkirk Roosters crushed Box Hill Hawks on Sunday, but someone had to miss out.
Harding has been named on a wing for what will be his first outing for North Ballarat since round 13.
The Roosters have 10 changes from last year's premiership team, with Matt Tyler, Cam Richardson, Nick Peters, Derick Micallef, Nick Couch and Isaac Smith stepping up from their VFL list.
David Hale, Brayden Norris, Luke Delaney and Harding are newcomers from North Melbourne.
Tyler, Couch, Smith, Norris and Delaney are in their first seasons with the Roosters.
The full back line of captain Shaune Moloney, Marc Greig and Matt Sharkey, Steve Clifton, Josh Smith, Orren Stephenson, Myles Sewell, Dan Feery and Bill Driscoll are all striving for three premierships in a row with the Roosters.
Stevie Dinnell, Marcus White and Corey Jones have one flag each under their belt with North Ballarat, last year.
Meanwhile, the Carlton-aligned Northern Bullants look like taking an unchanged line up into the grand final.
They feature defenders Brett Thornton and Chris Johnson, and ruckman Sam Jacobs among 14 Carlton players in an extended squad.
The Bullants advanced to the grand final with a 26-point preliminary final win over premiership favourite Williamstown.
