The Courier |
WHEN Ballarat last took on Bendigo in an interleague match four years ago, it was run off its feet with speed and agility.

But coach Ben Jordan is determined not to let the same thing happen again.

In 2009, the Ballarat Football League was touted as the all-star team, capable of taking on any side, especially an undermanned Bendigo.

The result: Ballarat lost easily.

This year however, the roles are reversed.

Thirteen players will pull on the dark blue jumper of the BFL for the first time, in what is shaping as one of the youngest sides for many years.

On the other hand, opponents Bendigo could have upwards of 15 players with interleague experience.

Jordan admitted it was somewhat of an unknown heading into tomorrow’s clash.

He and his team of assistant coaches know each of their players back to front in an individual sense, but as a team they remain relatively untried.

“It’s a big turnover, but we always knew it was going to be,” Jordan said.

“It’s a bit of an unknown I suppose, both for us and obviously for Bendigo.

“I think that’s where we needed to go in general though. We needed the speed all across the ground, not just in the midfield.”

The side to take on Bendigo is dotted with midfielders, many of which have been named in other places on the field.

Jordan said rotating players through the midfield would be a key strategy for the players to remain competitive in what would probably be a high-paced match.

“I think you really have to name at least seven or eight midfielders at the least to be competitive,” Jordan said.

“Playing more than 10 minutes on the ball in a match like this is a pretty heavy workload so we are going to have to be rotating them through.”