From Ballarat Courier
Reported by David Brehaut
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NORTH Ballarat defender Dan Feery undergoes surgery today to repair a broken nose.

The operation means the in-form Feery will miss tomorrow's clash with Sandringham at Eureka Stadium Ballarat.

Feery broke his nose against Coburg Tigers on Sunday - a blow that kept him out of action for the second half.

Selkirk Roosters football manager Marg Richards said it was important for Feery to have surgery within 10 days of sustaining the injury.

She said any longer and the task of repairing the nose would be more complex.

Richards said the timing of the operation also ensured Feery would be fit for the finals in two weeks.

Feery's setback makes way for the return of first-year player Nick Couch, who was left out against Coburg.

From Ballarat Courier
Reported by David Brehaut
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NORTH BALLARAT had the win it needed to have in the Victorian Football League at Eureka Stadium Ballarat yesterday.
The Roosters kept a persistent Coburg Tigers at arm's length by 22 points to retain their hold on second position.

Getting home 15.13 (103) to 12.9 (81) was nothing to get carried away with.

From the Ballarat Courier
Reported by David Brehaut
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WHAT you see is what you get.
North Ballarat has basically assembled the combination with which it will attempt to capture a third consecutive VFL premiership.

North Melbourne's Leigh Harding is the only likely major inclusion in the weeks ahead.

Apart from that, the only changes open to head coach Gerard FitzGerald will be able to do is some cosmetic moves with younger players from the Selkirk Roosters' VFL list.

With this in mind, North Ballarat must immediately get back to its best against the Richmond-aligned Coburg Tigers at Eureka Stadium Ballarat tomorrow.

There can be no hangover from the shock loss to Werribee of a week ago.

From the Ballarat Courier
Reported by David Brehaut
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ORREN Stephenson will make a timely return for North Ballarat against Coburg Tigers in the Victorian Football League at Eureka Stadium on Sunday.
The VFL's number one ruckman and Big V representative has missed six matches with a broken hand.

Although North Ballarat has had the services of experienced North Melbourne big man David Hale in that time, it has still been undermanned.

Hale has had to share his time between a key forward role and the ruck, leaving teenager Sam Conroy to carry a large part of the workload.

Stephenson goes back into the team with the Selkirk Roosters under pressure to rebound after a shock 13-point loss to Werribee.

From the Ballarat Courier
Reported by David Brehaut
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NORTH Ballarat has a lot at stake over the remaining four home-and-away rounds in the Victorian Football League.
The Selikirk Roosters have achieved two major objectives.

They locked up another finals appearance early in the season and then sealed a top-four finish with a four-point win over Port Melbourne a week ago.

Now the task at hand is to secure a top-two position and hopefully a home final.

If its draw is anything to go by, North Ballarat should achieve this.

The Roosters face Werribee Tigers (13th), Coburg Tigers (11th), Sandringham (ninth) and Geelong (12th).

From Ballarat Courier
Reported by David Brehaut
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MYLES SEWELL has recovered from hamstring soreness and will line up against Frankston in the Victorian Football League in Ballarat tomorrow.

Sewell returns after missing one week. He was left out of the home clash with Gold Coast largely as a precautionary measure, given he is one of the Selkirk Roosters' most important players as their premiership defence gains momentum.

Nick Couch has recovered from a corked thigh suffered against Gold Coast and will play.

However, captain Shaune Moloney remains on the injury list with a strained hamstring.

This is the third game in a row Moloney has a missed.

North Ballarat coach Gerard FitzGerald will determine who Sewell replaces after tonight's last training session of the week.

From the Ballarat Courier
Reported by David Brehaut
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REIGNING premier North Ballarat can start thinking about another top-two finish in the Victorian Football League.
The Roosters have the draw to secure first or second for the third season in a row.

Fresh from accounting for the 13th-placed Gold Coast by 29 points in a low-scoring affair in Ballarat on Saturday, the Roosters face five of the bottom six teams in the remaining six home and away rounds.

This gives them a big chance of going into the finals on a 10-game winning streak.

From Ballarat Courier
Reported by DAVID BREHAUT
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MYLES SEWELL is the latest big name to fall by the wayside for VFL reigning premier North Ballarat.
Sewell joins captain Shaune Moloney and number one ruckman Orren Stephenson will be on the sidelines for today's clash with Gold Coast at Eureka Stadium Ballarat.

Sewell was ruled out last night with hamstring soreness - the same problem which has Moloney out for the a second week.

Stephenson is recovering from a broken hand and is expected to miss up to another six weeks.

Selkirk Roosters football manager Marg Richards said Sewell pulled up sore after the win over Collingwood a week ago, but trained on Wednesday night.

Sewell, Moloney and Stephenson are the three most important players in the North Ballarat line-up as the VFL's reigning best and fairest, captain and competition's number one ruckman respectively.

From the Ballarat Courier
Reoported by David Brehaut
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NORTH Ballarat will take momentum into the mid-season break after maintaining its domination over Bendigo Bombers at Essendon's Windy Hill in the Victorian Football League yesterday.
The Selkirk Roosters withstood a late charge to out-last Bendigo by six points.

North Ballarat has now won 18 of its 19 clashes with Bendigo in the VFL.

Just as Williamstown did against North Ballarat the previous week, Bendigo worked its way to an eight-point lead in time-on in the last quarter.

Not to be denied though, for the second week in a row the Roosters' resolve enabled them to regain control - this time 15.14 (104) to 15.8 (98)

A healthy start with a five-goal first quarter helped North Ballarat maintain a small, but handy enough lead for the first half.

Source: Herald Sun

THE State Government and North Melbourne Football Club are on a collision course with the AFL over plans to play matches in Ballarat.

Premier John Brumby trumpeted a $1 million upgrade of Ballarat's Eureka Stadium as the first step towards playing AFL matches there by 2013. An AFL spokesman said it had no intention to move matches from Etihad Stadium or the MCG.