The Northern Blues will be looking to square the ledger after four rounds when they host Collingwood at Preston City Oval on Saturday afternoon.
The two sides sit in 11th and 12th positions on the VFL ladder respectively after the opening three games, with both sides having a 1-2 record.
The Blues will be coming off a home defeat at the hands of Port Melbourne last week at Preston, while Collingwood was humbled by 85 points against Essendon at Victoria Park on Sunday.
Senior coach Josh Fraser will be looking for his first home victory against the VFL affiliate of the club which he played 200 AFL games for from 2000 to 2010.
The respective sides have named extended squads of 31 players, with both AFL teams submitting extended squads given their respective matches on Sunday.
Northern will be looking to overturn a barren run at the former fortress that is Preston City Oval: the Blues haven’t won at the venue in nearly two years, and have gone winless in their last five attempts.
The last time the Blues emerged victorious at Preston was against Collingwood in 2014, where Cameron Wood - who is on the squad on Saturday - and Patrick Cripps polled Liston Trophy votes.
Only Wood, Dennis Armfield, Nick Graham and captain Tom Wilson remain from that triumphant side against Collingwood ahead of the match on Saturday.
The Blues will be looking to avoid a 1-3 record in an even VFL competition to start the season: only once in the last decade have Northern won only one of their first four games.
Tyler Roos will make his Blues VFL debut after being named as the 23rd man, while Ben Casley and Andrew Phillips may also play their first Northern games after being included in the 31-man squad.
The Northern Blues' squad for Round 4. Please note: The players on Carlton's extended bench have been included in this squad. The final teams for Carlton and the Northern Blues will be named at 5pm on Friday. (Graphic by the Northern Blues)
Kristian Jaksch will again assume the mantle as the primary attacking outlet for the Blues, with his last fortnight yielding a return of six goals from two matches playing mainly up forward.
Jaksch will be supported by Andrejs Everitt, who will play for the Northern Blues for the second straight week, and the mosquito fleet of Andrew Gallucci and Clem Smith.
Andrejs Everitt will line up for the Northern Blues for a second consecutive week. (Photo: AFL Media)
After mustering only eight goals from five individual goal kickers last week, the Blues will be coming up against a leaky Magpies defence which is statistically the second worst in the VFL after three rounds (327 points conceded).
Should he feature for the VFL side after being named on an extended Carlton bench, Michael Jamison could get the role on Travis Cloke, who will feature for the VFL Pies at Preston on Saturday.
Jamison could be supported by the likes of experienced duo Simon White and Kieran McGuinness, as well as Jesse Glass-McCasker who continues to show impressive moments at VFL level.
The likes of Jarryd Blair, James Aish and Alan Toovey have been named for Collingwood, but all feature on the AFL team’s extended bench for their clash with West Coast on Sunday.
However, the Pies aren’t lacking for offensive firepower, with Cloke, Jesse White and impressive VFL-listed tall Ash Close all forming part of Collingwood’s forward line set-up.
MATCH DETAILS
VFL Round 4
Northern Blues vs. Collingwood VFL
Preston City Oval
2pm, Saturday April 30
Adults $10, Concession $5, Kids under 15 free
Northern Blues members - free
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Andrejs Everitt: After making his Northern Blues debut last weekend, Everitt will be hoping to have a greater impact against the Pies after a relatively quiet return match from injury last weekend. Everitt kicked a career-best haul of four goals against Collingwood’s AFL side last season, and will have to put in a big shift alongside Kristian Jaksch if the Blues are to kick a winning score to come away with the four points.
Andrew Gallucci: Last year featuring in the VFL Team of the Year, Gallucci has had a solid start to his career at the Northern Blues but will be looking to have a greater scoreboard impact against the Pies. Gallucci, who started his season with two goals against Footscray, was highlighted mid-week by Northern senior coach Josh Fraser for his pressure acts around the ground at the weekend against Port Melbourne.
Glenn Strachan: The co-vice captain comes up against the side where he played seven games in his first two years of VFL football. Now a permanent fixture of the Blues’ team, Strachan has had a solid opening three games this season, but his leadership and knowledge of the opponent could prove to be pivotal come Saturday afternoon if the Blues are to come away with a drought-breaking win at Preston.
