ALL six country sides clash in a five-game weekend as Northern Knights have the bye, and the Round 12 clash between Tasmania Devils and Eastern Ranges will take place as a standalone fixture on July 13. That will be good news for those sides, with the AFL Under 18 Championships concluded, meaning teams should be at full strength. For the rest of the 10 teams competing this round, expect them to be missing the majority of their Victorian representatives, with all three sides – Vic Country, Vic Metro and the Allies competing in the final two rounds of the carnival today and next Wednesday.

SANDRINGHAM DRAGONS vs. OAKLEIGH CHARGERS
Saturday, June 29, 9.20am
Trevor Barker Oval

Traditional rivals, Sandringham Dragons and Oakleigh Chargers go head-to-head to open Round 12 of the competition, in what will be more of a test of each side’s depth, rather than top-end talent considering the amount of names missing from both sides due to representative duties. The Dragons are coming off a hard-fought loss to top-of-the-table Eastern Ranges and sit a game behind the Ranges in second, and just percentage ahead of Gippsland Power and Western Jets with seven wins from 10 games. The Chargers on the other hand, went down to Gippsland Power in a seven-goal loss, which with the home side strengthened by a number of returning Vic Country players, was not unexpected. While the clash between the sides is usually a close one, Sandringham’s depth this year appears the stronger of the sides, matching it with the top teams during the past couple of months, while Oakleigh has had mixed results, often relying on a player to steal the match from the opposition. Sandringham are bolstered by the likes of key position players, Charlie Dean and Andrew Courtney, as well as Hugo Ralphsmith through the midfield and Jake Bowey up forward. Oakleigh also have a number of changes, with Jamarra Ugle-Hagan returning and likely to provide plenty of excitement in the forward half.

DANDENONG STINGRAYS vs. GWV REBELS
Saturday, June 29, 12pm
Shepley Oval

After remaining undefeated from seven rounds – including a bye to Geelong Falcons – the Dandenong Stingrays have dropped two consecutive matches minus their Vic Country players. But if there’s one team desperate for a win, it is the side with the current longest losing streak, the Greater Western Victoria (GWV) Rebels. The Rebels have not sung the song since smashing Northern Territory Thunder Academy on April 28, when they triumphed by 55 points at Windy Hill. Two months on, and the Rebels have lost six consecutive matches, including four by five goals or more, and a 111-point shellacking at the hands of likely minor premiers, Eastern Ranges. With some of their Vic Country representatives returning for their Round 11 clash with the Western Jets, the Rebels put in a strong effort after a slow start, but fell seven points short. With Dandenong understrength, it is a great chance for the Rebels to break their losing streak, but at home at Shepley Oval, with the Stingrays needing a win to jump back inside the top four, it is as much on the line for Dandenong to gain form as it is for the Rebels. The Stingrays lose the likes of Sam De Koning and Lachlan Williams, while the Rebels have a couple of big outs themselves with Isaac Wareham and Liam Herbert into the Vic Country squad after some strong form.

BENDIGO PIONEERS vs. MURRAY BUSHRANGERS
Saturday, June 29, 12.15pm
Victoria Park, Echuca

In a special Echuca clash, Bendigo’s players from the far north west of the state get a reprieve of a handful of hours travel, while welcoming Murray Bushrangers who have followed the state border across from east to west. These teams have had differing form lines across the season, with the Bushrangers seemingly not able to buy a win earlier in the season, going down in tight loss after tight loss, with wins over the bottom two sides the only victories heading into Round 10. Since then, the Bushrangers have defeated Tasmania Devils by 38 points, and Dandenong Stingrays by 34 points, and while the teams might have been understrength, they were important victories for the side that still holds an impressive percentage of 94 despite a 4-6 record. Their opponents hold an even more remarkable percentage considering the Pioneers have won three from nine, with one of those being a five-point thriller over Murray in Round 2. At that stage, the Pioneers were two from two, but as the likes of Brodie Kemp and Thomson Dow headed off to school footy, the Pioneers tight wins turned into tight losses, going down to Northern Knights, Tasmania Devils and Sandringham Dragons within a month by a combined 11 points in a heartbreaking turn of events. After six consecutive losses, Bendigo finally broke the drought last week with a 29-point win over Geelong Falcons. The game on the weekend will be a tough one now Murray has found its groove, and the home team will need to be at its best to win. Unlike a lot of the other sides, Bendigo has maintained a stable side from last round’s win, with Brady Rowles a notable Vic County out, but other Country representatives, James Schischka and Ben Worme still in the side. Murray has lost Lachlan Ash and Ben Kelly among five changes, with overager Zane Barzen among those players returning to the side.

GIPPSLAND POWER vs. GEELONG FALCONS
Saturday, June 29, 2.30pm
Shepley Oval

In the second game of a double-header at Shepley Oval, Gippsland Power’s depth will take on one of the league’s youngest sides in Geelong Falcons. The Falcons have had their most disappointing start to a year in recent history, but with injuries to a number of top players – including Cooper Stephens – and the majority of their side being bottom-age, the Falcons have plenty of reasons to smile for 2020. Luckily under the Wildcard system, if the Flacons can get their top-end talent fit and firing come September, they can still make finals despite likely finishing bottom two. Gippsland will be missing almost half of its best 22 – a testament to the quality coming through the program that so many players were chosen for Vic Country – which makes it tough for the Power during the national carnival. They dropped a couple of games prior to Round 11, and it was no surprise to see with the likes of Fraser Phillips (five goals) and captain Brock Smith back in the line-up, the Power looked a much more settled team to easily take the points against Oakleigh. Gippsland will be understrength again in this match-up, which means the Falcons have a genuine shot at taking down a top four side. But the Power team will have got used to its structures after two losses and then claiming victory last week, so it should be a very close contest. Gippsland will miss Phillips, Smith, Charlie Comben and Harrison Pepper and Ryan Sparkes who head to Vic Country, while Mason McGannon and Zach Reid are among those back into the team. For Geelong, Sam Witherden and Charlie Lazzaro loom as important inclusions while Harry Stubbings is among six players out of the side.

CALDER CANNONS vs. WESTERN JETS
Sunday, June 30, 1pm
RAMS Arena

In the only Sunday game, Calder Cannons host Western Jets in a bid to remain in the top eight. The Cannons’ best seems to be very good, but some disappointing losses over season 2019 has them sitting eighth, but with the second worst percentage of any side. It means a loss, and a win to Murray on the weekend, would see the Cannons replaced inside the top eight. They have to take advantage against a Western team just missing the cream of Vic Metro representatives, Emerson Jeka, Darcy Cassar and Josh Honey. To the Jets’ credit, captain Lucas Rocci has done a magnificent job stepping up into Cassar’s role since he has been in the Metro side and along with Josh Kellett has the backline purring perfectly. The tight, low-scoring win against the Rebels indicated their forward stocks have been depleted with Jeka and Honey, as well as Aaron Clarke out last week, which meant scoring has had its own challenges. The Cannons have had their own issues with putting big scores on the board, averaging 54.5 points per game this season. Coming off a bye in Round 12, the Cannons will have had an extended 22-day break since their last match – a 69-point loss at the hands of Oakleigh Chargers. They will have prepared for this game for some time and keen to take down the top four Jets, and leapfrog the Knights into seventh. The Cannons did not play last week, but have a strong side named with Curtis Brown lining up at half-back and Sam Ramsay and Harrison Minton-Connell through the midfield. The Jets have a massive inclusion into the side with Cassar and Honey named in the side.