General News
1 August, 2025
LEGITIMACY TEST Magpies go into Derby with just one big scalp
BY GARY WALSH BOORT’S finals credibility is on the line when the Magpies host fierce rivals Wedderburn in North Central senior football this Saturday. More than local bragging rights are up for grabs, with the Redbacks making a late bid for the...
BY GARY WALSH
BOORT’S finals credibility is on the line when the Magpies host fierce rivals Wedderburn in North Central senior football this Saturday.
More than local bragging rights are up for grabs, with the Redbacks making a late bid for the top four and the Magpies consistently faltering against the better sides.
Fourth-placed Boort failed again to trouble a team ahead of it on the ladder on Saturday, losing to top side Birchip Watchem by 71 points.
Wedderburn, sitting in fifth spot on the ladder, did all it could by keeping Donald scoreless in a 121-point win that put the Redbacks two games behind Boort, but now with a superior percentage.
Wedderburn added more than 15 per cent with its big win, while the Magpies dropped 14 per cent in a stunning turnaround of fortunes.
Boort has monstered two of the three bottom sides when they have met this season, with wins by 188, 167, 161 and 92 points over Charlton and Donald. The Magpies have also won both clashes against seventh-placed St Arnaud, by 49 points in round one and 37 points in round eight.
Boort sat atop the ladder after four rounds following an eight-point win over reigning premiers Sea Lake Nandaly.
It was the second of two matches senior coach Dale Cameron missed with illness.
Reality hit in round five, when the Magpies lost to Calder United by 125 points, establishing a disturbing trend. Defeats followed to Birchip Watchem, Sea Lake – albeit narrowly – and Calder again, interspersed with those massive wins over the poorer teams and a slim victory over Wedderburn by five points when they met in May.
The Loddon Derby, no matter where Boort and Wedderburn sit on the ladder, are epic encounters.
Beat the Redbacks this week and Boort will ensure its appearance in the finals and end Wedderburn’s hopes.
Lose, and it must win its last two games against St Arnaud and Charlton to hang on to fourth - on current ladder standings, the uneven draw this season certainly favours the Magpies.
It will be a grudge match for the ages at Boort Park, and Tom Metherell’s Redbacks will be out to keep their own finals chances alive.
“We have to keep winning,” Metherell said.
“It’s a simple equation. “We’re playing some good footy at the moment – even against Birchip (a 23-point loss) we played well in patches.
“If we stick to our brand, we’re a chance against anyone.”
The Boort camp is maintaining its silence ahead of the clash and the Pies expected return to finals action after more than a decade in the wilderness.
Coach Cameron has stayed mum in recent months about the club’s fortunes in 2025.