BOORT and Wedderburn face a tight and willing contest on Saturday to decide early North Central netball favouritism.
The two are first and second on the ladder; both have played and beaten Charlton - the Pies by 15 goals, the Redbacks  by 16.
The outlier is that Boort have beaten Sea Lake Nandaly,  while Wedderburn lost narrowly in a surprise round two defeat.
The Loddon Derby prospect has Redbacks’ coach Emma Lockhart ready to test of where her side stands in a very competitive league. 
“Boort looks like the side to beat along with Nullawil, so it will be a big challenge for us. We hope we can take it to them,” she said.
Lockhart expected the match to be won in the tussle between Wedderburn’s goalers and Boort’s tough defence.
She said the core of the defence that took the Magpies to last season’s grand final remained in place this year, while their attack was still bedding in new players and was something of an unknown quantity after Boort’s only two matches this season.
Boort coach Georgia Haw said clashes with local rival Wedderburn were always tough, and she expected strong opposition all over the court. “It will not be a blowout,” she said.
Boort had the bye last week, which Lockhart believed would be an advantage for the Magpies. 
“It’s not so bad to have a rest,” she said.
Haw agreed: “It will definitely be good for us. We had a couple of little injuries, so the week off will help.”
Wedderburn, on the other hand, will have two weeks off the court after facing Boort, with the bye in round five before the whole league takes a weekend off the following week, which Lockhart said would be an unwelcome extended break at this stage of the season.
The last time the teams met was in the 2023 semi-finals, in which Boort got home by six goals.
This season, the Redbacks’ scorers stood out against Charlton in their 29-46 round-three win, with Holly and Aliza Lockhart swapping the goal attack and goal shooter bibs throughout the game.
Experienced Charlton goal defence Kate Burton – who forged a fine career in the BFNL – played her first game for four years against Wedderburn, offering a stern test for the Redbacks goalers.
They will need to stand up again when they confront the Magpies and their renowned defence on Saturday.