BENDIGO Football League coach Jeff Brennan is taking the theory of ``if it ain't broke, don't fix it'' into today's inter-league game against Gippsland at the Queen Elizabeth Oval.
Twelve months ago Brennan used a game plan based on full-throttle speed and all-out attack to orchestrate Bendigo's stunning 21-point upset win over arch-rivals Ballarat at Bacchus Marsh.
And he is sticking with the same philosophy against Gippsland, with the No.1 focus being slick ball movement straight down to the star-studded forward line boasting key targets Grant Weeks, James Condos, Justin Maddern and captain Brady Herdman.
``Our game plan is all about quick movement of the footy, simple as that,'' Brennan said yesterday.
``We've got some really good forwards, but we want to keep them isolated, and the only way to keep them in a one-on-one situation is to get the ball down to them early.
``The nature of the way footy is played now, and you only have to watch TV to see it, is quick footy… you've got to move the ball by foot and hand as quick as you can.
``To do that we've got to run hard to create space and get loose numbers so we can get the footy into the hands of those players who can run and carry it.
``We kicked 21 goals against Ballarat last year because we ran the footy quickly.
``So on Saturday it's again going to be about getting the ball down to our forwards quickly and letting them kick a score.
``Basically, we will ask every single player, apart from those four big forwards, to run up and down the ground - we will effectively be playing four forwards and 14 midfielders on the ground.''
Bendigo's potent forward line has captured much of the attention in the lead-up to the game for the goalkicking power it possesses.
No player in country Victoria has kicked more than Weeks' 55 goals, Maddern has kicked 45 and Condos 40, while Herdman, who has missed two games with a calf injury, has kicked 19.
In comparison, the only players in the Gippsland side who has kicked more than 20 goals this season is late inclusion Tim Aitken (29) and centre half-forward Daniel Stubbe (23).
Brennan and his coaching panel have put plenty of time this week into how the four forwards will structure up inside 50 and complement each other effectively.
``All four forwards have a different role to play, and that doesn't mean we'll have four on the ground at any given time,'' Brennan said.
``Herdman is a lead-up player, Maddern can be a lead-up player, Weeks is strong coming out of the goalsquare and Condos is a good body-on-body player.
``They all just have to know their role and play it accordingly.
``They are all going to own some territory inside the 50 during the game, so we've just got to make sure they keep themselves segregated so they can go one-on-one, because all four players are very good one-on-one.
``There has been plenty of emphasis this year on there being four big forwards in the side, but last year we also had four key forwards.
``We had Herdman, Tyrone Downie, Callan Potter and Steven Olive last year, and two blokes crumbing at their feet.
``We're going in with the same forward structure as last year, except it's more highlighted this year because these four forwards have kicked a lot more goals.''
Whereas this year's four key forwards have kicked 159 goals between them, last year's four inter-league focal points in Herdman, Downie, Potter and Oliver - who was forced to come out of retirement to make up the numbers - had kicked 49 between them going into the clash against Ballarat.
``People will probably look at the side and say, `you can't play four key forwards together','' Brennan said.
``But the fact is we played four key forwards last year and kicked 21 goals and won the game.''
From last year's victorious side, only six players will be lining up again today - Ryan Threlfall, Adam Baird, Herdman, Tim Nicolson, Casey Summerfield and Lee Coghlan.
In what is a promising sign for the future of the league, there is plenty of youth in the side, with the likes of Darcy Richards, Josh Baird, Jack Geary, James Bristow, Steven Stroobants and Jayden Hind among those making their senior BFL inter-league debuts.
Last year Sandhurst's Coghlan was in the same position of representing Bendigo for the first time, and less than four months later he won the Michelsen Medal as an 18-year-old.
``It's great for these young kids to have the opportunity to play an inter-league game on their own ground in front of their home crowd,'' Brennan said.
``All the players we've got playing have been in terrific form through the first part of the season, and that's why we're really pleased with the side we've picked.
``Basically, we're going to play the same way we did last year, we've got very similar players in similar spots, but the side we're putting out this year as opposed to last year is probably in better form going in.''
Under the new format of the VCFL ratings, Bendigo is ranked eighth, while Gippsland is at seven, with the rankings of both sides to either improve or drop depending on today's result.
Interestingly, despite losing to Bendigo last year, Ballarat is ranked five spots higher at No.3.Gippsland will be aiming to atone for a disappointing showing against Mornington Peninsula Nepean last year when it was thrashed by 83 points.
Faced with a trip of close to five hours to play the game, Gippsland - which will be coached by Hayden Burgiel - chose to travel to Bendigo this morning.
``We've got the utmost respect for Gippsland,'' Brennan said.
``The very best players from league to league are all fairly equal, and really, inter-league footy comes down to who is going to play the best on the day.
``If you want to compare apples to apples, there's going to be two very good sides out there and whoever plays well on the day is going to win.
``In my opinion, when it comes to inter-league football there are no favourites going into a game.
``Anything can happen - you never under-estimate any league, it's a 50-50 contest.
``Often inter-league footy comes down to percentages and inches.
``When you've got the very best players on show, the smallest of things can make a massive difference in a game of inter-league footy.''
Bendigo and Gippsland last met in a full-scale inter-league match in 1998 when Gippsland won 12.15 (87) to 10.10 (70) in division two of the VCFL Country Championships.
The clash between Bendigo and Gippsland starts at the twilight time of 5.45pm and will be the culmination of an inter-league carnival day at the QEO.
Admission will be $8 for adults and $4 for concession.
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