GOLDEN Square v Gisborne – it was once a BFNL marquee match-up that tended to have plenty riding on the result more often than not.

Be it big home and away games against each other or finals battles, there was a time where a Golden Square-Gisborne battle would regularly turn into an epic, such as the period between 2012 and 2014 when six of their nine match-ups were decided by eight points or less.

But in recent seasons the rivalry has lost some of its zest given the stakes in their match-ups have been significantly diminished with Gisborne having been rebuilding since 2015 and until this year out of the finals picture.

However, the BFNL once again has a high stakes battle of the Bulldogs on Saturday as Golden Square hosts Gisborne in a match that will have a bearing on the finals race for both sides.

A Golden Square win at home would sew up its finals berth and shut the door to the top five on the sixth-placed Gisborne.

However, a Gisborne victory would draw it level on 40 points with Golden Square and ensure the top five won’t be finalised until the final round.

“If we lose it finishes off our year, so it’s probably the biggest game we’ve played for four years,” Gisborne captain Jarrad Lynch said.

“For a lot of the young players in our team it's going to be the biggest game of their career so far and it’s really exciting to be part of because we feel we’re playing some good footy.

“We’ve had a lot of change to the team over the past four years and it’s new to a lot of players to be put into this type of pressure environment and, hopefully, they stand up… this isn’t just a game for four points, it’s bigger than that.”

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Gisborne has already knocked over Golden Square once this season when it prevailed by 29 points at home.

The Bulldogs are coming off a 173-point thrashing of Castlemaine last week in which they booted a score of 205 and had five players – Ryan Baker (six), Jake Conolan (five), Ross Celano (four), James Fraser (four) and Jack Scanlon (four) – slot at least four goals.

A sign of the growth of the Bulldogs is not only the win-loss column, but in their scoring potency in which they have grown it from just 60 points per game two years ago to 98 this season.

Both teams have plenty of key inclusions for the big match, with Gisborne welcoming back Lynch, coach Clinton Young and Ethan Minns, while a list of ins including the likes of Jayden Burke, Hamish Morcom, Brayden Dorrington, Brad Eaton and Shaun Young ensures Golden Square’s team will be a heck of a lot stronger than the one that kicked just three goals against Strathfieldsaye last week.

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