A: Absolutely, the hype meter at Baarmutha Park has been steadily rising all season with the Bushrangers' only loss at home this season against Yackandandah in round nine.

Q: Who will the prospect of a wet weekend favour?

A: The Bushrangers thrive on playing a contested brand of football and notched their biggest win of the season against Chiltern in round 11 on a bog track. The wetter the better for the Bushies.

Q: Can we expect the Bushrangers to be full-strength?

A: The home side's two biggest outs are Brenton Surrey (calf) and Mitch Anderson (unavailable) who are both crucial to the Bushrangers' structure.

Q: Who gets first crack at stopping big Hawk Connor Newnham?

A: Mitch Anderson would have been the logical match-up but is unavailable this weekend. Co-coach Brayden Carey might have to hand the job to the Bushrangers' Mr Fix-it in Kayde Surrey.

Q: What's at stake in the match-of-the-round clash?

A: The two sides look destined to meet in the opening week of finals in the Qualifying final so both coaches will be keen to experiment and see which match-ups work best.

ROUND 16

Saturday, August 6

Barnawartha v Dederang-MB

Beechworth v Kiewa-SC

Rutherglen v Chiltern

Wahgunyah v Tallangatta

Wod. Saints v Mitta United

Yackandandah v Thurgoona

ALSO IN SPORT

I don't think too many judges would have predicted at the start of the year that the Bushrangers would feature in the match of the round at this stage of the season. But the league's surprise packets are growing in confidence by the week with Jai Middleton, Alessandro Belci and Liam Stephens leading the charge.

Verdict: Kiewa-Sandy Creek by 13 points

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