Rod Clarke, who follows son Nick and his Cobden teammates to weekly HFNL junior fixtures, snapped Haydn's quality air time during the fourth quarter of the game, which the Roosters won 20.20 (140) to 3.5 (23).

As well as the memory of his big mark, Haydn snagged five goals for the victors.

KOROIT stalwart Damian Dobson heads a long list of player milestones during the Anzac-themed round of weekend action.

Dobson plays his 343rd HFNL game, breaking the league record of 342 held by former Terang player Wayne Reicha.

Apart from Dobson's remarkable feat, others to reach special marks are Matt Sinnott, Camperdown, 200; Simon Lipscome, Dartmoor, 200; Simon O'Keefe, Koroit, 100; and Adam Greene, Merrivale, 100.

Tyrendarra faces a busy weekend acknowledging 150 games for Shannon Curran and 100 apiece for Chris Wilson and Andrew Royal.

DEAFENING silence. The sound which greeted a suggestion in this column to consider forming the south-west region's own TAC Cup under 18 team indicates one of two things: there is already a group of quiet achievers mobilising in the background or we just don't care.

If the point wasn't stressed enough in the early rounds of the competition, our talented teens stepped up again last weekend for the North Ballarat Rebels and Geelong Falcons with a liberal sprinkling in the best players and goalkickers.

One anonymous juniors supporter went to the trouble of selecting a combined Falcons-Rebels combination with the best under 18 players from the south-west. It makes interesting reading:

SOUTH WEST WIND

B: Liam Hoy, Marcus Darmody, Sam Cowling;

HB: James Hussey, Jandre Slabbert, Jeremy McDonald;

C: Ben Moloney, Dean Gavin, Daniel Semmens;

HF: Richard Bamblett, Gary Rohan, Ben Cunnington;

F: Simon Close, Luke Thompson, Luke Mahony;

Foll: Jordan Dillon, Zach Ledin, Kevin Bourke;

Inter: Callum Currie, Jamie Mugavin, Tom McDonald, James Kirby, Sam Dwyer, Matthew Sully, Chris Baxter.

READERS will welcome the prospect of an easing in tensions between HFNL president Alan Rourke and country football's state body.

Your columnist has it on good authority that Rourke and VCFL supremo Glenn Scott cleared the air last Saturday by telephone and the issue of who was telling the truth over claimed regional merger discussions is dead and buried as a public debate.

While the HFNL can turn the focus back onto its domestic season, expect the restructure issue to continue bubbling away.

Rourke is still calling on the VCFL to investigate football-netball structures in the Western District and has at least one ally: SWDFNL administrator Chrissy Hawker.

HE has pace to burn like his father and used it to earn the round four AFL rising star nominee.

Jaxson Barham, son of former South Warrnambool and Collingwood midfielder Ricky, earned the plaudits for his athletic display with the Magpies against Brisbane Lions at the Gabba.

One of the smallest players on the field, he kept finding the football, then showed plenty of dash linking between half-back and half-forward.

Barham gathered 28 disposals, made up of 17 kicks and 11 handballs, complemented by six marks and nine tackles.

He was selected by Collingwood under the father-son rule with pick 61 in the 2007 AFL Draft.

Ricky Barham played 151 matches with the club from 1977-86.

ANOTHER son of a gun turned up unexpectedly at Gardens Oval last weekend in Port Fairy's under 18 side.

Luke McDonald, the son of former North Melbourne key position player Donald, played on permit for the Seagulls during a weekend break at the family's holiday house in Port Fairy.

Port's under 18 coach Scott Bartlett said the 14-year-old Kew Comets footballer turned up at training last Thursday and asked to play.

Despite his young age, Luke didn't look out of place with his older teammates and at 190cm the athletic left footer towered over some.

Bartlett said Luke came off the bench in the opening quarter and played well on a half-back flank, in the midfield and up forward. The Seagulls won the match against Cobden by 74 points.

Poignantly, he isn't the first member of his family to cameo in the purple and gold. Bartlett recalled his father playing a one-off game for Port Fairy about five years ago under Dean Jenkinson.

COBDEN coach Wayne Walsh has been handed some early ammunition for his team's return bout with Port Fairy.

Seagulls supporters, justifiably proud of their side's round one victory against the Bombers, enjoyed their bragging rights by contributing to The Standard's text column on Monday.

Don't be surprised if they reappear on Walsh's whiteboard in round eight, especially this one: ``All i have to say is great work seagulls!! Haha long season ahead bombers!!!''

TWO high-profile recruits could fight out the WDFNL goalkicking this season, judging by early form.

Frank Matthews, who crossed to South Rovers from Hawkesdale-Macarthur, shares the early lead with Allansford sharpshooter Darren Stenhouse. Both have kicked 17 goals in three round, with Matthews booting six, four and seven respectively.

Stenhouse, who played last season with Wedderburn in the North Central Football League, bagged four on the weekend after hauls of five and eight.

Another recruit, Chris Keilar, of Warrnambool, has also made a bright start with his new club, Dennington.

CENTRAL umpire David Robertson's 500-game milestone last Saturday at Terang Recreation Reserve overshadowed another significant achievement within the Colac and District Football Umpires Association.

Boundary umpire Nick Ross-Watson, 14, officiated in his first HFNL senior game.

Nick transferred to the CDFUA after his family returned to Cobden from Portland.