BARELLAN will rush new ruckman Mitch Gorman straight into the team for Saturday's important showdown against Temora.
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The Two Blues secured the mid-season signing of Gorman on the weekend and he will be one of what could be a few handy inclusions to face the Kangaroos at Nixon Park.
Accomplished midfielder Sean Ellis is a big chance to return from a shoulder injury, while experienced forward James McCabe comes in after missing last week's 53-point loss to North Wagga.
The stakes will be high for Barellan and Temora, who will both be chasing their first of the season on Saturday.
Gorman is based in Melbourne and last played for Keilor in the reserves premier division of the Essendon and District League. He played at Narrandera in 2015 and also played a lot of football in AFL Canberra.
"It's been a work in progress for quite some time," Barellan coach Alex Lawder said.
"We highlighted a ruckman as a glaring spot where we need some help. Jeff (Mickan) is a legend, he's been superb but he knows we need someone else to help him get through games.
"It's something we've been looking for for quite some time. We were just waiting for the right guy, the right fit, because it's pretty important."
The signing of Kirk Mahon at Ganmain-Grong Grong-Matong last month triggered Gorman's signing at Barellan.
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"He'll travel out of Melbourne. The biggest thing that helped was Kirk Mahon signing at Ganmain. We all played together in the Tuggeranong days in Canberra," Lawder said.
"Mitch has played a lot of footy as a backman, but has also played a lot in the ruck as well. He's a similar size to Matt Irvin in that he's a big galloping bloke that loves to run and have a few bounces.
"He'll be a good addition to our side. He'll help our midfield guys as well, they're not going to have to be so defensive all of the time. They can start attacking a bit more."
Barellan will lose Jack Hillman and Jack Brumby to one-game suspensions, while Lawder himself is likely to miss another game with a calf injury.
Lawder was happy with his team's effort in their loss to North Wagga last weekend, which drew praise from Saints coach Cayden Winter.
He said the challenge will now be to produce that kind of effort and performance when there is pressure on to perform.
"Our performance on the weekend, we were stretched few and far between with blokes available, but we just cracked in and made North Wagga work for it and everything they could get," he said.
"It was good, positive. It was a brutal game but it was a ripping contest.
"I suppose the biggest test for us is, going in against North Wagga there was low expectations, expected to lose, it's easy to crack in when you're not expected to do anything. Obviously the pressure will be on a little bit more this weekend and now we've got to perform up to that level.
"There have been positive signs each week and we're looking forward to it, but I'm sure Temora are in exactly the same boat."
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