Magpie coach Ron Dellar elected not to risk the backline star in such a demanding season but he has moved one of his best and most in-form players to the centres to counter Panther stars Matt Hogan and Tom Wilson.

Warwick Saddler, easily his side’s best last Saturday night, moves from the secondrow to the centres to combat the Panther pair.

“Matt and Tom were nearly the Northern Division centres,” Dellar said.

“I might take my gun out there. That might be the only way of stopping them,” he joked.

Stopping the ball getting to them might be a more legal way of counteracting them, he added.

With Saddler moving to the backline he has brought in Rick Sullivan to lock and moved the consistent Troy Parry to the second row.

Werris Creek welcomes back Northern Division halfback Stewart Porter and hopes he may have a birthday special ready for Wee Waa.

“Fuzz (Porter) turned 30 the other day so we had a bit of a sausage sizzle for him at training,” Dellar said.

Porter’s presence adds plenty of direction to the Magpies coming off the 50-6 loss to West.

“That score doesn’t mean a thing,” Wee Waa captain-coach Lee Stanford said yesterday.

“We know what they’re like.”

He may have to reshuffle his side after losing Ben Wilson (back injury) and maybe losing Steve O’Neill (ribs).

“If he doesn’t play I’ll move up to prop and Jarrard Hetherington will come into the secondrow with Matt Evans at five-eighth.”

WERRIS CREEK: l Michael Saunders, 2 Shaun Allan, 3 Rob Symington, 4 Warwick Saddler, 5 Aaron Allan, 6 Cory Wilson, 7 Stewart Porter, 8 Aaron Considine, 9 Geoff Sharpe, 10 Michael Considine, 11 Tyrone Clark, 12 Troy Parry, 13 Rick Sullivan, 14 Justin Nean.

WEE WAA: 1 Ben Russell, 2 Brad Dewson, 3 Matt Hogan, 4 Tom Wilson, 5 Graham Smallwood, 6 Jarrard Hetherington, 7 David Cruickshank, 8 Steve O’Neill, 9 Brad Cruickshank, 10 Ant Sadler, 11 Lee Stanford (c/c), 12 Tony Reynolds, 13 Greg Madden, 14 Matt Evans.