The Bendigo Bank Cats will face their toughest challenge of the VFL season to date, coming up against the unbeaten Bombers at the MCG on Sunday.

The Cats have named a strong side to face Essendon at 11.50am, with Charlie Constable headlining nine inclusions after being omitted from the AFL side.

Constable will be joined by fellow AFL-listed Cat Blake Schlensog in an extended 31-man squad.

Fans travelling up the highway will be spoilt with a fantastic day of football, with the annual Powercor Country Festival clash between Geelong and Essendon to follow from 3.20pm.

There will be plenty of activities taking place outside the stadium too, with the annual Farmers Market kicking off at 11am.

READ - Farmers market to showcase the best of regional Victoria

The festival will feature more than 40 stallholders showcasing Victoria’s best produce. There will be lots of activities for families and live performances from Kasey Chambers and John Williamson.

The VFL match will be televised on seven.


VFL Round Five team

B: L Henderson, N Kreuger, J Tsitas
HB: Z Guthrie, A Black, S Simpson
C: O Brownless, Q Narkle, S Menegola
HF: G Miers, D Fort, J Parsons
F: J Jones, Z Smith, J Tarca
R: R Abbott, S Selwood, C Constable
I/C: D Capiron, J Clark, J Gow, B Jarvis, J Kennerley, J Keras, J McLachlan, B Parfitt, B Reid, N Rokahr, B Schlensog, L Smith