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Riser linked end of the day to direction of sunrise (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

yeast

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'riser' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)

'linked end of the day to direction of sunrise' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is located in the answer.
'direction' could be 's' (S is an example) and 's' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'yea' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for yeast that I've seen before include "Androgynous" , "Fungus used in brewing and baking" , "As yet (anag)" , "It makes dough rise" , "Organism causing fermentation" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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