Sandhurst and Gisborne to benefit from return of VFL players

With Essendon and Collingwood's VFL teams having the bye, Sandhurst and Gisborne are hopeful their VFL-aligned stars will be free to play in the BFNL this Saturday.

The Dragons could add Collingwood duo Lachlan Tardrew and Cobi Maxted and Essendon midfielder Sam Conforti for its Ron Best Cup clash with old foe Golden Square at the QEO.

Gisborne hosts Eaglehawk at Gardiner Reserve and the Bulldogs have their fingers crossed that gun on-baller Brad Bernacki will be cleared by Essendon to play his first BFNL game of the season.

Werribee also has the bye in the VFL, which could free up Bailey Henderson to play for Castlemaine in the Pies' home game against Strathfieldsaye.

Most eyes will be on the Sandhurst-Golden Square game with both teams 2-0 through two rounds.

Depending on the availability of Maxted, Tardrew and Conforti, the Dragons could make six or seven changes to a winning side.

The Dragons decided not to risk Lee Coghlan (calf), Joel Wharton (hamstring tightness) and Isaac Ruff (hamstring tightness) against Kyneton and they'll need to prove their fitness this week ahead of the Square clash.

"They'd be 50-50 at this stage,'' Connick said of the key trio.

"Andy Collins will definitely come back in.

"Someone will miss out that shouldn't, but that's part of being a side that has good depth.

"We've probably got up to a dozen players in the reserves that could step up and play senior footy."

Golden Square has injury concerns, particularly to its backline.

Will Lee (back) and Jack Merrin (knee) were injured in the first quarter of Saturday's win over Strathfieldsaye.

"Will's back seized up and he has had issues with his back in the past and Jack has to get a scan on his knee,'' Square coach Christian Carter said.

"We're really not sure yet what the damage is."

Jayden Burke went down late in the game with what appeared to be a leg injury, but Carter said the key forward was cleared of any damage.

"I thought he'd broken his leg the way he went down,'' Carter said of Burke.

"He played on and he was good as gold at recovery."

Should Lee and Merrin miss the Sandhurst game, Carter said the Dogs were well-placed to fill the defensive posts.

"Braydon Vaz has played down back, Liam Barrett has played back for a lot of his career and Tom Strauch did a role for us against the Storm,'' Carter said.

"We've got plenty of options. We've got plenty of depth in the reserves, so it will be a case of next man up."

Gisborne premiership skipper Pat McKenna remains a few weeks away from returning to action, while Eaglehawk will wait until late in the week to make a decision on the fitness of key forward Darcy Richards.

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