The Bendigo Pioneers will blood five first-game players across the club's boys and girls programs in Ballarat on Sunday.
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The Pioneers, who are unbeaten in the boys and girls divisions, play Coates Talent League rival Greater Western Victoria Rebels at MARS Stadium.
The boys play their first game in the best part of a month.
Ethan Curran (Nyah Nyah West United), Aiden Avery (Mildura), Ryan Bassett (Koondrook Barham) and Charlie King (Strathfieldsaye) will make their debut for the Pioneers, while AFL Academy member Archer Day-Wicks will play his first Pioneers game of the season.
Illness and injury has ripped through the Pioneers' squad, with up to 14 players unavailable for Sunday's game.
Sunday's rival the Rebels have also been hard hit by injuries, with the Ballarat-based club having up to 20 players sidelined in their 0-3 start to the season.
The break in the Coates Talent League season hurt the Pioneers' momentum, but Pioneers' coach Danny O'Bree was elated with how his players performed in representative matches and at community level.
Last weekend the Pioneers had Archer Day-Wicks, Jobe Shanahan and Tobie Travaglia play for the AFL Academy, while James Barrat, Zaydyn Lockwood, Connor Evans, Dayten Uerata and Oliver Poole played in the Victoria Country versus Young Guns clash.
"(The break) makes it hard for continuity, but you have to look at the opportunities that break provided which is the exciting part of what our program provides,'' O'Bree said.
"Having our players exposed to those opportunities is more important than maintaining momentum in our season."
The teams have already met once this year, with the Pioneers winning by 18 points in round one.
Meanwhile, classy defender Shanika Kirby-Wilson from Werrimul will make her debut for the Pioneers' girls.
Coach Whitney Kennedy said the key to her side's strong early-season form was a "team-first" mentality.
"We've got contributors across all three lines,'' Kennedy said.
"There are girls who play their role really, really well which is reflective of our team-first approach, which the playing group has driven.
"That will be a focus we take into this weekend - be clear on your role and play your role really well."
The girls clash starts at 12.20pm, with the boys to follow at 2.30pm.