BENDIGO Gold coach Aussie Jones has left it up to his players to decide if they want to return to their aligned clubs this weekend or rest their bodies during the VFL bye.
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While Jones believes his players would be best-served to have a week off following the Gold's five home and away games and three practice matches, he has left it up to the individuals to decide if they will play or not this weekend.
"We spoke after last week's game that it's probably not in anyone's best interest to play this weekend," Jones said on Thursday.
"What we found last year is we had guys playing 18 VFL games with us and three or four with their home club and it cooked us.
"But on the flipside, there's also an opportunity for some guys if they want to find some form and represent their clubs and continue to build those relationships to do so.
"We certainly don't want to stop players from representing their original club, as much as it may be in our best interest to do it... it's all about building relationships with the clubs, especially here in the Bendigo region."
There are four Gold-listed players who have been playing regularly in the VFL this year who will play for aligned central Victorian clubs this Saturday - Galen Munari, Liam Byrne and Jeremy Lambden (South Bendigo) and Sam Heavyside (Strathfieldsaye).
