THE Bendigo Gold will take on Coburg in the VFL tomorrow with what is likely to be a completely different team to the one that beat Williamstown last week.
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The Gold will clash with the Tigers at Shepparton’s Deakin Reserve.
However, the side has been hit hard by injury, with coach Hayden Skipworth expecting he will have to make as many as seven changes.
The Gold’s squad of 27 named on Thursday night includes eight players who missed last week’s win who are in contention to play tomorrow.
Those brought into the extended squad are Nathan Peoples, Steven Stroobants, Brad Collins, Sam Vale, Henry Slattery, Mark McVeigh, Michael Hibberd and Travis Colyer.
“We picked up a few injuries last week and we could have as many as seven changes for this week’s game,” Skipworth said yesterday.
“It was good that a few of the blokes stayed out on the ground and helped us get the win last week, but in doing that may have hurt themselves a bit more.
“We had Anthony Long hurt his ankle, Hal Hunter hurt his back, Trent Shinners got knocked out, David Hille hurt his shoulder and Justin Maddern went down in the first five minutes of the game with a rolled ankle.”
While Maddern only played five minutes last week, he has been picked to line up tomorrow.
“It was a frustrating injury for Justin last week,” Skipworth said.
“It was a rolled ankle that was just enough to keep him off the ground. If he had stayed on it could have ended up being a two, three or four-week injury, so we took the safe approach and put him on ice.”
The Gold have won their past two games and sit eighth on the ladder with a 4-4 record. Another win tomorrow will give the Gold some breathing space from the Tigers, who are one game behind in ninth position.
“It’s a big game that is one of those eight-point matches depending on whether you win or lose,” Skipworth said.
“We want to steer clear of those sides that are outside of the finals.”
While the Gold is in form, having won their past two games, the Tigers have lost their past three.
Bendigo Pioneers’ ruckman Zack May will play as the Gold’s 23rd player.
“The boys are all looking forward to Shepparton,” Skipworth said.
“It’s Coburg’s home game so it’s a neutral venue, which is a positive for us.”
Tomorrow’s game at Shepparton starts at 1pm.
