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SANDHURST coach Ashley Connick is hopeful Xavier Walsh may be able to make a return late in the season for the Dragons after suffering a broken ankle against Rochester on Saturday.
Walsh - who has rejoined the Dragons from Colbinabbin, where he missed the 2019 grand final with a shoulder injury - was injured in the dying stages of Sandhurst's practice match against the Tigers.
"It's obviously really disappointing for Xavier. He's dislocated his ankle and broken the main bone as well," Connick said on Monday.
"There's a little bit of light there that he potentially might be able to sneak in for the last month if everything goes perfectly, so we'll be hoping for the best for him."
While the injury to Walsh was a sour ending for the Dragons, overall, Connick was pleased with his side's performance against the Tigers in its last hit-out before taking on Strathfieldsaye in the BFNL's Good Friday season-opener.
"The boys played really well. We won by probably four or five goals in the end and got what we wanted out of it," Connick said.
"We played a style of footy that we wanted to and there was noted improvement from our first hit-out (against Mooroopna).
"There were some good signs and we walked away thinking we're ready for round one."
* Strathfieldsaye star Kallen Geary is likely to miss the Storm's Good Friday clash with Sandhurst after injuring a hamstring against Kyabram on Saturday.
Geary is pulling the boots back on this season having previously announced his retirement following his starring role in the Storm's 2019 grand final win.
"We're not sure of the severity of his hamstring, but at this stage we think he's probably about the only one who will be missing the first game," Storm co-coach Darryl Wilson said.
Saturday's six-quarter match between the Storm and Bombers pitted two of country Victoria's powerhouse teams against each other.
"I think it was roughly even in the end, so we were really happy with the way the boys went," Wilson said.
"Kyabram is a classy outfit with a very strong midfield and it was a fantastic hit-out.
"Cal McCarty was awesome for us, Jed Rodda showed some good signs and we played two 18-year-old ruckmen in George Simpson and Tim Hosking, so that was a good experience for them."
* Kyneton coach Paul Chapman was pleased with what he saw from his new side in its comfortable win over Lake Boga at home.
"The boys played pretty well. We won the game, but it was never about the scoreboard for us, it was implementing what we've been working on through the pre-season and to the boys credit, they executed it well," Chapman said.
"Having only been with the boys for a short period of time as a new coach, you're never quite sure whether they've done enough in terms of what you're trying to implement, but there was a lot of positive signs.
"I know it's a cliche, but everybody played their role and that's what we were looking for. I was really happy with how everyone played and, fortunately, we got through without any injuries."
The Tigers will be in action again this Saturday against Macedon at Macedon.
* An undermanned South Bendigo took on Imperials at Epsom-Huntly, with the Bloods missing 14 players.
"We had a lot out, which hurt us, but it was a good hit-out," said Bloods coach Nathan Horbury, who was among the outs with a quad.
"We had a couple of young players still eligible for our under-18s (Myles Livingston on a wing and Declan McMahon in attack) play pretty well and we'll, hopefully, give them another crack this week against Rochester.
"They probably would have beaten us by a couple of goals and it was good to be able to give some young players some experience."
* Kangaroo Flat went down to the Shepparton Swans by about five goals in their match at Elmore.
"I was pretty happy with our first three quarters, but they kicked four or five goals in the last, which was the main difference," Roos' coach James Flaherty said.
"From what I saw, we've got some good young kids coming out of the under-18s."
One of those young players who impressed Flaherty was the BFNL's 2019 Symons medallist, Mitch Trewhella.
"Mitch is starting on-ball for us and he certainly knows how to go in and get the ball," Flaherty said.
"We're working on some structural things with him, but he knows how to get the job done.
"Lachie Wilson playing forward took some nice marks for us and Josh Leerson and Jade Mayes going through the wings and half-back played with good energy."
The Roos have copped an injury blow with former Bendigo Pioneer-listed Ethan Roberts suffering a broken foot in the previous week's match against Huntly.
"Best-case scenario is that he'll miss half a year, so that's something we didn't need," Flaherty said.
The Roos play Heathcote District league flag favourite Lockington-Bamawm United this Saturday at Lockington.
* Golden Square coach Christian Carter took plenty of positives out of his side's performance against an experienced Wangaratta Magpies side.
"We didn't win the game, but we'll take a fair bit out of it," Carter said.
"It was even at half-time and then they had a really good quarter kicking about eight goals to one and then in the last it was tight again.
"We had an average age of about 22, so we took up a young side.
"Jayden Burke was really good; he dominated at centre half-forward and I thought our midfield went well.
"Jack (Geary) didn't play, but Ryan Hartley and Hamish Morcom were pretty good in there and we probably won the midfield battle against a really big side."
Among the Magpies' line-up was former Collingwood forward Ben Reid (152 games) and former Melbourne player Michael Newton (28 games).
"Zack Shelton played on Reid and did a good job on him and I thought young Jack Merrin did a really good job on Newton... he's had two good practice matches now," Carter said.
"Wangaratta start on Good Friday and that was their fifth practice match, so they were up and running, and it was our first, but after after having last year off it was just good to be back out there."
The Bulldogs will play Greenvale at Wade Street this Saturday.
* Eaglehawk enjoyed the surrounds of the AFL-standard Mars Stadium in Ballarat in its game against North Ballarat.
The Roosters got the jump on the Hawks, leading by about four goals at quarter-time, which is what the final margin finished at.
"We had some younger guys playing and they had a lot of big bodies in their side and we just couldn't get our hands on the footy early," Eaglehawk coach Travis Matheson said.
"They probably had five or six inside midfielders the same size as Billy Evans who moved as well as him, so they were able to get us on the inside.
"I thought Kobe Lloyd was super, Lewin Davis and Jack Dye also played well, and then there were the usuals like Gedd Homelhoff, Sammy Thompson and Joel Mullen who played good games."
The Hawks have now had two hit-outs having also played Rochester, while they will take on Kerang at Canterbury Park this Saturday.
On the injury front the Hawks are likely to be missing versatile key position player/ruckman Clayton Holmes for the first half of the season following hip surgery.
* Maryborough was forced to endure atrocious weather conditions on Sunday in its comfortable win over Clunes at Jubilee Oval.
"The weather was absolutely terrible... it was contested all game, the footy was constantly on the deck and a very physical game," Maryborough coach Justin Abrams said.
"It was good for the players to get out there and have a kick, but with the conditions, I did feel sorry for them having to put up with that after waiting for 18 months.
"There were good signs for us; some of our recruits played really well and some of our younger boys did some good things.
"Harry Monk, one of our new players, kicked three goals playing as a key forward and in the ruck and showed some really good signs for us."
Meanwhile, Abrams remains hopeful forward Stewart Crameri will again pull the boots on at some stage this season.
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