GISBORNE will blood three first-gamers on Saturday as it hunts a bounce-back win over Kangaroo Flat in the Bendigo Football-Netball League.

The Bulldogs have named under-18 trio Jake Normington, Matt Merrett and Harry Thomas to make their senior debuts against the Roos at Dower Park.

"It's really exciting for the club to have three first-gamers in the team on Saturday with Matt, Jake and Harry," Gisborne coach Rob Waters said on Friday.

"Matt is one of the leading goalkickers in the under-18 competition who is a good young hit-up forward with really good skills who will play alongside Pat (McKenna).

"Harry is another hit-up forward who played all the senior practice matches in the pre-season and is a good size at around six-foot-one.

"And Jake is another player with great skills who can play as a small forward or defender and has been playing really well in the under-18s, so this is a great opportunity for all three boys to play some senior footy."

Among the vacancies that have paved the way for Normington, Merrett and Thomas to come into the Bulldogs side is the call-up of gun tall forward Jack Scanlon to make his VFL debut with Richmond.

Scanlon was to have debuted for the Tigers in late May, but it was thwarted by the COVID lockdown that shut the VFL down for several weeks before it was re-booted.

Richmond, which is eighth on the ladder, plays Collingwood at Punt Road on Sunday.

"We'll lose Jack to Richmond this week and it's great to see him get his chance at VFL level," Waters said.

"Whenever players go to the VFL they come back better players and it's a great experience for them being part of that environment. I'm sure Jack will take a lot out of it."

The strong-marking and athletic Scanlon has kicked 24 goals for the Bulldogs this season, including two in last week's 43-point loss to Strathfieldsaye that saw Gisborne fall from second to fourth on the ladder and end what had been a five-game winning streak.

"It was disappointing day last Saturday against what I believe is the best team in the competition, so we've just got to get back on the horse this week and get back to what we'd been doing well," Waters said.

"It's just about getting back to the basics this week and when we get challenged, how do we counter it to get the game back on our terms.

"I remember when we played Kangaroo Flat earlier in the year (123-point win in round three) it was a real arm-wrestle early, so we'll be ready for that and look to get back to playing our best footy."

* South Bendigo will be aiming to take another step towards a breakthrough finals appearance ahead of a testing month when it hosts Kyneton at the QEO.

The Bloods haven't played finals since 2012, but head into Saturday two games clear of sixth-placed Eaglehawk.

They will start warm favourites against the Tigers before embarking on a month of matches against the four teams above them - Gisborne, Sandhurst, Strathfieldsaye and Golden Square.

"We've got a tough month coming up after this week and it's a great challenge to look forward to, but all we're focused on at the moment is Kyneton on Saturday," South Bendigo coach Nathan Horbury said.

"We obviously want to maintain that gap between us and Eaglehawk and to do that we've got to get the job done this week.

"In previous years since I've been here we've probably been out of it at this time of the year in terms of playing finals, so it's really exciting to be in the position we're in at the moment and we'll have no-one else to blame if we don't get there.

"The feeling around the club is really exciting."

In a boost for the Bloods Horbury returns to the side after missing last week's 112-point win over Castlemaine with a tight hip flexor, while Daniel Johnstone is also back after appendicitis.

There is a big inclusion for Kyneton, with captain Hamish Govan named on Thursday night to return from the leg injury that has kept him sidelined since the Tigers' round four win over Castlemaine.

The Bloods and Tigers are two sides that match-up well against each other given six of their past eight clashes have been decided by 10 points or less.

"Kyneton's good footy is really good and they bring the pressure. They have a crack, so if we can weather that, stand up to it and play our brand of footy for four quarters then, hopefully, this one won't come down to the wire," Horbury said.

* Strathfieldsaye co-coach Shannon Geary says the recent struggles of Maryborough won't deter from the Storm's approach to its trip to Princes Park.

While the reigning premier Storm are flying on the back of eight wins in a row by an average of 83 points, the injury-riddled Magpies have lost their past eight by an average of 86 points.

"We don't change the way we approach our game no matter who we're playing, be it Gisborne last week or Maryborough this week," Geary said.

"It's all about the continual focus of what we do as a football club and a playing group and implementing the structures we want.

"If we don't implement our structures, no matter who the team is we're playing, we know we can be in for a long day."

Geary, who was one of the stars in last week's impressive win over Gisborne, will miss the game with a broken finger.

Geary will be kept busy on the sidelines though coaching the side on his own, with fellow co-coach Darryl Wilson to be absent for the day.

One obvious red flag for the Magpies will be curtailing the impact of Storm forward Lachlan Sharp, who five times in his career has kicked at least 11 goals against Maryborough.

* Eaglehawk coach Travis Matheson is expecting to come up against a more competitive Castlemaine side at Camp Reserve than the one the Hawks beat up by 228 points in round three.

"Back in round three I'm tipping they would have had a lot of kids playing their first or second games of senior footy who now have 10 or so games under their belt and will be better for it this time," Matheson said.

Having lost a rare four games in a row - that hadn't happened to the Hawks since 2016 - they returned to the winner's list with a 126-point victory over Kangaroo Flat last week.

"It's certainly been a much better week coming off a win. We played some good footy that we'll be looking to build on again on Saturday," Matheson said.

The Hawks will again be without star midfielder/forward Brodie Filo, who remains interstate.

All Saturday's BFNL games start at 2.20pm.

GOLDEN SQUARE v. SANDHURST

Golden Square

B: W. Lee, Z. Shelton, H. Burke

HB: L. Barrett, J. Coe, L. Duguid

C: B. Welsh, R. Hartley, W. Thrum

HF: H. Morcom, T. Strauch, J. Brett

F: Z. Murley, J. Burke, A. Jenkyn

R: M. Compston, J. Geary, T. Reeves

Int: B. James, H. Donegan, D. Lowry, J. Merrin

In: W. Lee, Z. Murley, J. Merrin, L. Duguid

Out: R. Monti, J. Stewart, P. Symons, L. Humphrey

Sandhurst

B: T. Nally, M. Leyden, B. Montague

HB: N. Walsh, L. Ireland, L. Ross

C: J. Mittell, S. O'Farrell, I. Carracher

HF: L. Zimmer, O. McKinley, J. Wharton

F: N. Stagg, M. Thornton, M. Rovers

R: C. Down, J. Coghlan, L. Coghlan

Int: B. Holmes, J. McLean, A. Wharton, I. Ruff

In: S. O'Farrell

KANGAROO FLAT v. GISBORNE

Kangaroo Flat

B: L. O'Keefe, J. Hywood, J. Mayes

HB: P. Murphy, N. McHugh, H. Lockhart

C: J. Leersen, D. Dempster, D. Barber

HF: M. Holt, B. Fry, H. Johnson

F: N. Lang, K. Geran, D. Spear

R: M. Johnson, M. Trewhella, K. Symons

Int: T. Verbeek, B. Xiriha, K. Clark, L. Tranter

In: D. Dempster, J. Hywood, M. Holt, H. Lockhart

Out: R. O'Keefe, T. Gillespie, J. Barras, L. Wilson

Gisborne

B: Z. Vescovi, J. Reaper, L. Rodgers

HB: L. Shore, J. Lynch, C. Summerfield

C: M. Lord, B. Bernacki, S. Graham

HF: H. Thomas, J. Kemp, J. O'Brien

F: B. Eales, P. McKenna, S. Merrett

R: J. Normington, S. Bell-Bartels, S. Walsh

Int: M. Cassidy, B. Spear, N. Doolan, T. Crosbie

In: H. Thomas, N. Doolan, S. Merrett, J. Normington, S. Graham, J. Kemp

Out: S. Wilson, B. Revell, J. Scanlon, F. Schipano, L. Ellings

SOUTH BENDIGO v. KYNETON

South Bendigo

B: R. Harvey, A. Vanheumen, D. Johnstone

HB: B. Torpey, J. Miller, Z. Hare

C: O. Simpson, J. Swatton, O. White

HF: B. Harvey, D. Nalder, C. Leon

F: K. Antonowicz, A. Smith-Ralph, M. Goodwin

R: W. Allen, B. Haddow, M. Herlihy

Int: R. Walsh, W. McCaig, T. McLeod, S. Maher, N. Horbury, J. Sheahan

In: D. Johnstone, N. Horbury

Kyneton

To be selected from: R. Pretty, T. O'Sullivan, D. Bennington, W. Daly, H. Yunghanns, B. Thrum, A. Strawhorn, A. Nolte, C. Barry, H. Huntley, L. Phillips, A. Beckerley, J. O'Sullivan, N. O'Sullivan, J. Smiley, J. Willmott, C. Wallace, J. Gaff, G. Dickson, R. Magin, J. Mangan, H. Govan

In: J. Smiley, H. Govan

Out: L. Thompson, B. Cameron

CASTLEMAINE v. EAGLEHAWK

Castlemaine

B: B. Byrne, J. Hood, L. Martini

HB: R. Pedretti, L. Wilkinson, E. Maltby

C: C. McConachy, J. Chester, J. Byrne

HF: N. Woodman, D. Stephens, H. Bassett

F: S. Banko, S. Nettleton, K. Jermyn

R: Z. Doherty, D. Slingo, J. Watson

Int: J. Collie, J. Hardman, B. Moran, J. Cochrane

In: J. Cochrane, J. Hood

Out: W. Moran, K. Gellatly

Eaglehawk

B: J. Dye, K. Zass, O. Madden

HB: S. Thompson, S. Knott, D. Hanley

C: B. Brown, G. Hommelhoff, S. Harper

HF: N. Wheeler, J. Lawton, J. O'Brien

F: J. Mullen, R. McIvor, B. Thompson

R: D. Richards, J. Bateson, L. Davis

Int: C. Holmes, J. Twycross, B. Evans, J. Thompson

MARYBOROUGH v. STRATHFIELDSAYE

Maryborough

B: K. Downs, K. Lanfranchi, J. Postle

HB: K. Santon, B. Neill, L. Hull

C: A. Humphrey, J. Hooper, T. Gardam

HF: J. Fraser, K. Maffescioni, M. Kennedy

F: C. Skinner, T. Stewart, J. Burman

R: H. Monk, B. Edwards, M. Bilton

Int: M. Humphrey, I. Dosreis, L. Ratcliff, C. Perry, F. Russell, A. Robertson, S. Flynn, H. Cain

Emg: A. Hare

In: B. Neill, C. Perry, A. Hare, M. Humphrey, F. Russell

Strathfieldsaye

B: F. Payne, J. Hall, J. Neylon

HB: H. Lawrence, L. Ratcliffe, K. Smith

C: J. Formosa, L. Gill, D. Clohesy

HF: B. Henderson, L. White, J. Schischka

F: C. Jones, L. Sharp, C. McCarty

R: T. Hosking, J. Moorhead, B. Slater

Int: R. Clarke, J. Finch, J. Wilson, J. Rodda, L. Monti, P. Blandford

In: J. Rodda, P. Blandford, J. Wilson, L. White, J. Finch, B. Henderson, L. Monti

Out: C. Ernst, S. Geary, K. Geary, H. Conway, C. Sheahan

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