BFNL: McKenna's shoulder, Gardiner Reserve cause for concern for Gisborne

McKenna injured his right shoulder in the first quarter of Saturday's loss to Golden Square at Wade Street.

He returned to the field with his shoulder heavily strapped, kicked four goals and played out the game, but was clearly hampered by the injury.

"He was sore, but he played out the game,'' Gisborne coach Rob Waters said of McKenna.

"We think it's only a light sprain, so we think he should be right.

"He'll train lightly this week and we'll see how he comes up later in the week."

The Bulldogs host Eaglehawk in the final round this Saturday.

No matter what the result is in round 18, Gisborne will finish the home and away season on top of the ladder and earn the first week of the finals off.

That gives Waters the option of resting some sore bodies this week, including McKenna if required.

Adding to Gisborne's selection quandaries is the state of the Gardiner Reserve surface.

The ground is in such a heavy condition that the Dogs' haven't been able to train regularly on it for much of the season.

"I was down at the ground today and it was under water, so we won't be training there tonight,'' Waters said.

"It's a tough situation for the seniors, reserves and under-18s and there's meant to be more rain coming this week. We've been training a bit at Woodend, but that's not ideal.

"Our ground has so much traffic on it every week and we just haven't had any sun on it to dry it out.

"We're not the only club that has this problem, we've just got to do the best we can."

The game against Golden Square in very heavy conditions took its toll and the Dogs might not want to risk some of their key players on another muddy deck this Saturday ahead of the finals.

Brad Bernacki is available to return to Gisborne after his VFL commitments with Essendon concluded on Sunday.

Key defender Jaidyn Owen, midfielder Ethan Minns, ruckman Braidon Blake and small forward Matt Pannucio all missed the loss to Golden Square.

"We'll be really cautious this week just because of the way the ground is,'' Waters said.

"Bernacki is available to play, Jaidyn Owen should be right and Ethan Minns is a chance after he did a full week of training last week.

"It's a balancing act. We want to get some footy under the belt of these players, but at the same time we don't want to take any risks."

Gisborne is one win and 64 per cent ahead of second-placed Strathfieldsaye on the ladder.

Even if Gisborne was to lose 100 to 50 to Eaglehawk, and Strathfieldsaye defeated Golden Square by a scoreline of 130 to 30 (both highly unlikely scores), Gisborne would still finish well ahead of the Storm on percentage.

Sixth-placed Eaglehawk could still qualify for finals if a number of unlikely results fall its way, starting with an upset win over Gisborne.

"I'm really confident the boys will give it everything they've got,'' Eaglehawk coach Travis Matheson said.

"They certainly haven't thrown the towel in."

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READ MORE: BFNL MATCH REPORTS FOR ROUND 17