Former Warriors coaches Daryl Beechey and Nathan Forth will plug holes in their side’s defensive six, while current mentor Josh Reichman is expected to add firepower in the attacking sphere after a week’s rest.

However, Collegians will take the field without crafty forward Josh Stapleton following a workplace accident mid-week.

Stapleton has been joined on the sidelines by Justin Lynch, who is suffering from a virus.

Reichman, a second-year coach, said his returning contingent was primed for a tough contest.

“We’re all at that age where we have to be managed every now and again. We thought a freshen up would do us good,” he said.

“This week, Josh (Stapleton) cut his hand at work and Justin (Lynch) actually spent a night in hospital with his virus, so we just wanted to manage him.”

Nirranda’s cause has been bolstered by the return of former assistant coach Nathan Couch, who is expected to play a role in defence and throughout the midfield. 

He has been joined by defensive forward Jason Lee, who is back after missing a week.

Despite this, in-form midfielder John Paulin has succumbed to a leg injury and will miss the clash. Cam Williams has also dropped out of the side.

Russells Creek has been boosted by the return of former North Warrnambool Eagle Andy McMeel, as well as Jordan Wallace and Josef McIvor.

“We’ve got some mature bodies back in, and they can rotate through the middle. It helps us,” Kangaroos coach Heath Moloney said.

Defender Chris Crawley is expected to miss the remainder of the season due to family commitments.

Dennington has been hit hard by injury, with Luke Moutray (back), Billy Keane (shoulder), Herb Barlow (hamstring), Michael Phillips (knee, quad) all set to miss.

“We’ve had some bad luck but we’ll get Chris Keilar back to add some more forward structure to our side,” coach Jake Rhodes said of their clash with East Warrnambool.