WDFNL round five teams: Defender out for season, reigning premiers welcome back stars

Important key defender Tom Lee will likely miss the remainder of the season after a serious injury to his AC joint, confirmed coach Leigh Anderson.

Lee will be among three changes for the Dogs' crunch clash against Panmure, with recruit Harry Ponting and Liam Byrne also out of the side.

There is some welcome relief, however, with skipper Tom Fitzgerald to return for his first game since round two, while Daniel Threlfall and Dakota Davidson are back into the senior side in a further boost.

Panmure has made some interesting changes at the selection table, with a trio of returning footballers from last year to pull on the jumper.

Midfielder Brad Gedye, who was the club's vice-captain in 2023 but is playing with North Warrnambool Eagles on permit, will play for the Bulldogs in the crucial match with the Hampden league on a bye this weekend.

Experienced duo Rylan Rattley and Matt Colbert, the latter a former playing assistant coach, are in Warrnambool for the weekend and will play for the Bulldogs but are likely to just play the one-off game. Recruit Noah Greene is another confirmed in after recovering from an ankle injury.

"They're all very handy ins, all quality footballers," coach Adam Courtney said.

"It's a really important clash against the Dogs this week so it's great to have them all back."

It's not all good news however, with Courtney confirming Patrick Ryan would miss up to two months after an ankle fracture, with Jack Coyle also unavailable.

Allansford coach Tim Nowell, meanwhile, says his undefeated side will back in its system to deliver as it prepares to make just the one change to its settled line-up against Russells Creek.

The Cats mentor confirmed youngster Jackson McLean would come into the team to provide some "leg speed" but was basically going into the clash unchanged.

Nowell said stability was welcomed early in the season and maintained his group would remain motivated.

"We know we've got a few more to come back in at some point, but we haven't really been faced with too many changes so it's a good feeling, but we'll take it week-by-week," he said.

"In round 18 we'll stay with the same attitude as what it is now, we've got a job to do and it all comes down to us playing the four quarters."

Nowell said he was unsure what to expect from Creek, whose only loss this season has come against reigning premiers Nirranda.

"We all know they've got a very good on-ball group and we'll need to put in a bit of time to stop them," he said.

"We've got to continue with what we do well and stick to our plan. If we need to make changes on Saturday we will but we'll just do what we know works for us and if we play the four quarters we're confident we can win."

Nirranda will welcome back some key names for its clash against South Rovers, with coach Nick Couch confirming a swag of changes.

The reigning premiers bring back some premiership stars against the struggling Lions, with Luke Weel, Mathew Lloyd, Dylan Willshire, Jackson Couch and reigning Esam Medal winner John Paulin all returning.

At this stage, recruit Tyson Royal and ex-coach Brayden Harkness are unavailable.

South Rovers coach Luke Kenna said final changes to the side wouldn't be known until Friday night's training run but confirmed several ins and outs.

The Lions lose some key players with Fergus McCoy, skipper Sam Wilde, Ethan Boylan and Jack Hope out of the side.

Archie Laidlaw, Logan McFadyen, Jordan Cashion and Josh Bell return to the side with Kenna confirming a few more could come back depending on training.

Merrivale and Old Collegians have already played their round five clash on Good Friday, with the Tigers winning by 106 points.

**All teams are as supplied by clubs

South Rovers Seniors v Nirranda Seniors

South Rovers Seniors

B: B.Bushell, C.Mailes, B.Oates

HB: S.Wilde, T.Bishop, K.Brereton

C: S.Williams, L.Wilde, M.Edwards

HF: J.Bell, L.Cook, B.Grant

F: R.Mentha, B.Goodall, S.Barker

R: K.Lenehan, J.Morton, B.White

Int: J.Cashin, L.Mcfadyen, A.Laidler, S.Kelson

Nirranda Seniors

B: L.Weel, B.McCann, C.Wagstaff

HB: M.Lloyd, M.Primmer, L.Kew

C: L.Irving, D.Willsher, J.Irving

HF: D.Philp, J.Primmer, J.Willsher

F: J.Lenehan, B.Dobson, J.Couch

R: D.Craven, J.Paulin, H.Giblin

Int: N.Couch, T.Dalton, B.Kew

Kolora-Noorat Seniors v Timboon Demons Seniors

Kolora-Noorat Seniors

B: N.Marshall, C.Scanlon, J.Dwyer

HB: C.Kavanagh, G.Beasley, E.Wyss

C: A.Kenna, S.O'Connor, J.vaughan

HF: J.Aitken, T.Kenna, J.Carlin

F: S.Uwland, A.Robertson, J.Wallace

R: J.Evans, B.Carlin, L.Cahill

Int: O.Curran, N.Castersen, C.Scanlon, T.Glennen, M.Wyss

Timboon Demons Seniors

B: E.Gaut, C.Trotter, L.Smith

HB: S.Newey, A.Hunt, L.Alsop

C: O.Stansfield, T.Groves, H.Stansfield

HF: R.Ziegelaar, M.Gristede, B.Newey

F: N.Deppeler, T.Hunt, R.Couch

R: B.Cumming, M.Wallace, K.Delaney

Int: K.Gristede, I.Arundell, E.White

Dennington Seniors v Panmure Seniors

Dennington Seniors

B: T.noonan, L.Pearson, B.Barton

HB: B.Thornton, J.Shircore, M.Mavroudakis

C: L.Campbell-Gavin, C.Fenn, J.Turner

HF: T.Noonan, J.Blackney-noter, J.Garner

F: D.Threlfall, F.Onthaisongs, A.Keen

R: B.Baker, T.Fitzgerald, F.Rowe

Int: T.Moana, D.Hoye, D.Davidson, N.Alexandrou

Panmure Seniors

B: H.Fleming, L.Lyons, N.Keane

HB: T.Gedye, J.Anderson, M.Sinnott

C: J.Parsons, L.Gavin, T.Murnane

HF: J.Lewis, S.Melican, D.Bourke

F: M.Colbert, C.Bant, T.Wright

R: S.Mahony, B.Gedye, R.Rattley

Int: A.Courtney, N.Greene, J.Norton

**Teams for Russells Creek v Allansford not provided