Cobden learning to manage without its spine players, says coach Levi Dare

The Bombers’ spine is crippled with Aidan Cole (full back), Paul Hinkley (centre half-back), Levi Dare (ruck), Lincoln Dare (centre half-forward) and Nick Harding (full forward) on the sidelines.

Dare, who will undergo knee surgery on July 5, said it was important the club embraced the test.

“Our number one wingman in Jesse Williamson is also out so we’re up against it,” he said.

“It’s an opportunity for other blokes to play different positions.

“In the forward line we’ve got Tim Horan and Christian Koroneos at centre half-forward role from Lincoln and Dom (Dare) is at full forward with ‘Whopper’ (Harding) out.

“We could even put ‘Fozzy’ (Paul Foster) at centre half-back this week with ‘Hinks’ out.”

Promising ruckman Toby Hawkins is receiving invaluable game time in Dare’s absence.

Dare is unsure how long his meniscus injury will sideline him.

He is hopeful some of the Bombers’ key position players will return after the bye.

Ninth-placed Cobden is facing an uphill battle to challenge for a finals berth with a 3-7 win-loss record.

It plays fourth-ranked South Warrnambool, which is coming off back-to-back losses to two sides outside the top five and has a 5-5 win-loss record, at Friendly Societies’ Park on Saturday.

“It’s another big opportunity for us,” Dare said.

“If we’ve still got in mind that we want to play finals, then we’ve got to start winning games like this.”

South Warrnambool coach Mathew Buck believes a safe brand of football has hurt the Roosters over the past fortnight.

“We know in the games what’s gone wrong the past couple of weeks,” he said.

“We’ll look to go back to playing our brand. We’ve played a little safe lately and that’s a credit to the opposition more than anything.

“We play our best when we play on the edge a little bit.”

Two additions to the South Warrnambool line-up – Ben Thornton and Zacc Struth – are expected to give the Roosters extra grunt in the midfield.

“We’re looking for a little bit more pressure around the ball and Zacc and Ben bring that,” Buck said.

Experienced ball winner Struth returns to the club’s senior side following a three-week stint in the Roosters’ reserves.