Sam Cowling (hamstring) and Harry Ryan (shoulder) were late withdrawals as the Blues suffered an 82-point loss to North Warrnambool Eagles on Saturday.

Warrnambool coach Ben Parkinson said the club would likely take a conservative approach.

"It's a tough one, because with a bye the week after, do we put them at risk or do we let them get an extra week of recovery?," he said.

"While this Saturday is really important that we get a win on the board, at this stage we'll probably err on the side of caution and give them that extra week of recovery with the bye the week after.

"We'll have to wait and see how they are."

Parkinson said spearhead Jason Rowan, who suffered a nasty shoulder injury in the first quarter of the Blues loss to North Warrnambool Eagles, would see a surgeon to plot a route to recovery.

"He's got to have another MRI and see a shoulder surgeon to see what the outcome is," he said.

"The (emergency department) doctor wasn't overly confident and felt it was a pretty significant injury.

"He'll need to get the surgeon's opinion."

Warrnambool, who is still yet to see forward Luke Cody or Darcy Graham take the field in 2021, will play Portland on Saturday in a bid to level its win-loss ledger at two apiece.

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