Key forward Robbie Hare is a likely out, having battled with a corked knee in recent weeks, with Travis Membrey another set to miss game time.

Coach Tim Nowell said there could be "one or two" more changes to the senior side before the first bounce.

"We've had players out with COVID-19, there is a bad bug going around," Nowell said. "We've got something set up (last night) for them to prove their fitness if they come back into our senior side."

Taylan Jones is set to make his senior debut, having made the step up from under 18s last season.

Nowell said the team had a plan to cover off Russells Creek's star players but would focus on playing its own brand of football first.

"We'll back our young guys who played last week," he said. "Russells Creek is a great side, and I said to the guys, it's a great opportunity. We know if we're playing our best football, we can be competitive. If some of those key players start getting on top of us, yes, we look to give shut down roles to some of our players."

Russells Creek take in an unchanged team from last week's win against Kolora-Noorat, with Dylan Shircore to come in as the rotating under 18 sub. Meanwhile, co-coach Danny Chatfield confirmed Sam Wilson had suffered a season-ending ACL injury from its round three win against Old Collegians.

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