Dogs coach Ben Thornton told The Standard the big man, who has been in strong touch in recent weeks, would miss with knee soreness.

"He's been massive for us so it's a big loss, especially in the past couple of weeks he's been great," he said.

"Reggie has found momentum, so it's disappointing. But Jordan Garner will step up, he's been swapping with Reggie already and has been unreal in the first half of the year.

"We'll rely on him, but it's a challenge because Reggie has been doing it for a year and a half alongside him.

"There will be a couple others that will go through there too."

Thornton also confirmed reliable goal kicker Josh Stapleton would miss with injury.

"It's definitely a loss so we'll miss his leadership, and being such a young team he's been enormous," he said.

Josh Lock returns to the Dogs side in a welcome relief, while youngster Dakota Davidson returns to the side from the under 18s.

The playing-coach said his sixth-placed side which pushed Merrivale only a week ago was ready for the challenge of Panmure.

"They're a great side, they've come out and had some big wins this year," he said. "Banty has them going really well, so we're looking for a four-quarter effort."

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Panmure, meanwhile, will also swing a few changes in the huge clash, with coach Chris Bant to return from injury after missing the past three weeks.

Bradley Gedye and Matt Colbert also return to the team to further bolster the Bulldogs' outfit, while Tom Wright (back) and Luke Hynes (unavailable) will miss at this stage, with Bant wary of the 'surprise packet' in Dennington.

"They're in great form, probably the form team in the competition," he said.

"It'll be tight, tough footy like it always is against Dennington, and they have some good movers up forward from what we hear."

Nirranda will once again flick around the magnets as it prepares for a road-trip against Old Collegians, with the undefeated Blues to unveil a debutant.

Patrick Lee will make his senior debut, with coach Brayden Harkness excited to see what he can produce.

"He's been a long-term helper at the club, co-coach of our under 18s, and has taken on a lot of jobs and roles we've asked him to so it's great reward for effort," he said.

Dylan Willsher and Luke Weel will both miss the clash through unavailability, while Danny Craven is nursing some niggling injuries and will miss just the one week.

John Paulin returns to the Blues side, as does Bronte McCann from a finger injury.

"It wouldn't be a week at Nirranda without some changes," Harkness said.

The Blues mentor said it was vital his side didn't drop the intensity against the Warriors.

"We don't take any game lightly and we certainly don't want to lose any momentum heading into a big game," he said.

"We want to play our style the way we want - we can't deviate from our game depending on who the opposition is."

In other major teams news, as floated by South Rovers mentor Adam Matheson through the week, star spearhead Tim Ryan has been named for his return, with the forward to play his first match in a few weeks, while vice-captain Dylan Cox will also slot back in as the Lions slowly welcome back key cogs ahead of the must-win match against Allansford.

*Teams are supplied by clubs

Timboon Demons v Kolora-Noorat

Timboon Demons

B: A.Doak, C.Dower, H.Stansfield

HB: N.Gillingham, C.Trotter, S.Newey

C: C.Mitchell, B.Kelly, J.Fowler

HF: S.Negrello, T.Thorburn, K.Delaney

F: T.Hunt, B.Bacon

R: A.Hunt, M.Hickey, B.Newey

Int: M.Wallace, H.Williams, B.Matthews, T.Smurthwaite

Kolora-Noorat

B: J.Brooks, J.Sinnott, S.O'Connor

HB: L.Tebble, N.Bourke, N.Marshall

C: J.Moloney, J.Vaughan, J.Moloney

HF: B.Reid, T.Glennen, S.Boyd

F: T.Beasley, B.Williams, P.Baker

R: J.Dillon, S.Kenna, L.McConnell

Int: J.Carlin, N.Castersen, T.Henderson, H.Darcy

South Rovers v Allansford

South Rovers

B: B.Cooper, S.Wilde, K.Moloney

HB: N.Murphy, T.Wilson, A.Seabrook

C: J.Bacon, J.Dowd, S.Williams

HF: J.Higgins, J.Dalton, D.Cox

F: T.Ryan, J.Bell, K.Lenehan

R: T.Bowman, J.Fedley, T.Harman

Int: T.Wood, P.Higgins, T.Bishop, M.Picken

Allansford

B: B.Fedley, J.Kirkwood, S.Kilpatrick

HB: B.Edge, J.McGee, C.Day

C: T.Knowles, L.Nowell, J.Crispe

HF: Z.Jamieson, B.Lenehan, D.Wynd

F: R.Buck, B.Hunger, J.Medley

R: T.Jones, R.Hare, L.Lusher

Int: J.Baker, C.Mclean, H.Searle

Dennington v Panmure

Dennington

B: T.Noonan, G.Serra, J.Malone

HB: D.Threlfall, T.Lee, L.Pearson

C: J.Noonan, T.Fitzgerald, C.Simms

HF: B.Thornton, Z.McKenna, L.Campbell-Gavin

F: T.Noonan, J.Brown, S.Lee

R: B.Baker, J.Lock, S.Curtis

Int: M.Dwyer, J.Garner, D.Davidson, E.Dowd

Panmure

B: P.Ryan, J.Norton, N.Keane

HB: T.Gardiner, L.Lyons, M.Kenny

C: L.Kew, P.Mahony, M.Colbert

HF: B.Purcell, C.Bant, T.Mahony

F: L.Bishop, Z.Reeves, S.Mahony

R: L.McLeod, J.Moloney, B.Gedye

Int: T.Murnane, W.Pomorin, I.Sinnott, H.Turnham

Old Collegians v Nirranda

Old Collegians

B: J.Cust, M.Crosier, E.Barker

HB: H.Hall, N.Wallace, J.Dunne

C: D.Gleeson, A.Grant, H.White

HF: J.Nyikos, K.Bidmade, N.Forth

F: B.Keane, J.Brooks, B.England

R: M.Riddell, T.Lewis, C.Barby

Int: P.Keane, J.Cleaver, H.Jenkins, B.Brooks

Nirranda

B: P.McDowall, L.Weel, B.McCann

HB: R.Nutting, M.Lloyd

C: D.Philp, A.Lane, L.Irving

HF: J.Stacey, J.Willsher, M.Primmer

F: J.Folkes, D.Lees, J.Lee

R: H.Giblin, E.Harvey-Cleary, J.Paulin

Int: J.Walsh, T.Coates, P.Lee

Russells Creek v Merrivale

Russells Creek

B: D.Herbertson, M.Rook, J.Forth Bligh

HB: Z.Welsford, T.Wason, L.McKane

C: Z.Timms, S.Alberts, B.Rudland-Castles

HF: J.Chatfield, T.Smith, B.Hewett

F: C.Templeton, W.McPhee, X.McCartney

R: D.Burns, P.Chatfield, D.Nicholson

Int: C.Mifsud, S.Grinter, D.Cross

Merrivale

B: W.Lenehan, T.Stephens, J.Fary

HB: O.Doukas, J.Sobey, J.Gleeson

C: T.McLean, H.Owen, J.Wilson

HF: N.Krepp, L.Byrne, J.Neave

F: M.Hausler, B.Bell, J.Brooks

R: D.Scoble, B.McCutcheon, C.Rix

Int: M.Sandow, J.Britton, T.Kelson

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