NTFA division 1 ladder leaders South Launceston will be missing some key players as they put their unbeaten record on the line against Bridgenorth at Youngtown tomorrow.
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Chad Baker will take over the coaching reins for the next couple of weeks, with Aaron Viney travelling overseas.
The Bulldogs expect to be without four or five top-line players including Beau Green, Shane Wager and Sam Page, with Brad Etchell expected to return this week along with Joel Mountney if he got through training unscathed.
"Bridgenorth have had a little bit of an up-and-down start to the season but we respect them a lot because the calibre of players they have makes them a dangerous team, and we will definitely have to be on our game this week," Baker said.
BRIDGENORTH coach Michael Bowden said his side was looking forward to the challenge of taking on the top team in the competition heading into a two-week lay-off for the Parrots.
"We started to play our style of footy in the second half against George Town last week apart from poor goalkicking, so we got a lot out of that and some positives for this week," Bowden said.
John Broomby will miss a month with a knee injury, with Joel Clements in doubt and the Parrots having a few out on the long-term injury list.
"They will be hard to beat up there but we will try to get away to a good start this week," he said.
BRACKNELL will be chasing their third win of the season coming off the bye when they host Hillwood at Bracknell.
Redlegs coach Gary Shipton said they were confident with a full list available but would be wary of the Sharks, who had been jumping out of the blocks against most teams before falling away in the second half.
Shipton was happy with the effort of his team in most games so far, saying they were starting to gel more but would have to apply themselves for four quarters to get over the line.
HILLWOOD has injury worries after being overrun by Longford in the second half last week.
The Sharks were left with one on the bench last week and will be missing four or five senior players to injury.
Coach Ryan Worn said they hoped to have most back after the bye and would rely on their younger players to step up this week.
"We are very young with an average age of 19 or 20, and experience will come with time, but we're looking forward to the challenge," he said.
SCOTTSDALE will aim to turn around a three-game losing streak when they meet Longford, with former St Kilda AFL player Stephen Milne lining up.
Coach Heath Fox said he was happy with his side's effort for three and a half quarters against Deloraine last week before a lapse in the final 15 minutes saw the final margin grow.
The Magpies have a couple out with injury, including Nathan Brow,n but have regained Lee Nichols, and Fox was keen for them to get back on track with a win.
LONGFORD has won two in a row after a tough draw to start to the season, and coach Ben Chugg said his team had continued to work hard for the success.
He said the Scottsdale trip was always tough, with wet weather suggesting a hard slog.
The Tigers lose Jake Murfett to injury, with his brother Ben Murfett replacing him.
ROCHERLEA will look to bounce back from a big loss to South when they play Deloraine in the NTFA Indigenous round clash.
Coach Lyndon Stubbs said the club really wanted to win on an important occasion and the South game had been a good indicator and eye-opener of the level his players needed to aspire to with the way the Bulldogs move the footy.
Adrian Cirkel will miss a couple of weeks with a shoulder injury, and Stubbs said his players were looking forward to playing alongside former AFL star Aaron Davey.
DELORAINE was slow out of the blocks last week against Scottsdale, according to coach Rory Mansell, but he saw some pleasing signs when they clicked into gear in the second half.
He said they needed to be switched on from the first bounce and to play their best footy to be competitive against Rocherlea.
The Roos were injury-free.