Crawford will miss his second game after being a late withdrawal last week against Lauderdale with what was thought to be a corked buttock.

A scan later revealed the problem was related to a hip joint being slightly out of place.

Northern Bombers coach Zane Littlejohn said that the club wanted to give Crawford time to fully recover and hoped to have him back for the Hobart game after the bye.

North faces a top-three side for the third time in as many weeks but Littlejohn said his side would go into the game against the Dockers with a positive mindset.

``It will be a challenge for the boys but we will go down there with a lot of confidence and belief and we've got to have that attitude because if you don't, I think you're defeated already,'' Littlejohn said.

``We know they will be on the rebound and they play their ground really well so it's a good experience for our younger blokes.''

Littlejohn said that the club's chances of sneaking into the five were slim but they had not completely written them off.

``The run home is pretty valuable for us just to get a few wins under our belts and set ourselves up with some confidence going into next year.''

Colts captain Christian Barnes will play his first senior game for the club today.

LAUNCESTON faces North Hobart in the multicultural cup challenge at Windsor Park.

Blues coach Anthony Taylor said that he expected another tough game but wanted to keep on winning before the bye.

``They're (North Hobart) a bit of an unknown to us but over the past month they have started to hit their straps,'' Taylor said.

`They've got some strong bodies in Tommy Allwright, Nathan Street, Jesse wells and Zane Murphy through the middle of the ground.

``We're going to have to work on keeping the ball moving and spreading them.

``We want to keep on improving throughout a game, get a win on the board and go into the break on a positive note.''

SOUTH LAUNCESTON is still in the hunt for fifth spot and coach Mitch Thorp said they could help their cause by beating Glenorchy at KGV on Sunday.

``Obviously they will be tough and have improved over the past couple of months but we think we are a good chance if we start well and bring our game,'' he said.

Thorp said that he hoped to be back playing in three weeks after fracturing his tibia three weeks ago against Launceston.

Meanwhile, the Southern Football League will play roster matches next Saturday on the same day as the State League bye and the Kangaroos AFL game at Bellerive Oval.

A story in The Examiner yesterday said that the SFL had a bye along with the Old Scholars Football Association.

The Examiner apologises for the error.