Ex-Prospect junior Blade Sulzberger will debut against Clarence on Saturday as one of five changes to the North Launceston side that beat North Hobart last week.
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With Zach Burt (suspended), Harry Bayles (school footy) and Ollie Sanders (injury) unavailable, Sulzberger joins Declen Chugg and Ryley Sanders in the TSL after a week playing school footy.
Fit-again defender Fletcher Bennett plays his first game of 2021 after two weeks starring in the development league, while fellow back Billy Edmunds also returns.
Vice-captain Ben Simpson, who injured his ankle in the win over Launceston, is likely to be held back until after the bye.
Coach Brad Cox-Goodyer said Sulzberger - North's 14th debutant of the year - had been on the cusp of selection for some time.
"We've been looking at getting him in the last couple of weeks and with Devils and school footy he's probably well overdue in my opinion, so it's really exciting to get him in, especially in a big game like this," Cox-Goodyer said.
"Blade's ultra-competitive, super tough as well and he's got good foot skills so he's everything I love in a player.
"Blade's going to be a terrific player when he's older and I'm very excited to see what he can do in his first senior game - he'll hold up just fine."
The winner of Saturday's clash will take a four-point buffer on second spot.
The Roos haven't beaten the Bombers at UTAS Stadium in more than seven years, but got the job done when the two sides met at Bellerive earlier this season.
"It's a massive game in terms of the layout of the ladder and the season as a whole - it's probably our biggest game this year," Cox-Goodyer said.
"They're the only team we haven't beaten this year and especially with two weeks to go before the bye, we're really looking at these next two weeks as season-defining to set our season up and get a handy buffer in the top two.
"The boys understand the magnitude of the game."
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Clarence has made two changes, with key talls Ole Angerstein and Colin Garland replacing Noah Holmes and Sam Green.
A 141-gamer with Melbourne, Garland is no certainty to play his fifth game of the season after struggling with niggling injuries in his first season at the club.
"Col just hasn't been able to get a good run at it to be honest - he had a bit of a medial in his knee at the start of the year and to his credit he played out the Glenorchy game when he injured it early on," Roos coach Jeromey Webberley said.
"We won that game and in hindsight we probably should have taken him off the ground, but that was a must-win game for us.
"We understand that when he's going he's one of the best if not the most damaging player in the comp.
"If he plays this week that'd be a great added bonus, if he doesn't we know he gets to the bye and we'll definitely see him after the bye."
The Roos are on a three-game winning streak after keeping Glenorchy and Lauderdale to exactly 34 points in consecutive weeks.
"I reckon we've probably seen a little bit of growth within our group," Webberley said.
"I thought our first month was patchy - we were probably trying to discover what our footy looks like and we think we've made steps in the right direction over the last few weeks to understanding what a Clarence game looks like and the things we want to be really good at.
"Our next month is the two Northern teams away and the Tigers away as well, so this next month is going to tell us where we're at as a club."
FULL TEAMS
NORTH LAUNCESTON v CLARENCE
UTAS Stadium, Saturday 2pm
NORTH LAUNCESTON
- B: B. Van Buuren, C. Nankervis, R. Whitney
- HB: F. Bennett, W. Edmunds, M. Stingel
- C: B. Leary, B. Cox-Goodyer, M. Walsh
- HF: N. Pearce, T. Bennett, R. Sanders
- F: H. Griffiths, T. Donnelly, J. Rushton
- R: A. Lee, J. Avent, J. Foon
- Int: D. Chugg, M. Cossins, A. Potter, B. Sulzberger
- Emg: A. Bourne, J. Edmunds, J. Kerr, D. Layh
In: D. Chugg, R. Sanders, W. Edmunds, B. Sulzberger, F. Bennett
Out: Z. Burt, H. Bayles, T. Ives, A. Bourne, J. Kerr
CLARENCE
- B: J. Bealey, J. Bailey, O. Paprotny
- HB: B. Norton, Z. Buechner, J. Webberley
- C: J. Green, E. Jackson, J. Harper
- HF: B. Hay, C. Garland, K. Howlett
- F: T. McCallum, O. Preshaw, T. Penwright
- R: O. Angerstein, J. Preshaw, D. Gardner
- Int: L. Borsboom, J. Tremayne, W. Wall, K. Wylie
- Emg: J. Barwick, H. Burgess, K. Saward, J. Steele
In: O. Angerstein, C. Garland
Out: S. Green, N. Holmes