After two poor losses, the last thing Sebastopol needed was to lose one of its key play makers.
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But the Burra have been dealt a big blow on the eve with their clash with Redan with the news that vice captain Jack Bambury could miss up to 10 weeks with a high-grade hamstring injury sustained early in the second quarter in the loss against East Point last weekend.
The loss of Bambury comes at a bad time for the Burra as they chase their best form, which they showed in the opening round in the loss to Lake Wendouree, but have struggled to replicate since.
"It's a really bad hamstring from Bambury, it'll be a good couple of months at least," playing-coach Tony Lockyer said.
"There's a chance it could be a 10-weeker. You can never replace someone like-for-like of Jack's quality, but we feel we do have the good enough depth from the group in the reserves who are playing good footy.
"Who comes in won't play the same rebounding role, but they'll come in and play their role and hopefully that allows someone else to move into Jack's role. I don't think any side has a someone has someone in their reserves like Jack Bambury unfortunately."
With both teams 1-2 heading into the contest, there is plenty at stake with the winner finding itself back in the running for a top-six position, while the loser will already be behind the eight-ball with a 1-3 record and will need to get motoring just to square the ledger in coming weeks.
Lockyer said he saw signs of improvement in the clash against East Point last Saturday night.
"From an outsider perspective looking in, I can see how people have some concerns about Sebas's form, but internally we have the belief in what we're doing.
"We'll stop talking about the Melton performance soon, but we felt particularly early in the game against East Point, our contested work was really good.
"We're looking to make another step this week. We've had a big focus on our ball movement this week, because it broke down going forward against East.
"Like last week where we had some targeted areas to improve, this week will be much of the same."
After two night games in the first three rounds, the Burra can focus on day football for the rest of the season.
"The weather is looking pretty good, and I find the day games do provide you with a better opportunity to play your style, without a dewey footy.
"We know Redan are off a good win, we know they are up and about, we'll look forward to a big game."
