FORWARDS James Keeble and Matt Austin still have plenty to prove, even if they are named in North Ballarat Roosters’ selections on Thursday night.
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Keeble and Austin must be completely cleared from lingering knee soreness and will be monitored deep into final preparations for the Roosters’ Victorian Football League clash against Richmond on Sunday.
Austin missed the Selkirk Roosters’ win against Casey Scorpions at home a fortnight ago, leading into a bye round, and must first pull up well from a challenging Wednesday night match play session. Keeble has been treated for knee soreness during the week’s break.
The Roosters have already ruled out veteran ruckman Orren Stephenson from facing his former AFL club. Stephenson has been nursing a calf strain, stemming from a road trip to Footscray on May 24. He missed an initial week but re-injured the muscle in his return game and was sidelined for two weeks leading into the bye.
Roosters coach Gerard FitzGerald said the club opted for a cautious approach for recurring injuries.
Similarly, the Roosters are looking to increase game time for midfielder Nick Couch with Central Highlands club Springbank. Couch has played the past two weeks with very limited game time for the Tigers in his continued bid to work back from a recurring knee injury.
Liam Hoy and Nick Peters will both remain on the sidelines with ankle injuries this week. Hoy has missed one game, Peters has been scratched from two.
Promising Sebastopol forward Michael Powell’s push for VFL selection has suffered a set-back. Scans early this week showed Powell has a serious broken thumb that will keep him sidelined for about six to eight weeks.
