As late as Thursday evening, Jesse Baird would have been planning for a weekend away from football.
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But the Clunes top-liner has been rushed into the Central Highlands Football League senior side that will take on Riddell District in Saturday’s AFL Victoria Community Championships clash.
Baird’s call-up came on the back of an injury to Buninyong winger Jarrod Rodgers, who strained a hamstring at the final training run on Thursday night.
Central Highlands coach Clive Raak said it was an easy decision to select Baird given he was a similar sized player to Rodgers.
“For us it’s a huge thing to bring someone in who can play multiple roles,” Raak said.
The Clunes best and fairest from last year had been one of three emergencies for the final side, which will look to end a sequence of two-straight interleague defeats under Raak.
Saturday’s appearance for the Highlanders will be Baird’s first at senior interleague level.
Gordon defender Mark Gunnell will captain the Central Highlands side, with Grant Luscombe, Jarrod Morgan, Johno Leoncini and Matt Beaston serving as Raak’s assistant coaches.
The game at Buninyong is set to begin at 2.15pm and will follow an under-18 encounter between the two leagues, which gets underway at 12noon.