Redan taking cautious approach to Orren Stephenson's return from injury

Stephenson is yet to take to the field this season, having been sidelined by a string of soft tissue complaints.

Redan coach Jarrett Giampaolo said the 38-year-old had managed some training sessions, but did not yet feel confident in his body.

"We're hopeful he's not far away from returning," Giampaolo said.

"He's been able to train at times. But (it's different) making the jump to playing and then being confident that he wasn't just going to go out there and injure himself and be back at square one.

"We're being extremely cautious to the point that we're not going to play him unless he's fit. We're grinding it out with our fourth-and fifth-string rucks at the moment, but that's just players playing their role, and it's what we have to do."

Giampaolo felt Stephenson had been impacted by last year's abandoned season.

"Everyone knows he's not young anymore, and if we had not had that season off, things might be different," he said. "He spent a long time out of footy, and as you get older, it's harder to get going. So he's just finding it hard to manage his body."

The Lions have had a tough season to date, losing star utility Liam Hoy to a season-ending Achilles injury.

With a rotating cast of players due to soft-tissue injuries and minor complaints, Redan has struggled to field its strongest 22.

Giampaolo said missing the influence of senior players was a reason behind the Lions' 3-4 record.

"We've got a lot of young players in our side and it's just about trying to get them to play some more consistent footy and trying to find a couple of leaders in the group that can keep driving standards," he said. "It'd be great to have Orren Stephenson out there and Liam Hoy. Things would change a bit if you had your captain out there and your most experienced player.

"It just means players have to step up. We need some young guys to decide that they're senior footballers now."