BFNL 2023: East Point gun returns from injury, Roosters boosted by VFL stars

Merrett missed the first five rounds of the season with a wrist injury as his Roos began the season with a 3-1 win-loss record.

ALL THE TEAMS: See all selected BFNL and CHFL teams for Saturday

The former Essendon forward said he could have lined up in East Point's round five win against North Ballarat, but wanted to give it one more week.

Redan is one of four clubs benefitting from Footscray's VFL bye at the weekend as the Lions welcome Cooper Craig-Peters back to the den for Saturday.

Craig-Peters starred in his five games for Redan last season, averaging over 24 disposals and 10 tackles per game.

The Lions will be without Liam Phillips, who injured his knee in the round five loss to Melton.

Redan coach Gary Learmonth initially thought Phillips would miss the entirety of the season, but was now hopeful of a return later in the year.

North Ballarat will welcome back VFL-listed duo in Sam Glover (Collingwood) and Josh Chatfield (Footscray) ahead of its round six clash with Ballarat on Saturday.

The pair return for their second Ballarat Football Netball League appearance this season with their VFL clubs having the bye at the weekend.

Glover lined up in the Roosters round three win against Bacchus Marsh, in which he booted four goals, while Chatfield featured in the season-opening defeat to Sunbury.

Chatfield has been in sensational form in the VFL with a best-on-ground performance against Richmond in round three of the VFL season.

Footscray's bye also sees Tristan Maple and Angus Bade line up at Ballarat, with Maple averaging over 25 disposals across four games with the Swans.

Despite Geelong having the bye in the VFL, Bailey van de Heuvel will not feature against North Ballarat.

Ballarat skipper Will Garner (travel) will miss the next two weeks with Tyler Constable also unavailable ahead of Saturday.

Ballarat will unveil its 11^th debutant for the season with Lachie Hadley rewarded for his strong performance in the reserves last weekend.

DARLEY ruck Lucas Impey returns to action after being concussed against East Point in round three.

The Devils face an interesting couple of weeks with Melton South and Lake Wendouree preluding their clash with reigning premier Melton.

It provides Darley coach Dan Jordan with the opportunity to rest some of his key players in preparation for the round eight fixture.

Mace Cousins is available to play on Saturday due to Geelong's bye, with Bailey Young (Footscray) set to play his fourth game this season.

Darley goes head-to-head with Melton South following the Panthers' fifth-consecutive triple-digit defeat last weekend.

SEBASTOPOL will be without Riley O'Keefe (concussion) for Satuday's clash with Lake Wendouree, with Burra co-coach Michael Columbro hoping to see Chase Dummett return after missing the last three weeks.

BACCHUS MARSH, which boasts a handful of Talent League products across both Greater Western Victoria Rebels and Western Jets programs, will be heavily impacted by the league's return to play.

The Cobras recent matches featured Josh Huxtable, Ethan McKercher, Joel Freeman, Jack Kovavevic, Isaac Nixon and Cody Gates, who are now unavailable depending on Talent League selection.

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