THREE former AFL stars, and a Tiwi Bombers captain, will all make their debut for Melton South this weekend when the Panthers play host to Redan on Saturday.
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AFL stars Jeff Garlett, who played 185 games with Carlton and Melton, Harley Bennell, who played 88 games with Gold Coast, Melbourne and Fremantle and Sam Darley, who played 20 career games with the GWS Giants and Western Bulldogs will all run out with the Panthers on Saturday.
The club will also debut captain of the Tiwi Bombers Brendan Kantilla along with key position player Darby Schilder and youngster Jarrod Bibby, who will help strengthen the team which has struggled in the opening two games of the season.
Coach Travis Hodgson said he was excited to bring the talented players into the line-up this weekend.
"They've come about through some friendships of mine," he said. "A couple of them actually played in their teams on Anzac Day and they'll back up on Saturday. We were just waiting on some clearances to come through last night.
"In all honesty, if you were a team that was flying, it's not something you'd risk, but the boys want to play, and in the position we're in, just having the excitement of the fans being able to watch those sorts of players is something we want to be to support.
"Right now, we're in a position where we want to make the club a good place to be week-to-week and whenever we can do things like that, we will.
The Panthers have been dealt a number of early-season blows with key recruits Patrick Veszpremi and Anthony Wilson to miss an extended period of the season with serious injuries.
"Our three top-line recruits were Patrick Veszpremi, Anthony Wilson and Darby Schilder and all three have had injuries," he said.
"We've lost Veszpremi with a broken hand, we won't get him back for five or so weeks, then Wilson did a high-grade hamstring and will be an eight ton 10 weeker. We'll get Schilder in for his first game this weekend after he had a calf injury."
Hodgson said the club understood its position in the competition this year and the key was creating a enjoyable environment as the club starts its long rebuild.
"We're in that really early stage of our build and we need to continue to encourage good players to come in and be part of our club," he said. "We've been unlucky to lose Veszpremi and Wilson, but we'll get them both back and anything we can do to fill the void in the meantime, we'll work through.
"We're delighted to have these guys come and be part of the club for us."
The Panthers clash with Redan on Saturday afternoon at Melton Recreation Reserve
