St Albans co-captain Hayden Elliott looks set to miss the remainder of the season after suffering a torn pectoral muscle for the second time.
The gun defender was forced from the field during the Supersaints’ loss to St Mary’s last month, with scans confirming the extent of the damage.
“He went for a spoil right in front of the coaches box… we didn’t think too much of it,” coach Rick Munn said.
“It turns out he’s torn his pec. So, he’ll miss some time, probably the rest of the year.
“We’re pretty disappointed for him. He can’t get a clean run at it.
“He’s definitely our most important player.
“I think he’s one of the best key backs in the comp. He reads the ball well, sets the field up for us, so it’s a big loss.
“I’m looking forward to seeing some of the other boys step up in his absence.”
Munn has made four changes for the return meeting with Lara tomorrow.
Seth Alsop, Joe Osborne, and Kade Parish are also out of the team that was well beaten by the Saints in Round 10.
Parish suffered a broken toe in one of the more unusual circumstances.
It was really innocuous at training on Tuesday,” Munn said.
“He clipped the back of one of the boys’ heels in one of the warm-up drills, and that was it.
“He came off thinking not much of it. And then I got a call Wednesday morning that he’s got a broken toe, so he’ll probably miss four weeks.”
The meeting with the Cats is the second between the two clubs this year, with St Albans handing out a 138-point hiding at home in Round 1.
However, Munn isn’t going into the second annual Peter Kelly Cup clash planning for a similar outcome.
“We’ve done a lot of work on them over the last couple of weeks, so we’ll prepare for their best,” he said.
“They’ve got some really good players, obviously, in (Darby) Henderson and (Tom) Gunther as their prime movers, and some exciting kids that we won’t take for granted.
“We’ve done our work and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
AT SELECTION – ROUND 11 (PART TWO)
Lara has been boosted by the return of co-captain Sam Purdy and ruck Ryan Bell from concussions, among four changes.
The Cats have also named Rhyland Burgoyne and Nick Beekmans.
Declan Goodwin is sidelined with osteitis pubis, and Tom Parker is unavailable.
Off-season recruit Kyen Burrill-Grinton has returned to Bendigo League club Eaglehawk, while Levi King has been omitted.
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