It’s been a rough trot for the Harvey Bulls.
On the back of making last season’s preliminary final, many tipped the Bulls to easily finish in the top five once again, however injuries have crippled Mark Pink’s squad.
More than 10 prime movers are out of action and in doubt for Saturday afternoon’s clash against in-form Bunbury at the Harvey Recreation Ground.
While the spate of injuries is less than ideal, Pink is adamant about two things — not only will his side remain competitive, but they are all appreciative of the support shown by the club’s volunteers.
“The club committee has been fantastic — from Joe (Rognetta, president) down,” Pink said. “The support they give you is second to none.
“Yes, they are disappointed with how we are travelling, but they have been around footy circles long enough to know it is out of our control.
“I am really happy with the effort of our players.”
Bunbury coach Jamie Nani is upbeat heading into the clash, with his Bulldogs having peeled off a series of impressive victories.
“We take some positives out of beating both reigning grand finalists back to back and have played some good, hard, tough footy across those two games,” Nani said.
“Against South Bunbury in the wet, we were pretty clean (with ball use) considering the tough conditions.
“I think it is also on the back of finally getting some soldiers back on the park. We are still not at full-strength, but having some quality players back in the team has probably made us a little bit better.”
Elsewhere on Saturday, Augusta-Margaret River host second-placed Donnybrook who are a firming as a genuine finals contender.
On Sunday, a big crowd is expected at Dunsborough Playing Fields for the Dunsborough Sharks-Eaton clash, with Fremantle Dockers legend David Mundy lining up for the Sharks.
While a majority of the outside focus leading into the game will naturally be on Mundy, Eaton coach Chris Kinninmont would like to remind everyone his side intends to travel down and pick up the four premiership points.
“It’s just another game at the end of the day,” Kinninmont said.
“We will need to make some changes in order for him (Mundy) to have less effect on the game, as he is obviously a superstar.
“We will play one of our superstars on him, it will be a bit of a shootout and we will see how it pans out.
“Obviously, we are looking forward to the challenge … I don’t think an over-focus on Mundy is needed, because Dunsborough will probably do enough of that.
“It is going to take a mighty team effort from them to beat us, so we will just focus and do what we need to.”
In other matches, Harvey-Brunswick-Leschenault host South Bunbury at Brunswick Oval, while former St Kilda goalsneak Steven Milne will play for the bottom-placed Collie Eagles at home to red-hot Busselton.