Cardiff will be without big man Billy King and multiple others as they shoot for a third consecutive Anzac Day victory over Warners Bay at Feighan Oval on Thursday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Hawks, unbeaten in 2024 after wins over Maitland and Terrigal Avoca, will again have a reshuffled line-up when they meet the Bulldogs in the standalone fixture.
In the past two rounds, injuries an unavailabilities have forced changes and King headlines this week's list of absences following an injury last start.
"A dislocated Patella, which he has done a few times now," Cardiff coach Danny Priest said. "It will only be a few weeks.
"We've got four out from the side last week, just injuries and people away, and we had six out [last week] from the side that beat Terrigal.
"A lot of different personnel, but the main core have been there each game, so that's the important part."
With both sides gaining new recruits in 2024, there will be a host of players featuring in the Anzac Day match for the first time.
The two clubs have played on the day since 2019. Cardiff have won the past two years.
Warners Bay, who avoided playing on their home ground's water-logged main pitch last week in order to keep it in decent shape for today's 2.30pm game, are coming off a win over Killarney Vale and close loss to defending premiers Newcastle City.
Cardiff won by 67 points last year, but Priest is expecting a "completely different" Bulldogs side this time round.
The two clubs also meet in the women's Black Diamond Cup from midday.