ANAKIE SHUFFLES SIDE AS INJURY WOES DEEPEN

ANAKIE coach Darren Johnston has backed his defensive reinforcements to get the Kangaroos through their current injury crisis.

Pillars Clare Sutton and Bridget Byrnes will both miss today’s clash with GDFL powerhouse Werribee Centrals with ankle injuries.

Johnston will look to his Bgrade squad and call on wing defence Brydi Toyne to play a more important role in the defensive third.

“Clare’s injury is bad enough that she’s had to have time off work. She’s out for at least a month,” Johnstone said.

He said she ended up in casualty after being injured in the loss to Bannockburn a fortnight ago.

“We brought (Bridget) back a bit early last week and it flared up again so we won’t risk it this week. We will give it a red hot go. It’s full steam ahead for us, we have some good support coming up from B-grade.”

Kangaroos goaler Nikki Slaven is struggling with an ongoing back injury.

Johnstone praised Toyne’s ability to fill a gap left in defence, playing above her height.

“She played a sterling game last week against North. She’s come with a lot of experience from the GFL,” he said.

“We are so happy with her and how she stepped in. She’s not super tall, but her defensive skills are very good.”

Centrals have enjoyed a strong start to the season, rac- ing to 3-1 from the opening four rounds. A loss to Corio is the only blemish to date.

“Their defenders had a really good game last week. We’ve got to be on our game,” Johnstone said.

“Werribee is a very, very good side and has been for a very long time. We’ve got to be mindful of what we’re coming up against, but we should be fine.”

Anakie has mixed its results in its 2-2 start, but has shown some promising signs when it has its full team out on the court.