The Maroons could be without Matt Jones and Sam McCulloch who are nursing hamstring injuries, but midfielder Ryan Potter may return.

Maffra has been hot and cold in recent weeks and its desire to keep winning at all costs seems to be waning.

They had the bye last round so should be fresh to throw everything at a potential grand finalist.

Steve Hazelman will be keen for the Maroons to get the points as they have the bye next week before the long awaited clash against Moe.

Tim Aitken has been in excellent form and was third on the goal kicking table with 41 goals, eight behind Moe's Matt Forys.

Traralgon's stronger midfield and attacking halfback line should see them get the four points.

Moe vs Drouin

A WIN to Moe against Drouin would place them in a good position considering they have two tough games against Maffra and Traralgon.

This week Moe will be without ruckman Chris Hancock who has taken a one week penalty for an incident in the Garfield match last week.

A logical replacement would be former Morwell player Andrew Petrou who played his first match for the Lions in the reserves and kicked six goals.

Petrou played just over half the game and Troy Makepeace would like to see him play a full game before gaining promotion to the seniors.

Robert Michaelides seems more settled at Moe and is an important player if Moe wants to play in September.

Gary Blandford could be available for this important match while Stuart Robertson, Peter Ainsworth and Jake Munro will undergo fitness tests.

Reliable defender Leigh Hale got through his first match after returning from injury.

After being thrashed by Traralgon, Drouin needs to go back to the drawing board and come up with a new game plan.

It was painfully obvious the one they had against the Maroons did not work.

Ben Soumilas may be right this week and will make a big difference if he can play.