Marrar are out to maintain their unbeaten start to the season against CSU and the Bombers’ coach of 2016 is in the senior side for the first time since handing the reins to Shane Lenon.

“Looking at them doing so well at the moment, I honestly didn’t think there’d be a spot for me with the list they’ve got, so I think I’m pretty lucky to get back in the side and hopefully I can cement my spot,” Molkentin said.

After enjoying a late start to pre-season, Molkentin has impressed in three games in reserve grade. He said stepping back from coaching and learning from Lenon suits. But he’s also keen to be back in a side he helped mould. 

“Sparks is a great coach, he's done a lot and he’s focussed on the juniors and the kids coming through as well,” Molkentin said. 

“And I look at it and see some of the kids we blooded last year and see how well they’re doing this year and holding their spot in a quality first grade side, it makes me feel a bit proud, I suppose, that I achieved something in my time there coaching. 

“There’s some great kids out there, they’re killing it, they’re loving it.”

Lenon said Molkentin has earned his spot and, with Matt Parks taking the role of injured defender Geoff Spriggs, the ruckman/forward is the ideal inclusion to swap with brother Nick.

He’s one of a number of important inclusions for both teams at Langtry Oval. 

Jason Reid comes back in for the Bombers, along with captain Josh Hagar (hamstring tendon) for his first game of the year.

 "He's our captain, last year's best-and-fairest, so it'll be good to have him back," Lenon said. “He's a ripper the way he approaches the game.”

The Bushpigs have key players Adam Skow and Alex Reilly back and also bring in experienced small forward Jackson Clark for a one-off appearance, as well as unveiling the versatile Mitch Soames, who missed the start of the year with a hamstring injury. 

CSU coach Daniel Athanitis  said Soames has NEAFL and AFL Sydney experience and adds some more maturity to their side.

“He can play all over the ground and when we’re trying to implement a few things, he can jump in and take the boys through it,” Athanitis said. “He’s a good user of the ball and makes good decisions so we thought that’s what we need.”

Sitting third, the Bushpigs are fully aware that this is a moment of truth.

“It’s going to be a big test – looking at it, they’re the team to beat and I think everyone’s using them as the yardstick,” Athanitis said.

It’s a given that they’ll need to bring intensity, the coach says, so the focus now is on getting better reward.

“They know we’ve got to bring pressure every week but we need to be a bit cleaner with the footy,” he said. 

“Going into our forward 50 needs to improve. We haven’t been kicking enough goals. We’ve been doing well restricting sides but we need to score more.”

Neither coach has seen the opposition this season.

“They’re obviously doing a lot right,” Lenon said. “But we’ve had a couple of good weeks on the track… we’ll back ourselves in, back our ability to win the ball back when we don’t have it, and apply our pressure.”