Southcity will have their depth tested after replacement forward Josh Cochrane was ruled out for the rest of the season.
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Cochrane broke his ankle in two places, one on either side, during the win over Gundagai at Harris Park on Sunday.
Coming off second best while trying to make a tackle, Cochrane was in hospital for most of the 50-10 victory by the Bulls.
It’s a big blow for the 19-year-old who has really started to make his presence felt for the ladder leaders in the past month.
“I was just starting to like it (first grade) and felt like I was starting to get better,” Cochrane said.
It was a fairly innocuous incident that caused the damage.
“I sorta fell just on it myself in the tackle,” Cochrane said.
“It just got awkward.”
He’s expected to have surgery later this week.
The Bulls junior had played 11 games this season after impressive in reserve grade last year.
While disappointed to lose Cochrane, Southcity captain-coach Nick Skinner is confident they have the depth to cover the loss.
“He’s broke it on both sides, which is as shame as he’s been real good for us this year,” Skinner said.
“He’s really started to find his feet but unfortunately he’s out for the year now.”
Tyson Hodge, Kieran Schauf and Simon Parr are among the front runners to replace Cochrane and may be needed to cover Skinner as well.
“We have a fair bit of depth through our forwards and our reserve grade has been going good,” Skinner said.
“We will have a lot during the week to figure it out but I'm not exactly sure.”
The Bulls will also be without winger Jesse Greenway for the rest of the season due to a knee injury.
He didn’t tackle the Tigers on Sunday, but is another booked in for surgery after consulting with a specialist on Monday.
Skinner said his loss was another blow.
The coach is in doubt for the clash with Junee at Laurie Daley Oval on Saturday with a hamstring injury.
Skinner only lasted 15 minutes before being replaced by Cochrane.
He stayed up until 1am icing the injury and is hoping it’s not too big an issue.
“It’s pretty sore and tender,” he said.
Junee sit ninth on the ladder and have been struggling for players.
However Skinner doesn’t want to underestimate last year’s preliminary finalists.
“They are doing it a bit tough but will still be pretty good,” he said.