After head coach Jeremy Rowe moved back to Canberra, the Goannas had already devised a plan where Cohalan would take one training session a fortnight in his absence.

But after Rowe snapped his achilles in a reserve grade game, Cohalan said he has enjoyed a chance to take on a slightly bigger load.

Rowe has often stated he has full belief in Cohalan, and he and co-captain Padric Griffin were given the chance to take over the reins in their 19-point round one win over Griffith.

"I did say to Rowey after the game he must have been tempted to take the reins at three quarter time," Cohalan said.

"After each break I collaborated with him and we tried to keep it relatively simple, especially in round one.

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A lot of the stuff he and I talk about, I might say something and he's already on the same page or vice versa. I can offer different views, even if it's not eventually the best option.

"We did have a plan in place for training where I would probably take one in four sessions, but the achilles threw that into disarray. There's been a bit more to do from my perspective, but I've enjoyed the coaching side of things.

"I'm a big believer it's a good thing for the players to hear a different voice sometimes, and when I do take training I've been getting different blokes to take certain drills and getting everyone to step up and do their bit."

The Goannas will finally welcome back some key personnel for Saturday's trip to fellow flag aspirant Collingullie-Glenfield Park.

Matt Collins, Dom Bunyan, Nick McCormack, Luke Lawrence, Ryan Turnbull, Jacob Whitley, James Scott for the clash with the second-placed Demons.

Cohalan said it had been a weekly challenge trying to devise game plans given their line-up has changed vastly at times.

"We've been fairly lucky with injuries in past year, but I haven't seen anything like it in my time at the club," he said.

"It certainly does (provide a challenge), for instance at one point we had both our key forwards unavailable so you've got to find new ways to score.

"One thing it has done is give us an opportunity to blood some new kids. I think the count is at nine the last two years, so that's really positive moving forward."

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