No Travis King or Nigel Lockyer for Rovers but the Hampton brothers are back for Pioneer

Big personnel changes at CAFL premier Rovers as Pioneer gets ready to welcome back two of their own

Jamie Hampton, left, with Redtails teammates Dominic Forbes and Caleb Hart in 2018. Picture: EMMA MURRAY

CAFL premiers Rovers could make as many as five changes for tomorrow’s Round 6 clash with South Alice Springs at Traeger Park.

First choice ruckman Travis King has not trained since hurting his back in the Round 4 win over Pioneer and leading goalkicker Nigel Lockyer Jr is expected to miss a month of football after an errant boot fractured his skull in the same game.

Double Blues coach Damien Hall will also be without utility Zane Clarke-Edwards (hamstring) as his side chases a fourth win from five matches.

But Hall is taking no chances with a Roos side that impressed him when he watched them from the sidelines against ladder leaders Federal last week.

“I watched Souths go down to Feds last week and they certainly had their chances to win as can be seen by their score of 6.16,’’ Hall said.

“They’ve got some good young guys and they’ve still got (Daniel) Stafford, (Thomas) Gorey and Darren Abbott, which makes them a dangerous side.

“Add to that the fact we’ll probably have at least four or five ins this week with the amount of injuries and unavailabilities we’ve got.’’

But Hall still expects his side to perform well on the wide expanses of Traeger Park through a combination of controlled and smart football.

“We’ll still be OK, we need to control the footy a fair bit and not let their big fellows get hold of us, but I’m confident we can do that.’’

Pioneer will be boosted by the return of the Hampton brothers — Curtly and Jamie — for tomorrow’s game against the high flying Federal at Albrecht Oval.

Curtly last played for the Eagles in 2008, the year he joined AFL club GWS Giants and later the Adelaide Crows where he played 63 games at the elite level until retiring in 2018.

Jamie had playing stints with SANFL clubs Port Adelaide and West Adelaide and pulled on NT Thunder’s NEAFL jumper in 2018.

Pioneer’s forward line holds the key to ending Federal’s unbeaten start to the season.

If Shawn Foster and Clayton Walker can get enough supply from the Hampton and Green brothers through the midfield, the airtight Demon’s defence will have to work overtime to stop them.