While scans yesterday showed Harris had damaged the cartilage behind his knee, he was cleared of any major ligament damage.

It means what could have been a 12-month ACL injury becomes a six- to eight-week stint on the sidelines, with Magpies coach Brendan Cairns relieved for his star forward.

“It’s good news for Joel, it means he’ll make a full-recovery and be able to put in a full pre-season and be ready for another tilt next year,” Cairns said.

“It’s not great timing though, if it had happened earlier in the season then he would have been able to come back into the side, but that’s life unfortunately.”

It wasn’t all doom and gloom for Cairns, however, who was looking at a number of options to replace Harris for the remaining six rounds.

“We’ve got a few coming back from injury, Dylan Van Berlo is one who is capable of playing a key role in the forward line for us,” Cairns said.

“Josh Owen and James McClounan are two others that spring to mind.

“They’re options for us in that part of the ground, and I’m confident we’ll be able to cover for Joel.”

The Magpies found a few forward options late in their clash with the Tigers, with Pat Eefting bobbing up for two late goals, while Liam Harrington showed he could play at both ends of the ground, switching between the forward line, where he kicked two goals, and an interesting defensive battle with Setanta o’hAilpin.

Sitting two games and percentage out of the top five, the Magpies will need to come from a long way back to play finals footy, and will start as outsiders against Lavington after the bye.

But with winnable games against Wangaratta Rovers, Corowa- Rutherglen, Wodonga and Myrtleford still to come, they remain a chance to play in September.