Fears an ankle injury suffered in the third quarter of Saturday's match against Corowa-Rutherglen would sideline skipper Shane Gaston were allayed on Tuesday, with the ruckman set to play against the Raiders. 

The news was not as good for co-coach Sam Carpenter and young wingman Connor Shanley.

Carpenter suffered a grade one hamstring early in the game and will miss at least two weeks while Shanley could be out for at least eight weeks with a ruptured Achilles tendon. Shanley was still to have scans to reveal the extent of damage to his ankle.

Hawks co-coach said losing the likes of Carpenter and Shanley would be a blow for his developing side.

“It was a shame to see Connor go down in the first five minutes,” Hill said.

“He's been going really well for us, he's a speedy wingman and fits in well with the way we're trying to play.

“We'll know more once he gets some scans, but the physio is confident he won't need surgery, so we'll miss him for about eight weeks.

“We'll miss his ball use, we've built the side around guys like him.”

The Rovers could go some way towards cementing an unlikely top five spot with a win against the Raiders this weekend, which would see them improve to a 5-2 record.

Hill didn't want to get carried away despite the team's strong start, wary of the improving Raiders.

“To be honest, I haven't even looked at the ladder this year,” he said.

“I won't really want to until much later in the season.

“We're happy with where we're at, but we've got a lot of work to do.

“The Raiders are going OK after a slow start, so it'll be a big test for us.”

The Rovers currently sit fourth on the ladder.