Midfielder Cobain is a second-year lawyer, based in Melbourne.

"Ryan was always going to struggle a little bit with his time this year and he just said it's really tough for him at the moment," Rovers' football operations manager Barry Sullivan said.

"His work is his number one priority and he's done really well to get where he's at with his work.

"We just said to him do what you have to do and if he gets to a point where he's able to come back and play and he's got a bit more time, we'd welcome him back with open arms."

The 25-year-old was coming off his best year, claiming the prestigious Bob Rose Medal after polling in 17 of the 18 games.

After battling injury for a couple of seasons, Cobain had fronted for that pre-season in outstanding condition.

"He takes a lot of pride in his performance and he's frustrated that he hasn't been able to put in the time to get to the standards he sets," Sullivan said.

Meanwhile, two-time NEAFL Rising Star nominee Callum McFadden will play his second game for the Hawks in Saturday's away clash against North Albury.

"He's a mate of (Rovers) Nathan Cooper and he really enjoyed his time when he came down against Myrtleford," Sullivan said.

Rovers lost by five points in the league's best game of the opening month.

McFadden is one of four changes, with Tom McCaffrey returning for his first game in a month after playing with VFL outfit Casey Demons.

Elsewhere, Lavington will welcome back boom defender Nick Meredith's and crafty forward Adam Flagg for Saturday's away blockbuster against Wangaratta.

However, captain Luke Garland is out with injury.

Albury's Alex Jones will play his first senior game since 2017 against Corowa-Rutherglen.