Star Holbrook recruit Michael Rampal has been sidelined for up to 10 weeks after breaking his wrist.
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Rampal, who joined from Thurgoona in the summer, suffered the injury during his Brookers debut away to Howlong on Saturday.
"We're devastated for him because, coming to a new club, you want to put your mark on the game and unfortunately, he's had a bit of a rough patch," Holbrook coach Matt Sharp said.
"But he'll get a pin put into that and knowing Michael, he's a very driven individual and he'll have a date marked in for his return.
"The club's really happy with 'Rama', he buys in 100 percent and that's the type of person he is.
"He's turning up to functions, he turns up to every training, he communicates and he mixes with our old locals.
"He's a professional but the luck's just not on his side at the minute.
"Hopefully we're in the top six at the business end of the season and he'll have a impact later in the year.
"I'm guessing he'll be out for eight to 10 weeks.
"I'm sure he'll be thinking six (weeks) but I think, in the bigger picture, it's going to be a bit longer.
"The club couldn't be happier with the way he's approached us and embraced us, though, he's a good fella."
Holbrook, who started their Hume league campaign with a 49-point defeat away to Osborne, fought back to beat Jindera by three points and then edged past the Spiders by the same margin to sit 2-1.
"We've been thrown heaps of challenges," Sharp said.
"In round one, we had about 20 blokes missing and we're just being hurt in the midfield at the minute.
"We'll give guys opportunity in the midfield and hopefully they hold their own.
"In saying that, when we get our big boys back, we'll push them to a wing or half-forward and that'll only make us better because they'll be playing with some confidence.
"I've done some reflecting over the break and my expectations on the group are very bullish.
"I'm super happy with being 2-1 and full credit to Jindera and Howlong.
"We've got another tough task against Rand this weekend so we don't get a break."
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A fast start on Saturday proved crucial as Holbrook withstood a late charge by the Spiders to claim another four points.
"I'm proud of the boys and I can't be greedy," Sharp said.
"They're training really well, we've got a new bunch and we'll continue to work on our chemistry and get to know each other.
"We kicked a goal in the first 30 seconds and we played a fantastic first quarter.
"We had a fair share of the play but a few basic skills allowed Howlong to execute their game plan and they hurt us on the scoreboard.
"I'm happy for (Howlong coach) David Miles, he's a great fella.
"He had a tough year last year but he's been working on a system and all his troops are buying into it."
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