Marklew took his boots off during half-time of last Saturday night's 58-point win against Lavington and already had them in his hand as he finished the game on the bench.

"I've got a bit of turf toe, so I've got some new orthotics to take the load off that, but they're just rubbing and giving me blisters," he suggested.

'Turf toe' is a sprain of the major joint on the big toe and occurs when the toe is forcibly bent upwards.

Despite the inconvenience, the 26-year-old has impressed as part of a new-look attack for last season's top three outfit.

The right-footer has 10 goals from his three games with Jake McQueen and Tom Boyd kicking five goals apiece against Lavington and Wodonga Raiders respectively.

Former Southern Football League forward Mackenzie Bristow also chipped in with three majors against Raiders, while ex-Western Bulldog Lukas Webb was terrific in nailing four goals against Myrtleford in the season-opener.

Marklew topped the Hawks' goalkicking last year, but the club is now more unpredictable.

"I'm looking to get my body right, once I get on top of that hopefully I'll be a bit more damaging," he remarked.

"It helps that we've got a couple of bigger forwards to take the load off me as well."

Rovers are home to Yarrawonga on Saturday.

The Hawks have split their four matches, while the Pigeons are undefeated after three games, so the home team will feel it needs to win to keep early pace with a fellow top three contender.

ALSO IN SPORT

All matches start at 2pm.

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