Premiership contender Jindera will be forced to sweat until the eve of the finals series in regards to whether prized recruit Zach Bye will take part in its flag assault.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Bye hasn't played since the opening round with a knee injury suffered against Holbrook where the Bulldogs were able to claim the prized scalp of last year's grand finalists.
The Albury premiership ruckman was on the recruiting radar of a host of district league clubs over the off-season after word spread he was on the move from the Sportsground.
After weighing up several offers, the lure of playing under premiership teammate Joel Mackie at the kennel was too hard to ignore for Bye.
Mackie conceded his star recruit was only a 50-50 proposition to play again this season after a recent setback with his knee.
"It's a bit of an unknown at the moment whether Zach will play again this year or not," Mackie said.
"Zach needs to get some surgery done on his knee before he is able to play again and is on the waiting list at the moment.
"Hopefully, he can have the operation sooner rather than later.
"It's not his ACL or anything like that.
"It's where the meniscus attaches to the bone, it has torn off there.
"The surgeon said once it gets stitched back up, he will be fine.
"But first he has to have the surgery and then there is a period of rehab.
"Obviously the longer the wait for the surgery, the harder it will be for Zach to get back and be fit and firing for finals.
"So as far as playing again this season, it is still up in the air at the moment."
If Bye is ruled out for the season, it would be a massive blow to the Bulldogs' hopes of winning their first flag since 2011.
They contested three consecutive grand finals from 2016-18 but stumbled at the final hurdle on each occasion.
Developing ruckman Tom Findley has been shouldering most of the Bulldogs' rucking duties in the absence of Bye.
However, the Bulldogs would be a lot more imposing with Bye in the ruck after having played more than 50 senior O&M matches including the Tigers' 2018 flag triumph over Wangaratta.
Big Bulldog Josh Lloyd is another possible ruck option as he regains match-fitness.
Lloyd recently returned to the side in round six after only playing once in the opening five rounds.
In a further bonus to the Bulldogs' big man stocks, Ben Dower, recently resumed training after it was initially thought his season was over with a torn ACL suffered in a pre-season practice match.
The Bulldogs sit second with a 7-1 record after eight rounds with their only loss against reigning premier Osborne.
Their two biggest scalps have been third-placed Holbrook and fifth-placed CDHBU.
After last weekend's general bye, they have a challenging month ahead with matches against RWW Giants, Culcairn, Lockhart and Holbrook.
