Lambton Jaffas are ready to roll the dice with injured left-back Luke Remington against Olympic on Saturday as they count the cost of a 2-1 loss to Broadmeadow in the NPL qualifying final.
Remington was sidelined with a hamstring problem for Sunday's fiery clash at Magic Park in which Jaffas lost right-back Matt Hoole to a groin injury in the 21st minute and substitute Bren Hammel to a straight red card in stoppage time.
Hammel was sent off after pushing former Edgeworth teammate Keanu Moore's head into the turf following a tangle which sent them both to the ground. He was given a two-game ban on Tuesday. Moore got a second yellow for retaliating and he will miss only Magic's grand final qualifier at Maitland on Sunday.
Jaffas may also be without Reece Papas for Saturday's sudden death minor semi-final at Edden Oval. Papas came off in the 81st minute on Sunday with a strain.
Hoole carried a groin injury out of the final round 3-1 loss to Maitland the week before and he went down on Sunday after trying to play a long pass. Coach Shane Pryce felt for Hoole and hoped Remington would be right to return this week.
"He got through training, he'd done all his rehab but unfortunately for him it's gone," Pryce said of Hoole.
"It looks like a bad one so I'm assuming that's him done for the year.
"We gambled. I think we made the right decision with Remo because we thought he was about 70-80 per cent, but we thought Hooley was around the 95, so it was just one of those things, the action that brought it undone.
"Hopefully this extra time will get [Remington] back this week, especially with Bren getting sent off.
"I think he'll be right. It was close [Sunday] and if it was a do-or-die game, like this week, or a grand final, he would've played, but that's the risk, so we've got to weigh it up."
Regardless, Lambton face a tough task to regroup against an Olympic side who appeared to come through a 1-0 extra-time win over Charlestown on Saturday unscathed.
Jaffas had their chances on Sunday. Mitch Rooke missed a great opportunity in the first half and the Jaffas had an equaliser cleared off the line late, but Pryce said his side needed to be better all round with the ball.
"They probably controlled the ball a bit better than us, and used it a bit better," he said. "Even though we weren't fluid in our game, we still had enough chances to win.
"In the end, they took their chances, same as what Maitland did against us. I keep telling the guys that if you make mistakes, you're going to get punished against good sides in the finals, so we've got to turn it around quick.
"Our football content wasn't the greatest. We looked to lump it at times instead of having the calmness to get it down and look to link up play, as much as they did. That was a difference for me."
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