Northern Bullant Doug Lawrence (right, with Coburg's Sam Lowson and AFL Head of State Leagues Jennie Loughnan) has been been ruled out of his team's clash with Footscray. Picture: AFL Photos

THE Northern Bullants have suffered a double blow as they aim to bounce back from an opening round loss to Gold Coast when they face the most daunting task in Smithy’s VFL football on Thursday evening.

The Bullants started well against the Suns before being overrun and would have wished for a kinder second-up fixture than having to front a chastened minor premier Footscray on the rebound from a big loss to Sydney on its home deck.

But the task has been made even harder with forward Ben Silvagni, who kicked three goals against the Suns, and key defender Doug Lawrence both ruled out among four changes to the team which went to Queensland, while Sunny Brazier and Peter Gentile have been omitted.

>>SEE THE TEAMS FOR BULLDOGS V BULLANTS HERE

The Bullants have selected two debutants in Jaden Collins and Tom Mills, alongside Nathan Honey and Ben Hurley.

The Bulldogs have received a boost of their own, with forward Dom Bedendo to play his first game of the season, while Bailey Williams, Hayden Crozier and Lachie McNeil have also been named, although veteran ruckman Stefan Martin will miss alongside youngsters Austin Hodge, Josh Kellet and Luke Goater.

Dom Bedendo returns to the Footscray team for Thursday's clash with the Northern Bullants. Picture: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos

All Smithy’s VFL matches in 2022 except the Channel 7 game can be livestreamed through the below web link or the AFL app.

Twitter: @BRhodesVFL

FOOTSCRAY v NORTHERN BULLANTS

Thursday, March 31, 5.35pm @ VU Whitten Oval
(https://www.afl.com.au/fixture?Competition=7, 5.20pm)

FOOTSCRAY

IN: H Crozier, D Bedendo, L McNeil, B Williams
OUT: L Goater, A Hodge, J Kellet, S Martin

NORTHERN BULLANTS

IN: J Collins, N Honey, B Hurley, T Mills
OUT: S Brazier, P Gentile, D Lawrence, B Silvagni
VFL DEBUT: Jaden Collins, 20, Eltham; Tom Mills, 23, Ararat

Prediction: Footscray by 44

Brendan Rhodes’ winners: Last Round: 7. Season: 7.

All Smithy’s VFL matches in 2022 can be viewed live and free. The VFL Match of the Round will be screened each week on Channel 7, with all other matches to be livestreamed via vfl.com.au and the AFL Live Official App. Radio stations Casey Radio, 3WBC and RPPFM will also again be broadcasting regular matches.

To access live scores, results, ladder, stats and to link to live streams/replays, download the VFL/W Official App from the Apple or Google Play app stores.

Keep track of your Smithy’s VFL team via our VFL Match Centre, which features live scores, team and player stats, match timeline, events summary and Fantasy points. Check it out here (https://www.afl.com.au/vfl/fixture)