The Bombers will take as much time as they need to ensure Scott Gumbleton can put his hamstring troubles behind him, according to coach Matthew Knights. Gumbleton injured his left hamstring in the first quarter and the frustration showed as the visibly upset 19-year-old sat on the bench.

“As a coach I really feel for Scott – he is a wonderful young man that just can’t get a run at it. We think he is a prodigious talent and tonight was really unfortunate,” Knights said.

“We are going to have to treat it really conservatively and make sure we get it right. I will not bring him back unless he is 100% right. Courtney Johns jammed a hip, we think he will be right and Adam McPhee was a little tight in the hamstring – other than that we got through OK.”

Gumbleton will be a forced changed for next week’s quarter final clash with the Bulldogs but he will by no means be the only change with Knights’ forecasting wholesale changes to the line up.

“Apart from Jason Winderlich and Matthew Lloyd, I would think the 10 players that didn’t play tonight will come in next week. It isn’t about form – it is about the program we put in place to get ourselves to where we want to be come Round 1,” he said.

Those returning will include Scott Lucas, Jobe Watson, Mark McVeigh, Brent Stanton, Andrew Welsh, Alwyn Davey and Dustin Fletcher.