There's plenty at stake when the Cobras host the Lions in their stand-alone Queen's Birthday Weekend encounter at Maddingley Park. For the winners, the four Premiership points will be enough. It will be mission accomplished. But the fallout for the losers looms much greater.

Defeat would see the Cobras slump to a fourth straight loss (third at home) and vulnerable at 3-5, whilst Sunbury can make up their own minds processing a 1-7 horror start. Either way, not good.

On a positive note, the Cobras have proven formidable opponents on their home deck regardless of ladder position and will ask questions of an unsettled Sunbury outfit fighting to keep their season alive. Lions coach Travis Hodgson needn't look too far for motivation, as he revisits the old haunt where he led Bacchus Marsh to a drought-breaking Premiership. 

The Cobras are using the timely nature of the match up to celebrate the sixth anniversary of their 2016 BFNL flag success with all 22 players expected to return for the formalities. I'm sure Hodgson will have done all of his homework ahead of the Cobras game to ensure his night can be celebrated twofold. However, it's not the opposition that is Hodgson's greatest concern at the moment. Forward of centre, the Lions are averaging just 62 points per game (#10 in the comp) - simply not enough to win games of footy and likely not enough against the, who admittedly rank not far above (Cobras' 68.3-point avg. returns ranks #9 in the comp).

Back on the firmer deck, you would expect Jake Owen, Aaron Willitts and Rex Hickman to post a score. Furthermore, the Cobras will be hoping to regain some of the soldiers who missed last week, namely Tom German, Nick Stuhldreier, Jack Williams, Jason Robinson, Max Eastmure and Daniel Velden. Any, if not some, will be a bonus.

I understand Sunbury will be hoping for a change of luck of their own at the selection table, but they're not the only club experiencing the inconveniences of a post-COVID footy landscape.