Dubbo CYMS has been left to count the cost of its Presidents Cup opening round loss to North Sydney on Saturday.
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The Fishies were left with no one on the bench in the final quarter of the contest due to a number of injuries, the most serious of which was suffered by Jack Kavanagh.
The hard-running front-rower was a marquee recruit for CYMS this season but is unlikely to play again this year after suffering a suspected ACL rupture.
Someone fell off a tackle and into Kavanagh's leg during the match at North Sydney Oval Field 2 and captain-coach Jarryn Powyer said the outlook wasn't good.
"He [Kavanagh] said he felt a bit of a pop and he twisted," Powyer said.
"Fingers crossed for him but it didn't look good.
"We finally got a big body and then this happens so we'll see how we go."
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Tony Pellow and Bayden Searle, two other major recruits for the cup campaign, also failed to finish the match but Powyer was hopeful they would be back for this weekend's second round meeting with the Maitland Pickers.
Jack Quinn also spent time off the field in Saturday's loss due to an ankle complaint but returned and is expected to line up against the Pickers.
The Pickers, much like the Bears, are one of the cup's heavyweights and the squad features ex-NRL players like Brock Lamb and Sione Mata'utia.
"The talk is they're probably the other top contender so we're going back-to-back away games," Powyer said.
"We'll just manage how we approach it and prepare for it a bit better.
"We had an opposed session on Friday then were on the bus [to North Sydney] at 6am so we might need to go up the night before this time."
There were still positives for Powyer though, with Searle and Pellow electric before injury while ex-NRL player Jayson Bukuya was another standout.
"Awesome," Powyer said of Bukuya's performance.
"He gives heaps of confidence ... he can do the flashy stuff but also wants to do the hard work.
"The right edge was really good with Bukuya and Josh Toole. He [Toole] can play anywhere and is a big body with a big motor."
Powyer is also hopeful Alex Bonham and Jyie Chapman will be available for the Maitland game after they missed the trip to take on the Bears due to work commitments.