Due to the cancellation of a previous match, Saturday's contest was going to be crucial for the third and fourth-placed Mount Isa AFL sides.

Both teams headed into the match on the back of losses and Rovers were dealt a blow before kick-off with only 16 players turning up to play.

The first quarter was evenly poised but Rovers couldn't take advantage of the strong breeze at their backs.

Young Guns headed into the second quarter with a five-point advantage, which quickly turned into a 23-point lead by the half.

Young Guns full-forward Jamison Billy did most of the damage for Lake Nash kicking two goals and having a hand in a number of others.

The match opened up in the second half as Rovers players started to tire, explained Rovers coach Jamie McPherson.

``With no rotations available for us, our players, especially in the midfield, ran themselves to a standstill,'' he said.

``Lake Nash are so quick on the ball, it was near impossible at times to stop them running down the wings.'' 

Despite the wind, Lake Nash continued to push on to victory, closing the game out by 22 points at the final siren.

Billy and Craig Philomao both ended with three goals for the victors as Garrick Ray kicked two for the Rovers.

``In the end, Lake Nash used the ball better than us and kept possession well,'' McPherson said.

``We were always pretty wasteful in front of goal, missing countless opportunities, which just kills your team's momentum.''

 Rovers assistant coach Alex Parker echoed his colleague's thoughts, while being optimistic ahead of the Buffaloes clash this weekend.

``I thought Mick Dombroski was outstanding again, as was Daniel Tucker on the wing,'' he said.

``Zac Raymond in only his second game was strong on the wing creating plenty of opportunities for our forwards, which is promising moving forward.'' 

Parker hopes to see more players at training this week, with injuries and shiftwork decimating the side at the moment.

``I'm hoping we can see some players return to our team this weekend, as we build towards finals,'' he said.

``But we are also welcoming new players to our Monday trainings at 7.30pm at Tony White Oval.''