He'll return to WIN Stadium for the first time this weekend since leaving the Wolves at the end of 2014, but Sutherland midfielder Steve Hayes isn't the only veteran making his return.

His former teammate and friend Jacob Timpano, who also left the club last campaign, will make his home coaching debut after taking the reins from Nahuel Arrarte last week.

"Obviously Jake and I are pretty good mates and he has sort of been thrown into the deep end," Hayes said.

"He has brought in some guys with him that he can trust and they have a pretty good idea about football, so I expect nothing but a hard test from someone like Jake.

"They have been struggling a bit but I am sure all the boys will be wanting to play well for themselves, the fans and for Jake and his coaching staff."

Hayes has made a comeback of his own in 2015.

The talented midfielder tore his ACL in the pre-season with the Wolves last year but has worked his way back to full fitness.

"I was probably back in round two or three and was pretty tentative and low on confidence using my leg. I was playing some good football though," he said.

"I think it has a lot to do with the coach we have up there. He is a coach I like to work under.

"For me it was pretty important to go somewhere where someone would look after me. He knows how I like to play."

Sutherland need a win against their local rivals in Heritage Round to keep in contact with the top five.

They sit sixth and are five points adrift of a finals spot just after the halfway mark of the season.

"Our goal at the moment is to just keep improving each game," Hayes said.

"We are a squad where anything can happen on the day, we just have to make sure we show up for each performance.

"We need to not do silly mistakes or errors which can be costly. It is something we are working for pretty hard, week in, week out. We have goals but we just want to win every game we can with solid performances."