Young hooker Liam Coltman will get his first start for Otago when it takes on North Harbour in Albany tomorrow night.
Coltman (20), who until this season was seen more as a prop, will wear the No 2 jersey for Otago, taking over from Peter Mirrielees.
Coltman's inclusion is the only change to the side that lost to Wellington at Carisbrook last Saturday.
Joe Hill starts again on the right wing instead of Ryan Shortland, who missed the match against Wellington with a calf strain.
Otago coach Phil Mooney said Shortland should be right for next week, when the side plays Taranaki at Carisbrook, again on a Thursday night.
Hill left the field with suspected concussion against Wellington but Mooney said it was more of a split lip and he was fine to play.
Fullback Chris Small had been cleared to play despite also leaving the field last week, with a hip flexor problem.
Mooney said Coltman was being rewarded for showing plenty of aggression and power off the bench.
Mirrielees had played well in the three games but had expended plenty of energy and probably needed a break, Mooney said.
He was likely to get game time later in the match.
Coltman was the first-choice hooker for the New Zealand Colts this year.
He played prop for his club side Alhambra-Union for most of the year but is now seen as a hooking option.
Prop Halani Aulika, after serving a four-match suspension for an incident in an Auckland club game, is on the bench in place of Blair Young and is likely to see some game time.
With the side having played on Saturday, there was not much time to rest bodies and regain focus between games but Mooney had no complaints.
"It is not a surprise. We knew this was the draw at the start of the year. You look at the league players. They play State of Origin on the Wednesday and then another game on the Friday," he said.
"It is physically taxing but it is certainly do-able. They are physical games and you've just go to front up."
Mooney said the side was disappointed with the performance against Wellington in the 35-22 loss, but in the last 20 minutes it had shown how it could play.
"We just need more belief at the start of the game, as the boys certainly have the ability. We have been making small steps and we just need to add further elements to our game. When it clicks it really will click."
North Harbour has made two changes to the team that lost heavily to Canterbury last week.
Blues loose forward Tom Chamberlain is replaced by Malakai Ravulo, while first five-eighth Michael Harris is replaced by Ben Botica.
Coach Craig Dowd said Botica had impressed coming off the bench in the past couple of weeks and deserved his chance ahead of Harris, who had played well despite receiving some bad ball.
Lock Anthony Boric is in South Africa but his replacement, James King, is a quality player.
He is returning to the field after a lengthy lay-off because of a shoulder injury.
There are two former Otago players in the North Harbour line-up: wing Alipate Fatafehi and halfback Chris Smylie.
