A fully fit St Albans will take on the 2015 Western Region Football League season.
In stark contrast to last year, the Saints got through their pre-season campaign unscathed and have a full list from which to choose.
The clean bill of health has given coach Marcus Barclay a chance to look at some of the club’s off-season recruits.
Anthony Cristofaro, Anthony Piva and Bradley Allen are among new players at the club.
“The four or five guys we’ve recruited really played their best games in the last practice match, which was great to see,” Barclay said. “That tells us they’ve fitted in really well.
“We have recruited in some really good team players who put the team before themselves. They’ve fitted in from the day they walked in.”
The new faces will go a long way to replacing some of the top-line talent the Saints lost in the off-season. Leading the list of outs were Aaron Henneman, Teghan Henderson and Joel West.
Barclay believes one of the biggest changes will be a more prominent midfield.
“What we seem to have got this year is some great run,” he said. “We have a much deeper midfield. We are up to eight, nine and 10 now who can all run through there.
“From a pace and leg speed perspective, that’s been a real bonus.”
After finishing fourth on the ladder, last season ended disappointingly for St Albans, which was knocked out of the finals by Hoppers Crossing.
It was better news for the club’s reserves, who won their grand final.
Barclay is expecting a number of those premiership players to be pushing for selection in the senior team throughout the season.
“It’s something we spoke to the boys about after our last practice game,” he said.
“There are probably 30 to 32 players we need to try to fit into 22 … it’s the development of those guys from the reserves who are trying to take the next step.
“They have continued to show some really good signs throughout the pre-season.”
