While the NTFA season will see no football played before at least May 31, teams are still mentally preparing for their shots at glory.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In the eighth of a series of previews,The Examiner looks at Perth, who with a new captain and coach at the helm, are looking to rebuild the club to revisit finals football after a year's absence.
2019 finish: Eighth - four wins, 12 losses
Ins: Blake Cassidy, Callum Peck, Corey Viney (all Deloraine), Zac Jenkins, Luke Reid, Daniel Connell, Brad Basuik, Danny Bennett, Jayden Bennett, Kalyn Eady, Taylor Bailey (all Meander Valley), Harry Thomas (OSFA), Jono Sturzaker (returning), Jake Williams (OSFA/Longford), Jesse Rhodes (South Launceston), Conan Duhig (Bracknell).
Outs: Josh Holton, Zane Brown, Adrian Cirkel, Zach Iles, Darren Woodward (all Rocherlea), Damien Clarke, Brad Goninon, Cohen Hart (all Evandale), Brandon Croft (Bracknell), Jordan Furley (South Launceston), Jesse Tunks (Bridgenorth), Nathan Worker (East Coast).
Who's impressed: "Brad Basuik has been huge so far this pre-season, just his leadership skills and the intent he shows at training has been fantastic for the younger group," Bennett said.
"Also Corey Rhodes, a young bloke who was previously at the club, has come along leaps and bounds this pre-season and I was looking forward to him having a pretty big year.
OTHER PREVIEWS
"Jake Williams' running ability is unbelievable with the fitness he has which will hold him in good stead to be one of the elite midfielders of the comp."
Coach says: "Our expectations for the year were to improve on last year and potentially with the list that we've got, we were hoping we were around the finals mark.
"We didn't want to put expectations on a win-loss ratio but the biggest thing was that we turned the club around on and off-field and I think by bringing these younger blokes into the club, it's certainly exciting the way we are going to progress on field but more importantly, off-field the club is going to be a huge benefit of this.
"The committee and supporters have been excellent. They've welcomed all us new guys in with open arms and made us feel really welcome.
"I've spoken to some of the new guys and they feel like we've been here for a couple of years now after being there for a few months with the way the club has handled it.
"We spoke to all our guys about doing what they can, when they can but just being smart about what they're doing, where they do it - the most important thing is everyone's health and safety at the minute.
"I expect the guys to be doing fitness by themselves and doing a bit to keep their body ticking over and being ready to go for when the season does go ahead but it's out of my control at the minute and it's out of most people's control - this virus is a pretty serious thing."
Subscriptions are available here.
Sign up to our Sport email here.