Epping will continue to go with youth, with the Pingers set to field a younger side than was the case in the past couple of years.
Having played off in the past two Northern Football League division 3 grand finals, the Pingers are again expecting to be in the mix of what has been a tight competition in the past couple of years.
Pingers coach Greg Whitcroft said the side was raring to take to the field this Saturday against St Marys in its opening round clash.
He said they would continue to take the youth approach this season, with a couple of the more senior players not taking to the field.
“We’re sick of training that’s for sure,” he said.
“We’ve got a young core group which has improvement in them. We’ll still going in with four under-19s in the senior side, plus there’s the guys who are 20, 21.
“We’ll be a little bit younger than last year. Daniel Moore has retired, while a couple of other older guys won’t play this season with injury.”
Whitcroft said he expected this year’s side to be a bit quicker.
He said two of the younger players he expected to take the next step were Bill Hughes and Jake Perry, who have come up from under-19s.
Guneyt Ozusen (from North Heidelberg), Andrew Luzza (West Preston Lakeside) and Glen Widdicombe (VAFA) all look set to slot into the senior side after making the move to the club in the off season.
Whitcroft said the club was again expecting a close competition. Last season, finals spots were decided in the final round, with Mernda missing out on percentage.
“I’m not sure how we’ll go,” he said. “The other sides have recruited well. I expect Banyule to rise up the ladder and be one of the top sides.
“St Marys and South Morang will again be prominent sides. We look like we’ll continue to improve this year, but it won’t happen overnight. I think we’ll be up there.”
In other opening round division 3 matches, Reservoir plays Banyule, Heidelberg West faces Mernda and Laurimar faces Kilmore. South Morang has the bye.
