There’s a rumble building around Benalla Showgrounds at the moment, with the Goulburn Valley League season roaring into life this week.
A Good Friday special headlines round one of the 2023 campaign, with the Saints welcoming Seymour to town for the first instalment in a blockbuster season of footy.
Following a year which saw the slate wiped clean after a mass exodus of players, Benalla seems to have stabilised itself in the off season by bolstering its roster.
The likes of Nick and Josh Mellington will line up in red, black and white as will returning stars Tom Bennett, Wade King and David Mennan.
On the outages front, a few have departed the Saints’ camp, namely stalwart Jake Pallprat.
But off the back of a challenging year for the Saints, co-coach Mark McKenzie, who is steering the ship alongside Will Martiniello, said they’ve set realistic goals in the wake of a turnaround for the club.
“To think we can go from bottom to top overnight, it is pretty unrealistic,” McKenzie said.
“Just getting the club steady is the main thing for us, we were in turmoil 12 months ago, so we just want to get back to a stage where we are more competitive.
“On the recruiting front we have been very careful in the way we’ve gone about it in the fact that the guys we’ve brought are locals and people who have played for the club before.”
The added depth brought in over the past few months has provided surety within Benalla’s ranks.
It’s allowed McKenzie and Martiniello more freedom when it comes to game plans, and that’s expected to be on show from Friday.
“We were probably more filling gaps last year, because we had plenty of them,” he said.
“While this year I feel we will be able to plan to win games as opposed to limiting the damage.
“So there will be a different mindset from both Will and I in the way we coach and the players in how they attack the game.”