WEST Perth coach Bill Monaghan is backing in a host of players that had limited campaigns in 2009 and a good mix of youngsters to ensure the Falcons maintain their spot near the top of the WAFL this year.
The Falcons have made the finals the last two seasons and Monaghan is confident of that happening again.
While veterans Troy Longmuir and Craig Smoker have retired, Smoker has moved into a coaching role and fellow experienced players Clayton Lasscock, Callum Chambers and Brent LeCras can provide the veteran leadership on the field.
Josh Pearce didn’t play after Round 3 with a neck injury so is basically like a new recruit, while Jeff Gobbels is back fit after only playing six games and Lasscock, Dustin Burns, Dion Fleay, Dan Hunt and Jay Van Berlo are in much better shape than this time last year.
Adam Campbell is also gone from the forward-line as he joins Subiaco, but he had a disappointing 2009 season with just 23 goals from his 17 games. Jack Darling, LeCras and Anthony Tsalikis should provide enough goals in attack still for the Falcons.
Mark Seaby played 17 of the 21 games for West Perth last season in the ruck while out of favour with the Eagles, but his move to Sydney opens the door for both Chris Keunen and Mitch Andrews to step up and lead the way.
Monaghan will look to use both as a tandem and is confident they will do the job. Andrews only managed six games last year on arrival from Queensland and Keunen 11 in his fourth season, but the coach has faith in both.
"We have Chris Keunen and Mitch Andrews to cover the loss of Seabs and they are a fairly decent ruck combination. Mitch started last season relatively well for a young bloke who came out of the QAFL, and it was always going to be a big step up to adjust," Monaghan said.
"Chris Keunen has never got an extended run because of not only Mark, but also Warnock and Kepler Bradley, and he's always been the first guy forced out. I don’t envisage that happening this year and I think we'll see what Chris Keunen has to offer at this level. I know for a fact that two or three other clubs chased him aggressively in the off-season, so it's not just us that think he can play."
Pearce started last season with 61 possessions in the first two games before getting hurt and will look to get back to being one of the league's best and toughest on-ballers this season.
"Josh unfortunately because of his neck injury in Round 3 meant we didn’t see much of him and I went back to watch some vision of those first two games and he was really good for us," Monaghan said.
"That had been the case for a couple of years and now he is so keen and running around like somebody just starting out. We are looking forward to him bolstering our midfield and covering Troy to a fair extent."
Darling is sure to go as a high draft pick come season's end and will miss five games with the National 18s Championship, but should still play 15 games for West Perth and Monaghan is excited by that, but also wants to help keep the teenager grounded.
"I sat down with the footy manager the other day and if Jack is available for all games that he can play with us, he would be able to play 15 of the 20," he said.
"From our point of view, there's not much pressure on Jack even though there's going to be a lot of talk and innuendo around what draft pick he'll go and all that, but Jack's a 17-year-old kid who is trying to cut his teeth in a competition against men.
"We are confident that he'll be able to handle that physically and mentally, and we just hope that he does the best he can without putting too much pressure on himself."
Skipper Jason Salecic had a standout 2009 season narrowly missing out on winning the Sandover Medal, but what few knew was that he did so while requiring two shoulder reconstructions. He will be ready for Round 1.
"We had a fair number of post-season ops, but most of them are back into the full swing of it now except for one or two. We are in a lot better shape than this time last year and I'll expect we'll be pretty much full strength by Round 1," he said.
"Jase is an inspiration to everyone. If people knew the pain that he pushed through last year needing both shoulders reconstructed, they probably would admire what he did even more. We've been amazed by his rehab on both shoulders and he's well on track to play Round 1. I know that he personally, and the whole playing group, can't wait for him to be back out there."
Of the young players, Luke and Matt Tedesco look set to continue providing plenty of run from defence, Alex James, Caleb Shadbolt, Rohan and Shaun Bewick and Lewis Harvey could receive more chances through the middle, and then guys like Seb Dearle will have an opportunity to shine. Those youngsters are exciting for Monaghan and he's hoping those that debuted in 2009 can build on that.
"We were fortunate to debut 12 guys last year of which 11 are still at the club, and whilst that was good I hope we don’t blood 12 again this year," he said.
"The Bewick's and players of that ilk will get more of a run through the midfield, Alex James and Caleb Shadbolt should now be stepping up to stamp a bit more authority on games, and we have a good bunch of guys through the midfield. Seb Dearle is another young fella who we expect to play senior footy this year as well."
