At this early stage, Jones has prepared his squad as best he possibly can for the demands of another long and testing NPL 2 season.

The departure of former coach James Coutts and marquee recruit Archie Thompson will be difficult to cover, but Murray didn’t waste time adding depth up front.

Ryan Luty has returned to the Border after several years in Canberra, one of the most damaging players in the AWFA competition with Albury United.

Tom Morrison is also back from a season with rival NPL 2 club Eastern Lions, Murray’s opponent in round one on Saturday, and has trained the house down, impressing throughout the pre-season.

The addition of reigning AWFA star goalkeeper Matt Mildren and 2014 star player Josh Mulcahy from Boomers and Albury United, Yarraville’s Peter Arfendoulis and Harry Drummond from the under 20s, should provide plenty of upside.

“Archie was fantastic, not just on the field, but for the off-field stuff also,” Jones said.

“We feel like we’ve probably got a stronger side in terms of depth, but a guy like Archie is very hard to replace, as well as James Coutts.

“They’re very creative players, but we feel like we’ve got a really good blend.

“Going forward, there’s absolutely no doubt we’ll really trouble sides with what we bring.”

Jones admits he doesn’t want to put a ceiling on what can be achieved at Murray after a top-five finish under Coutts last season, the best in their short history, but is expecting another strong display.

“I’ve been asked that question a bit this week, but I think for me I’m not nervous because I know the guys have done the work, I know the players really well and I know what they’re capable of,” Jones said.

“If we execute the game plan, we’re going to get the points, so there’s no nerves from this end.”

Club captain Ashley Dunn believes the side will have no trouble finding the back of the net, despite the absence of Thompson and Coutts, but needs to work harder when they haven’t got the ball.

“We’ve brought the likes of Tom (Morrison) in and we also have Lewis (Greenwood), who’s probably one of the best 18-year-olds in the country,” Dunn said.

“Lewis is developing really well and Gonz (Gonzalo Freddi) and Zac (Walker) are looking really sharp.”

Murray is eager to address its poor home record from last season, with only four wins coming at La Trobe, starting against Eastern Lions at 5pm on Saturday.