Last season: Fourth (fifth after home and away season).

Gains: Ella Vandermeer (Wodonga, injury), Jess Porter (relocated from Melbourne), Ruby Gillard (Wagga), Brigitte Murphy (Culcairn).

Losses: Mackenzie Peiper (university).

Q&A with coach Georgia Thomas

How has your preseason been?

It's been really good. We've had a fairly good turn out across all three grades and we're looking really strong, which is awesome. We've been playing in the preseason comp in Albury as well, which has been good to build those connections. We're pretty excited for this season.

Any players you think we should watch out for this season?

I'm really excited about all of our gains considering they're new players and they're coming into a team with some strong foundation players as well. I think Ruby (Gillard), with her height and agility, is going to be a really good gain in our defence. Ella Vandermeer, coming off her (knee) injury, she's been working really hard in her rehab. I think her speed is going to be a really great asset to us.

What are your expectations for this season?

We're looking to go as far as possible. We've been round about there for the past couple of years in finals and just not quite going as far as we wanted. We're really pushing as far as we can go and we want to be there on the last game of the year. We're really hoping we can get things done.

Who do you expect to see amongst the top teams?

I can imagine it will be Kiewa again. I think Tallangatta has a couple of good pick-ups as well and will be up there again, and then I can probably see Thurgoona and Dederang Mount Beauty slotting into finals as well.

We say: Recruiting has been kind to the Swans in the off-seaason, with a number of new exciting inclusions set to strengthen the already consistent A-grade side. Having been among the finals mark for the last few years, the Swans have the potential to make it deep into the finals series this season. Georgia Thomas steps up to the helm after assisting outgoing coach Lee Brookes.

Prediction: Second.