Pies to take flight

But on paper the Magpies look like giving the top five a real shake and could finish as high as third.

Much like arch rival the Wangaratta Rovers, the Magpies have focused on developing their own talent and trying to recruit former players back to the club.

Bringing players in has been relatively easy, although keeping talent at the Norm Minns Oval has not.

So let’s take a look at how the Magpies are shaping up for the 2016 season.

Wangaratta has been active on the recruiting front, yet much of the good work has been undone by some key losses.

None have been bigger than Jamie Allan’s move to Doutta Stars, where he will reunite with former Wangaratta Rovers teammate Tyson Hartwig.

A ball-winning midfielder with Allan’s resume will be hard to find, so the Magpies will be missing some real class.

Key forward Michael Newton replaces Matt Westhoff and will give the Pies plenty of firepower in the forward 50, while Matt Grossman returns to a club where he won a best-and-fairest award in 2013.

The dashing half back previously had a three-year stint at the Norm Minns Oval from 2012-2014 and will line-up behind the ball, with sporadic stints in the midfield.

Ben Douthie and Aaron Braden also return to the club, while Glenn Wyatt comes on board from North Central league club Donald.

Robbie Hicks shapes as a key loss, after he booted 42 goals to win the club’s goalkicking award.

Coach Brendan Cairns said a key recruiting focus had been attracting bigger bodies to the club.

“There was probably times this season where we got pushed off the footy a bit easily,” Cairns said.

“The four blokes we’ve recruited are in that right age bracket and footy-hardened bodies.

“We’ll be around the mark again and just like the other nine clubs trying to make the finals.”

Like most O and M clubs, the Magpies went hard on the training track leading up to the Christmas break, and will ramp things up again in the New Year.

The senior group has seven weeks of training under its belt, with numbers averaging in the 30s.

The Magpies will start back up on January 12.

“Training has been fairly solid,” Cairns said.

“We’ve done a bit more distance running than sprint work.  

“Well do a lot more game-specific training in the New Year.”

All that running will come in handy in practice games against West Preston, Greenvale and Wodonga.

The Magpies have a horror start to the season, but you won’t see them complaining.

In fact it’s quite the opposite, with Cairns excited by the challenges facing his side in the first month.

Wangaratta hosts Wodonga Raiders under lights on Good Friday, before matches against Albury, Yarrawonga and Lavington.

That’s the top three teams from this season, but Cairns only sees the positives.

“That’s an awesome challenge for us,” he said.

“We’ll really know where we’re at.”

And what about playing at night to start the season?

“It doesn’t worry me as coach if it’s night or day,” Cairns said.

“We’ve got a great win with the Good Friday night match.” 

While it’s a tough start to the season, it’s also a soft finish.

Wangaratta’s last three games are against Myrtleford, Corowa-Rutherglen and Wodonga. 

WANGARATTA finished seventh this season, winning six games and losing 12, so anything worse than that will be seen as a disappointment.

Like most clubs, ‘improvement’ and ‘development’ are the buzz words, but that doesn’t mean the club doesn’t have high internal expectations.

“If our under-23 players weren’t better footballers at the end of the year, then that would be a fail,” Cairns said.

“We want to continually improve and develop our juniors and we’ll have some bigger and stronger bodies around them now.

“If we continue to put in the hard work hopefully the results will come and we’ll play finals footy.”

Finals footy is certainly within reach for the Magpies, but they will be one of several clubs in the mix for the last couple of spots in the finals.

With Albury, Lavington and Yarrawonga tipped to make up the top three, Wangaratta will be fighting the likes of Wodonga Raiders for that fourth spot.

Fifth.