Last year: Eighth (8-10)

Gains: James Breen (retirement), Adam Ferguson (Temora), Harry Farrelli (season off), Rhett Thomson (overseas), Paddy O'Brien (several seasons off), Alexander Tremonti and Sam Bakes (both North Albury thirds)

Losses: None

Most recent finals appearance: 2019

Most recent flag: 2015

Co-captains: Luke Fraser and Ethan Riddington

Who starts the season flag favourites and why?: It's hard to go past Kiewa-Sandy Creek. They may have lost the grand final by less than a kick but were the dominant side throughout the home and away season to finish minor premier with a 17-1 record. I was at Wodonga Raiders when some of their recruits were at Birallee Park like Jack Di Mizio, Jack Haughen and Connor Newnham and now they have added Alex Daly who will also be a very good player in the TDFL. It's going to be hard to get through a defence comprising Daly and Di Mizio and they have also added a TDFL premiership coach with O&M experience in Zac Fulford which can't be underestimated. So the Hawks are going to be very hard to beat again.

Your likely top-five?: Kiewa-Sandy Creek, Chiltern, Yackandandah, Thurgoona and Beechworth

Which side is likely to be the biggest improver?: Probably Thurgoona, with the amount of recruits the Bulldogs have signed it would be naive to think that they wouldn't improve dramatically.

Best player in the competition?: I've seen Jarrod Hodgkin first-hand in the O&M and he was too good in that competition. While I didn't see him play in the TDFL last year, I can imagine he is on the podium as one of the best players in the competition.

Best recruit in the competition over the off-season?: It's hard to go past Alex Daly who is still young, coming straight out of the O&M and still has his best footy ahead of him.

Which recruit at your club excites you the most and why?: Technically he is not a recruit, but Kaine Parsons only played half-a-season last year and is flying on the track over the pre-season. Kaine has got a set of sticky mitts and is marking everything and is training at a level above everyone else. He is just a fantastic footballer, a strong contested mark, an elite kick and I can't wait to see him perform this season.

Who has been the standout over the pre-season training so far?: I would have to say Kaine Parsons and Luke Fraser. They are driving the group, get to training early and run 4km before training even starts. At the end of training if they haven't clocked up enough kilometres on their smart watches, they will do extra running afterwards and train at a very high standard for the TDFL.

How tough was recruiting this off-season compared to previous years?: Relocating back to the area from Queensland has been a bit of a different experience recruiting-wise. When I was coaching in Queensland I could dangle the carrot of the sunshine and warmer weather to help entice potential recruits. We did speak to a fair few players who went to other clubs on better deals, so it was hard in that regard. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be to organise a meeting with a player because some players don't mind switching clubs. But it was hard to land them because players hear what other clubs are offering financially. What I will say is some players have an inflated expectation of what their value is and a lot higher than what they are worth. So recruiting is hard in that you do get to talk to players but to close a deal was very hard.

What have the numbers been like at pre-season training?: The numbers haven't been too bad and they tell me they are better than last year. It seems to depend on the weather and if it's above 30 degrees we get around 20 players and under 30 we get about 40 players. I can understand that because we have a lot of tradies who have already done eight to 10 hours of work in the hot sun. The last thing they want to do after a long day's work is head to training and see a bloke with a whistle, yelling at them and making them do 100m sprints. It doesn't sound too appealing does it?

What are your expectations this season?: It's all about improvement at the Bughouse. We will let the ladder position take care of itself and just want every individual to try and improve and benefit the team. Last season the club wasn't that far off playing finals and we feel having Kaine Parsons for a full season and Rhett Thomson returning will help us improve a fair bit. If James Breen can get back to somewhere near his best, he can also help us go to that next level. So the expectation is if we can improve on last season, we can climb the ladder at least a few rungs and suddenly you are in the mix to play finals.

WE SAY: Gareth Lawson replaces Tim Kennedy at the helm who has been able to attract his fair share of recruits and improve the list that finished eighth last season. Despite finishing eighth the Hoppers were only one win and percentage from a finals berth and statistically boast the best defence of the sides outside the top five. James Breen, Rhett Thomson and Paddy O'Brien are all proven performers at this level and will add further depth to a solid senior core of players including Kaine Parsons, Luke Fraser, Scott Spencer, Mitch Seaton and the O'Connell siblings in Joel and Dan. And while the recruits will improve the list, the biggest boost to the Hoppers' finals credentials could come internally. Parsons missed half the season after travelling overseas while Barton medallist Spencer was restricted to 13 matches as he battled to find his best form with injury. Both players are among the top ten in the competition when fit and firing and if Parsons and Spencer can both find their best form, will have a huge impact at the Bughouse. Parsons in full-flight is simply a match-winner and he has all the credentials to challenge big Hawk Connor Newnham as the premier forward in the competition. Adam Healy also proved to be a surprise packet for the Hoppers last season with 43 goals as a medium-sized forward and alongside Parsons and Breen, Lawson will boast plenty of firepower in attack this season. The Hoppers may not boast the depth of the other top-five contenders but if they can stay relatively injury-free, finals are not an unrealistic expectation.

PREDICTION: Seventh