The last time Yarrawonga retained the title (2013) it had four former AFL players - Brendan Fevola, Craig Ednie, Kayne Pettifer and Steve McKee - plus the reigning Morris medallist Xavier Leslie, along with a future one in Tyler Bonat and other stars like Drew Barnes and Marcus McMillan.
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This year's Pigeons will have two ex-AFL players - Michael Gibbons and Dan Howe - along with former VFL premiership players Willie Wheeler and Leigh Masters, plus the league's 2022 Doug Strang Medal winner Leigh Williams and runner-up in the club best and fairest Cam Wilson.
You simply can't win the O and M without at least six A graders and Yarrawonga has at least eight.
That's why it will take an awesome team to stop another Pigeon premiership.
ARRIVALS:
Dan Howe (North Melbourne), Perry Lewis-Smith (Northern Bullants-Mornington), Matthew Holgate (year off), Ben Coghill, Fraser Haintz (Rennie), Todd Muldoon (Wallan)
DEPARTURES:
Mark Whiley (Finley), Dylan Conway (retired), Beau Seymour, Max Hemphill (Mulwala), Jake Forge (East Burwood), Tim Lawrence (Queensland), Jordan O'Dwyer (Numurkah)
VFL-LISTED:
Finbar O'Dwyer (Williamstown)
BEST AND FAIREST:
Willie Wheeler (winner), Cam Wilson, Ryan Bruce
OUR SAY: No team has undergone as little change as the premiers, so there's an 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' approach. The loss of Mark Whiley is enormous, he was a heart and soul player, but when you're on an 11-match winning streak and can introduce a 107-gamer straight from the AFL, you have to be at least as good.
THE PIGEONS RECRUITED TWO-TIME VFL PREMIERSHIP FORWARD DYLAN CONWAY MID-SEASON TO TAKE THE HEAT OFF LEIGH WILLIAMS AND IT WORKED, SO WHO PLAYS THERE NOW?
It was a master stroke to snare Conway and even though he played only seven games for just 11 goals, he did his job, kicking two goals in the first quarter of the grand final. Leigh Williams is 34 in May, so it's unfair to expect him to tear teams apart like he did in 2022. Lach Howe could play forward more, with rising youngster Kyal Tyson getting more ruck time. Ned Pendergast played in defence in the decider, but he kicked four in a breakout game against Wangaratta last April and is a strong mark and kick.
HAS RYAN BRUCE GONE PAST BEING UNDERRATED?
Definitely. If you can finish third in the best and fairest in a premiership-winning year with such a star-studded team, you are now in the league's top 25. The defender kicked four goals last year, but one of them was the Pigeons' last in the four-point grand final win, so it was pivotal.
THE PIGEONS HAD A NUMBER OF UNDERRATED PLAYERS STEP UP, LIKE NICK IRVINE, JORDAN URQUHART AND NED PENDERGAST, WILL THEY KEEP IMPROVING?
If they're going to retain the title, for only the second time in the club's 95-year history (2012-2013), they will need to get better, particularly when the arrivals have been kept to a minimum, although a player straight from the AFL is a terrific start. Wangaratta will be a much stronger outfit with its profile recruits, but Irvine's best game for the club was the grand final, so he has the ability to lift to the next level, and that was coming off a perforated bowel in February, which derailed his pre-season. Urquhart was moved later in the grand final and that worked, while you sense Pendergast could play at least state level, in the future.
Q&A WITH KYAL TYSON
Q: You've been doing pre-season weights with Ned Pendergast, most importantly, who's stronger?
A: (Laughs) We're on par now.
Q: Now to play this level you need to be fiercely competitive, but you also have an aggressive streak, where does that come from?
A: I've always been competitive with my brothers, Brodie is older at 21, while Mitch is 15. Brodie and I are pretty much the same size (which is big at 190cms and 92kgs), while Mitch is thinner, but he's only a couple of inches shorter than me.
Q: In last year's grand final, Albury grabbed its greatest lead (eight points) after seven minutes of the final quarter and the league's standout ruckman in Albury's Isaac Muller was dominating. Around that time, coach Steve Johnson moved you from defence to the ruck, what did he say?
A: He said, 'go in there and jump, get it going and get it long'.
Q: You helped change the match, but was that intimidating taking on 'man mountain' Muller?
A: There's always that level of being a bit intimidated, but it's just a matter of go in there and do the job he (Johnson) wants me to do and I know I'm capable of doing it.
Q: Do you prefer defence or ruck?
A: I love playing down back, but I also don't mind the ruck, I love getting amongst the footy in there.
PREDICTION: Premiers
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