MURRAY MAGPIES
Coach: Dylan Dos Santos
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Gains: Dylan Dos Santos (Wanderers), Michael Mummery (Nightcliff), Spencer Jones (Albury), Riley Mitchell (Coolamon), Jacob Boyd (Finley), Josh Senior (Howlong), Michael Simms (Dederang-Mt Beauty), Colin Wilson (Darwin Buffaloes), Tyson Whyte (Tracey Village), Cooper Taylor (Barnawartha), Joe Cramer (Jindera), Cody Hickford (Cudgewa), Jasper Quinn (St Alban's), Andrew Wight (retirement)
Losses: Michael Collins (Dederang-Mt Beauty), Tom Riella (retirement), Zach Butler (Brock-Burrum)
Most recent finals appearance: 2016
Most recent flag: None in Hume league
Captain: Hayden Edwards, Spencer Jones vice-captain
Q&A with HAYDEN EDWARDS
Who starts the season flag favourites and why?: You would have to say Holbrook. The Brookers boast a strong list after playing in the past two deciders and have added a bit more quality over the summer.
Your likely top-six?: Holbrook, Jindera, Osborne, CDHBU, RWW Giants and Howlong
Which side is likely to be the biggest improver?: Murray Magpies, we haven't had this amount of depth for a long time.
Best player in the competition?: Connor Galvin. Has won four best and fairests at Osborne and arguably should have one or two Azzi medals as well.
Best recruit in the competition over the off-season?: Luke Garland who boasts an enviable record in the O&M and should dominate at the lower level of the Hume league.
Which recruit at your club excites you the most and why?: Michael Mummery. He has become well respected amongst the playing group and brings a high level of experience to the club. His athletic ability is elite and he makes the game of football look easy.
Who has been the standout at pre-season training so far?: Spencer Jones. Spencer has brought a great attitude to pre-season and has become a real leader after gaining valuable O&M experience after a stint with league heavyweight Albury.
How tough was recruiting this off-season compared to previous years?: It's always a tough task but the club has been working extremely hard over the summer. It made recruiting easier when the core group of players from last year all recommitted early. It then gave us a solid foundation to build from.
What have the numbers been like at pre-season training?: Numbers this year have been a big improvement on previous years. The whole playing group has fully committed to the club this pre-season.
What are your expectations this season?: We have set high standards this season. We aim to be competitive with the best teams in the league. Improvement and consistency will be our goal and if we can get back to playing our own brand of football then we know success will follow.
WE SAY: The Magpies are set to start a new era after struggling to win a match under coach Brett Argus where the club was winless in 2019, 2021 and last season and won three matches in 2022. Darwin recruit Dylan Dos Santos has been appointed as coach who played four matches with the league battlers last year. Dos Santos has attracted several other Darwin recruits including Michael Mummery who is set to be an excitement machine in the Hume league. Mummery has already produced several highlights over the pre-season matches and is a high-flyer who can take a spectacular mark, is also dangerous at ground level and has the ability to kick some freakish goals. The return of Spencer Jones is also significant after the classy midfielder has previously won two best and fairests at Urana Road and played several senior matches with O&M powerhouse Albury last year. Josh Senior has also returned to the club after a stint with Howlong and alongside Dos Santos the Magpies will have two reliable key defenders and will be a lot more difficult to score against this season. While finals remain a longshot for the Magpies, half-a-dozen wins is a realistic goal which should ensure they at least start climbing the ladder after several seasons in the doldrums.
PREDICTION: Tenth
