One of the biggest names in the competition in Rory Taggert might be headed back to the SANFL but that hasn’t dented the Eagles’ aspirations. Coach Graeme Twaddle is bullish on the Eagles’ youth. “Our reserves boys are back-to-back premiers and they’re only a young side as well,” he said. “There’s some terrific talent there and we need to be giving those boys opportunities but also be working with those boys to turn them into senior players. Just because they haven’t been able to break into our side at 21 and 22 doesn’t mean they’re not going to be outstanding Hampden league senior footballers.”

Injury restricted Dylan Parish to nine matches in 2017 after kicking 41 goals from 19 appearances the year before. Twaddle is excited to rotate Parish through a forward-midfield role. “We’re hoping Dylan can do that for us because having a bloke who is 6’2-plus running through your midfield who can move like Dylan is a real positive,” he said. “When he’s resting forward and can stand on someone’s head.”

Liam Stow (Warrnambool College) and Joe McKinnon (Emmanuel College) might have been opposing school football captains but the recently-graduated duo is expected to be a dangerous combination for the Eagles in 2018. “Liam has got no weight on him but he’s 6'4, he can run, he can jump, he’s a really exciting proposition for us,” Twaddle said. “Joe is like a man mountain. When he played in the ruck last year against Levi Dare he matched him physically.”

Twaddle can reel off countless names of players he thinks can emerge in Hampden ranks – Jackson Grundy, Will Scriven, Sam Worden, Jai Perry, Luke Wines, Sam McKinnon and Kory Howlett among them. “There is no ceiling on a lot of these kids,” he said. “We know that people develop at different stages and sometimes it’s just about finding the right role.”

Established players such as Tom Batten, Adam Wines, who is returning after suffering serious burns in an accident, and Jordan Dillon will be called upon to show their adaptability. Wines in particular has shown he’s capable of switching between defence and attack regularly.