Terang Mortlake is poised to unveil a suite of big-bodied midfielders in its season-opener against arch rival Camperdown on Saturday, but coach Michael Sargeant isn’t expecting instant miracles.

Former Melbourne teammates Jordie McKenzie and Colin Garland were the prize catches of a fruitful off-season, but Sargeant is equally as bullish about several returning Bloods.

“It definitely brings a bit of excitement to the club to have these guys playing footy here, but we only won six games last season,” the former Old Collegians mentor said.

“We’re coming from a long way back, and we’re hopeful with the blokes we’ve brought in that we’ll get to the stage we want to be at.

“But it’s a long season and we have no idea what can happen with injuries. We know there’s plenty of hard work to be done.”

Sargeant said the group was benefiting from knowledge offered by both McKenzie and Nick Couch – another midfield recruit.

“They’ve brought in some stuff which has probably surprised us because it’s basic but valuable,” he said.

“But we’re under no illusions of the fact we’ll get better as the season goes on. We have blokes travelling down to play and with the more we get the group playing, the better we’ll be.

“But we won’t be hitting our straps in round one, I wouldn’t think.”

Despite Camperdown being hit by the departure of star forward Jordan Bain, Sargeant was wary of the Magpies’ threat.

“They’ve bought in some good midfield talent and are probably in a similar situation to us,” he said.