“We had 35 on the track last night, and of our top 30 players we had 18 who were unavailable because they were away,” White Hills coach Jason Stevens said yesterday.

“We’ve probably got 60 on our list, so there’s good numbers at the club, which is a good sign.”

Recruits to the Demons for 2012 include youngster Hayden Wright (midfielder), who has returned to the club after a season with South Bendigo, Bridgewater premiership player Mark Lindsay (crumbing forward), Adam Crameri (wingman) from North Old Boys, Ben Pettifer (defensive midfielder) from Donald, Chris Grant (midfielder-forward) from the Shepparton Swans, Andy Gladstone from Marong and Jake Allport from the South Bendigo under-18s.

The Demons also hope to add at least another three recruits to those they have already secured.

“We’re happy with those recruits we’ve signed, but it’s also pleasing to have Matt Sawyer, Shaun Bowles and Josh Griffin coming back into the side,” Stevens said.

“They are three guys who we didn’t have in the finals last season, so they will all be good inclusions for us.”

Sawyer – one of the top big men in the HDFL – missed all of last year after suffering a serious knee injury in the Demons’ practice match against Wedderburn.

At this stage, the only confirmed loss from the Demons is Cody Bravo, who has crossed to North Bendigo, while the classy Ryan McNish, who kicked 35 goals in 14 games last year, looks likely to miss the first half of the season while he’s in Darwin.

“At this stage, he’s going to be staying up there until around June, so we just have to play it a little bit by ear with him,” Stevens said.

“It’s obviously pretty significant not having Ryan here for the start of the season, and while you can’t replace a player like that, we’ve got blokes who can play a similar role.”

The Demons were beaten by Heathcote by 43 points in last year’s first semi-final in what was the club’s highest finish since they were beaten grand finalists in 2005.

White Hills will open its season on April 7 when it travels to take on North Bendigo on Easter Saturday.