MARYBOROUGH Football Netball Club president Mick Reid is confident the Magpies will be part of the 2014 BFNL season.
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Six weeks ago, Reid set a February 1 deadline for the club to have enough senior players for the 2014 season.
Reid said the reaction from senior players around the region had been positive and the club was well placed to have enough players for seniors and reserves.
The club's biggest concern now is the under-18s.
"We'll have the numbers for the seniors and reserves - the under-18s are the talking point now,'' Reid said.
"The under-18s are vital for the future of the club and they are the number one priority right now.
"We have 12 to 14 committed players for the under-18s right now and ideally we'd love to have a squad of 25.
"With school going back this week we're hoping the kids we have at the club will talk to their mates and get them to commit to the club."
Maryborough's lack of numbers in the under-18s is nothing new.
The club has consistently battled to field an under-18 team in the past decade.
The club didn't field an under-18 side in 2013, but did field a strong under-16 team in the Bendigo Junior Football League.
The problem for the Magpies is that a number of that under-16 squad have opted to play under-17s with MCDFL clubs rather than playing in the under-18s in the BFNL.
"We're working hard to make sure we get enough under-18s,'' Reid said.
"Hopefully, we can have enough players by the end of February."
Senior co-coaches Jamie Bond and Glen Chadwick have worked hard in the off-season to build the numbers in the senior group.
Reid said the club is close to signing two qualify midfielders from Melbourne.
"We already have Joel Malone back at the club and if we can get these two midfielders from Melbourne then we'll have a quality midfield group that this club hasn't had for a while,'' Reid said.
"There's still some other players that have told us they'll play, but we're yet to see them at training.
"Once we can get everyone at training on the one night it's going to make the coaching staff's job a lot easier."
Anyone who is interested in playing for the Maryborough under-18s can phone Mick Reid on 0418 320 210.
