And that's just how he likes it given the competition for spots in the Bulldogs' 22 after what has been a fruitful recruiting campaign for last season's runners-up.

"We've been able to bring some good players in recruiting-wise and we've also wanted to make sure we've got as much depth as possible so that we can be as strong as we can be in not only the seniors, but pushing down to the reserves as well," Fitzpatrick said this week.

"At the moment I genuinely don't know what our round one side is going to be in terms of the 22. There's probably 28 names that I could put into a hat and they'd all be more than capable of filling a role.

"So the next 10 weeks of our pre-season are going to be a really good test of where everyone is at and who is the most committed."

The additions to Pyramid Hill for 2024 feature a mix of first-time players at the club, but also a number of familiar names at the Bulldogs.

Among the former Pyramid Hill players who are returning to the club are ex-captain Mick Dundon, Braidy Dickens and Brad Ladson.

Forward Dickens is a past LVFNL leading goalkicker having won in 2019 with 60.

Dickens previously played with the Bulldogs in 2019, 2021 and 2022 and kicked 168 goals across the three seasons.

The addition of Dickens comes on the back of the Bulldogs having lost their leading goalkicker of last season, Will Perryman, who has returned to Boort.

Perryman was the unfortunate player who had to be left out of the Bulldogs' grand final team last year to ensure Pyramid Hill fitted inside its player points cap of 43.

While Dickens will be an addition to the forward line, Ladson, following a season off, and Dundon will provide some versatility - Ladson with his ability to play off half-back and through the midfield, while Dundon can fill key position roles at either end of the ground.

Dundon is returning to the Bulldogs from Seymour.

As well as the three former players heading back to Pyramid Hill, the Bulldogs also have wingman Jack Timmins returning after missing all of last year with a knee injury.

The new faces joining the Bulldogs this year include a player who has won both a premiership and the Harding Medal in the LVFNL - Ben Knight.

Knight was both a premiership player and the league's Harding medallist while at Calivil United in 2017 and joins the Bulldogs from Heathcote District league club North Bendigo.

The Bulldogs have also added Damon Hemphill from Bellarine league club Modewarre.

Hemphill's football background includes playing with the Murray Bushrangers in what was then the TAC Cup, including playing in the Bushrangers' 2016 grand final loss to the Sandringham Dragons.

Knight and Hemphill are two timely midfield inclusions given the Bulldogs have lost the pair of Declan Slingo, who is returning to Castlemaine, and Melbourne-based Billy Micevski.

Like Knight, Micevski is also a LVFNL Harding Medal winner having taken out the top honour in 2022.

While Micevski has departed the Bulldogs having been at the club since 2016, Pyramid Hill will still have two Harding medallists in its line-up with Knight and classy ball magnet Dylan Collis, who won it last year, despite playing just seven home and away games.

"Billy has been a very good player for us for the past seven-or-so years, but everyone moves on at some stage and he probably held on with us for one or two more years than what he originally thought he would," Fitzpatrick said of Micevski's departure.

Other additions to the Bulldogs include Jack Burns from Huntly, Jack Leersen from Kangaroo Flat and Bailey Scott from Modewarre.

The Bulldogs last year served it right up to the undefeated Marong in the grand final before going down by 16 points.

Pyramid Hill - which is still hunting that elusive first flag since 1950 - had a 16-4 record last season, with all four of its defeats against Marong.

The Bulldogs open their 2024 season with an away game against Bears Lagoon-Serpentine on April 13.