White Hills co-coach Jack Fallon is one of the star defenders in the HDFNL. Picture by Brendan McCarthy

AFTER lamenting a missed opportunity in last year's preliminary final against Mount Pleasant when inaccurate kicking proved costly in a four-point loss, White Hills is still hunting its first senior flag in the HDFNL since 1988.

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Following last year's third-placing the Demons under co-coaches Jack Fallon and Kaiden Antonowicz look set to be right in the thick of the action again deep into the season with the quality squad they have assembled.

Q & A WITH CO-COACH JACK FALLON

How have you improved your list from last year?

"We've picked up Alex Davis from Boort. He is a centre half-back who is as fit as a fiddle and has been super.

"Boort struggled a bit last year, so he is really hungry to win some games of footy and he has a really good level of competitiveness.

"And we've brought in Callum Crisp and Jack Lawton as a couple of ruckmen.

"Callum (BFNL inter-league representative in 2019 and Benalla best and fairest in 2021) is a very well credentialed ruckman who has played a lot of good footy and is really fit as well.

"Whenever we've had scratch matches he has been really dominant with his hit-outs, which is what we want to see.

"And Jack has come over from Eaglehawk. He probably hasn't had a lot of luck in terms of getting a good run at Eaglehawk with injury and so forth, but he is fit and I'm really excited for the three blokes we've brought in."

Classy forward/midfielder Liam Bartels will be a key player in the Demons' premiership quest this year. Picture by Brendan McCarthy

Who are the key departures?

"We've only lost Bayden Fallon, who has headed back to Mooroopna... that's it. We've picked up three and only lost one, so we're happy with that."

With so many clubs in the HDFNL having dominant ruckmen, how big a focus was boosting your ruck stocks during the off-season?

"Over the past few years I've been at White Hills it has been a bit of a struggle in the ruck, but it worked out really well for us in terms of being able to get Callum.

"He landed a job back in Melbourne (after playing for the Noosa Tigers last year) and we were the first club to get on to him and with Jack, he played junior footy at White Hills and was fairly keen to come back.

"They are both going to be huge for us and I've had quite a few people ask if we can play both of them together.

"Our plan is to utilise them both... they can both go forward and kick goals as well, so they are exactly what we need."

White Hills 2023 season summary.

There has been quite a bit of hype around White Hills in recent years without being able to break that senior premiership drought yet. What gives you the most confidence that this can be the year?

"We feel that we've got all our ducks in a row to have a crack in terms of getting some ruckmen in and our A grade players, which we felt we had a lot of last year, are stronger and fitter.

"We feel we're in a good spot and with practice matches coming up I'm really excited to see how it all comes together."

Have you tinkered much with your gamestyle during the pre-season?

"We've tinkered a little bit just in terms of having a couple of extra big men on the ground now with Callum and Jack joining us and giving us that long kick if we need it, but overall not a lot will change.

"We're going to play to a similar gameplan as last year, but a bit more aggressive in terms of the group being a lot more fitter."

In terms of depth and competition for spots, how is that looking off the back of the reserves winning the premiership last year?

"We've got a lot of young players in the group who through injury last year were able to get some opportunities at senior level... there's probably half of the reserves side that won the flag last year that could come in and play senior footy, which is going to be tough for us as coaches with selection.

"If you look at the side we had last year and then bringing in three new players and some really exciting young blokes knocking on the door who are probably going to start in our round one side based on the work they have done in the pre-season... it's a good spot to be in in terms of selection headaches."

What's the expectation for the year ahead. How far can you take it?

"Every club has the expectation that they'd love to win the grand final, but the starting point is to get into the top three and earn that double chance.

"Hopefully, if we can tick that goal off then it's about having a red hot crack at winning at in what's going to be a really tough league. It's going to be an exiting year."