While some of its BFNL rivals have recruited heavily, 2018 runner-up Strathfieldsaye has taken a different approach.
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Quite purposefully, the Storm have been quiet in the "silly season".
Coach Troy Coates said the club wants to promote from within in 2019 rather than chase high-priced recruits.
"We're going with our 2018 list and backing in our young players to improve,'' Coates said.
"From this year's grand final team we've lost Trent Donnan to Sea Lake and Tom Dowd has retired.
"Come the finals this season we were a bit unlucky with injuries and some of our key players were missing.
"We'll back in our group and, if we can get 10 per cent improvement out of our kids, we'll get growth.
"We've signed up our Pioneers kids from this year in Hunter Lawrence, Daniel Clohesy and Cal McCarty and there's another seven or eight kids from our under-18s who have signed up as well.
"(Pioneers graduate) Bailey Henderson has signed up to play again and Caleb Sheahan has come back to the club as well.
"Vinnie Flood is coming back from two knee reconstructions and he's keen to give it another crack.
"With the way the salary cap and points system is going we want to put time into our younger players."
Bailey Henderson will train with Richmond's VFL team in the hope of making the Tigers' list, but will stay aligned with the Storm.
The development of young players is behind a change in Coates' coaching panel for 2019.
Storm premiership coach Darryl Wilson is back at the club in a football manager and line coaching role, while Gisborne premiership player Shane Davis has joined the Storm as a line coach.
Luke Freeman retains his assistant coaching position and reserves coach Brett Fitzpatrick will have the added role of development coach.
"Our focus is to invest time and effort into our strong junior pathway through quality coaching,'' Coates said.
"We want to keep these kids around for five and 10 years."
Star forward Lachlan Sharp continues to recover from the broken leg injury which forced him out of the finals series.
"Sharpy is going really well,'' Coates said. "He was looking to play some footy up in Darwin, but that depends on how his leg is going.
"He's certainly on track to play for us round one."
Coates said midfielder Jack Shanahan would be like a recruit for the Storm after he only managed three senior games in 2018.
The Storm start their 2019 season on home turf against Eaglehawk on April 13.
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