ACTING Bendigo City FC captains Daniel Purdy and Will Keating say each squad member will need to step up and assume some leadership in the absence of injured captain Aidan Lane.
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City will make their long-awaited return to senior competition this Saturday, taking on Men's State League 5 West rivals Maidstone United at Strathfieldsaye.
They last competed at senior level in 2017 in the NPL competition.
City will be without their skipper Lane, who has a torn MCL, for at least eight weeks to 12 weeks.
That has left vice-captains Purdy and Keating to fill the breach as the team's leaders alongside playing coach Greg Thomas.
But the duo is challenging their young team-mates to rise to the occasion and stamp themselves as leaders.
"Captaining the side in Aidan's absence is one part of it, but there are another 10 players out on the park and however many on the bench that need to step up as well," Purdy said.
"It's more so about them and what we do together as a club and as a team rather than just Will and myself stepping up to take that role.
"It's the responsibility of everyone and I think we will all do a good job of that."
At just 18, Keating is assuming plenty of responsibility as vice-captain and now acting captain.
It's a challenge he is embracing with plenty of vigour, but calm.
"It's pretty disappointing for Aidan to miss out, especially after he has come back from playing in Melbourne to lead the team and he's out for half the season already," he said.
"That gives Purdy and I a chance to lead the team, but it also gives the young boys the chance to step up and show us some leadership as well.
"I'm sure they will."
City will enter the season on the back of some exciting pre-season form with a number of wins against Men's State League 4 and 2 teams, most recently against Gisborne and Sommerville Eagles.
The mood in the camp could not be more positive, according to Purdy.
"We've obviously got a lot of players, who have stepped up in pre-season, and almost everyone's fit - there's not too many niggles hanging around," he said.
"I feel we are ready to hit the ground running.
"It's been a long road back. Some of us have played here before.
"I've played every senior year available here. It was difficult having four years off.
"It's just really good to be back and be part of this club again."
City's senior program went into recess following the 2017 season, but momentum for a return to the bottom rung of the state league gathered late last year.
The club's bid for inclusion was officially accepted in December.
City has quickly found its feet through the pre-season, proving more than a match for many higher-ranked clubs.
The only loss of note came in overtime in their Australia Cup clash against Watsonia Heights in which City surrendered a late 2-1 lead to be beaten 4-2 in extra time.
As disappointing as the loss may have been, Keating said the team had learned plenty from the result.
"The game definitely swayed a bit - they had us in the first half while we were trying to find our feet," he said.
"But with a lot of young boys and a few pressure moments playing their first FFA Cup match, it was bound to happen.
"The second half we came back and played the way we wanted to play, but we just ran out of legs in the end, especially playing the 120 minutes on the synthetic in 30-degree heat.
"Since then we've been on fire."
Keating praised the influence of coach Thomas and the club's technical director Nathan Claridge in getting a senior team back up and running.
"They showed their expectations early and have definitely led by example," he said.
"It's exciting for this weekend. It should be a good game and I'm confident we can get the job done."
Saturday's senior match at Strathfieldsaye starts at 3pm, and reserves at 1pm.
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