Many might have thought the departure of Ed Morrish, Ben Gosper and Mitchell Britt would cripple the Orange Barbarians and leave them struggling to field a Midwest Cup side for the 2020 season.
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Instead, captain-coach Jake Kelly has drawn motivation from the departures, suggesting the change has allowed him to bring a new crop of players into the fray, giving the team a unique dynamic with just a month left in the pre-season.
"We're just interested in having fun and making good mates this season," Kelly said.
"I'm still going to shoot for the stars and it'd be great if the boys could make the finals but it's about attitude for me.
"I've got plenty of older guys to come back and pull the boots on and there's some kids who have never played footy before so it's a good mix."
Kelly's been the skipper for several years but after adding the coaching role to his title, he's shifted the focus to a few leadership traits that will help his side enjoy themselves on the paddock and hopefully turn in some positive results as well.
"My thing is showing up with determination whether it's rain, hail or shine," he said.
"I've spent a lot of years in this league and I'm just looking to step back a bit and pass on the knowledge I've got to some younger blokes.
"I want to start talking rather than yelling and using constructive criticism. I want to be approachable."
An interesting narrative throughout the season will be the rival Barbarians have with newly-founded Orange United and even though the games will be hotly contested, Kelly insists the relationship between the two clubs is more of a partnership than a rivalry.
"It's about representing the town after all," he said.
"We're looking to play a few double headers together and instead of cheering for their opposition, we're going to cheer for them.
"It won't be like CYMS and Hawks."
In addition to a healthy crop of men's players, Kelly's overseen the development of the women's league tag side and thinks the girls are one of the teams to beat.
"I think they can go all the way," Kelly said.
"We've got a squad of about 25."
The league tag outfit will head to Canowindra on Saturday to test themselves in the Western Challenge while the boys will have their first run around at the Midwest Knockout on Saturday April 4 with the first match of the day against Kurt Beahan's Orange United.
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