A raft of fresh faces will take the field for the Gunnedah Bulldogs against the Tamworth Roos in the opening round of the AFL North West season on Saturday.
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Headlined by a new head coach and a raft of new players, the Dogs will be looking to atone for their 2018 grand final disappointment against the Inverell Saints with a win in round one against the Tamworth Roos.
Doug Meagher will assume the role of head coach during the 2019 season, taking over from Andrew George, who will turn his attentions to being an on-field presence.
"We have quite young, fast side this season," Meagher said.
"I haven't been involved with the team for too long, so it is a bit too early to tell how we will go.
"However, from what I understand if we can get our best side on the park we should be very competitive."
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"Our training over the last few weeks has centred around building a running game plan to suit our young, quick side," Meagher said.
"We have increased our pace a bit, so I think that will be a strength of ours that we will be building our game plan around.
"I know quite a few of these young guys are into their second season and I think they will be better for their experiences last season.
"Young guys like Tom Maher, Hayden Baker and Jasper Thomas have impressed on the training track and I'm sure they are looking forward to getting into it."
The Dogs have enjoyed a successful pre-season to date, claiming back-to-back Crossroads Cups.
After losing their opening match against the Tamworth Swans, the Bulldogs redeemed themselves by knocking off the Swans in the competition's final match.
"From what I saw at the Crossroads Cup I would say the Tamworth Swans look like they are the team to beat this season," Meagher said.
"They looked as though they were a well-balanced side with a fair bit of run.
"The Nomads and the Roos also looked pretty solid from what I saw, so it this week's game against the Roos should be a really good test for us first up."