The Red Devils are on the rebuild with only Bec Smyth, Torika Nadruku, Abby Northrup, Peta Lawrence and Fiona Laurie of the current side part of the triumphant 2019 squad.

Among those they have lost are inspirational captain Sarah Stewart and Nicole Carlyon, with both hanging up the boots.

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With so many new faces in the squad, Hickey said it is a bit "like being in year one again".

At the moment it's about teaching them how to develop their skills, and working out the best combinations.

"I'm slowly finding out what the skills of each player are and how to use that to the best advantage," Hickey said.

They also have to find a structure that works for the team. Losing Stewart and Carlyon, who were two of their linchpins in the middle, has meant they have to play a different way to what they had.

"It's about trying to build a side to be competitive by the end of the season," he said.

"We're experimenting a lot, trying different things."

He said the young girls they have coming through, while they haven't got a lot of football experience, "they're keen to play and they're enthusiastic".

As a side though they are at the moment a bit "behind the standard", as Pirates showed on Saturday.

The Red Devils were fairly well outplayed in both games.

"The opposition played very well," Hickey said.

Particularly around the ruck Pirates were a lot better than them.

"We're going to have to work to make ourselves competitive and the girls are going to have to have a really strong learning year and constantly improve," he said.

They now have three weeks to prepare for their final game of the first round, which will be against Narrabri on May 29.

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