The former Walcha player will lead the Kangaroos in the Group 4 Second Division and will have an enthusiastic squad of locals at his disposal.

“He plays touch with a lot of the young fellas who are going to play,” club president Gavin McGuire said.

“He gets along with everyone.

“He played in Group 19 and Group 4 over the time.”

Player numbers shouldn’t be an issue.

In fact, with a few more likely to sign up between now and the start of the season there might be too many to choose from.

The biggest issue will be getting them up to speed after a lot of years out of action.

“After all those years without football in Walcha not many of them will have played,” McGuire said.

“About 80 per cent of them won’t have played in the last five years, in any code.

“It will be a good learning experience for them.”

McGuire is under no illusions 2012 will be tough for the Roos as they find their way in the competition against the established clubs.

But with the majority of the players aged between 18 and 25 there is plenty of time for them to develop.

Off the field, the Roos are going ahead in leaps and bounds.

They have a strong committee and have secured plenty of support from local business.

“It’s really good,” McGuire said.

“We’ve got a lot of sponsors for our jerseys.

“Just about every business in town has given us something.

“It’s been better than we thought.”

The club’s jerseys have already been designed and ordered and will reflect the traditions of the club.

They will wear predominantly green.

“With some yellow and white,” McGuire said.

“They’re almost exactly the same as the ones we wore in 1994.”

The Roos will begin training in mid-January in preparation for the season, which will start in late March or early April.