Returning to the helm this season, the veteran coach is excited about the young talent coming through.

"We've been working on them for a few years," May said.

"This is the year where they've got to really step up and have a crack."

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He mentioned the likes of Nguyen Nguyen and Tristan Reed, both of whom made their first grade debuts last year, Luke Maunder and Michael Lewington.

They will complement "a lot of familiar faces".

"We've got a good mix of youth and experience," May said.

"Obviously Troy (Hearfield) is a bit of a loss."

Last year's grand final hero has stepped away from the game for family reasons and will leave a big hole to fill, but May does have a few options.

He is happy with how the playing group have come back from the COVID-enforced break and said now they just can't wait to get back out on the field and play.

"We do at least 30 minutes of fitness before we start and they're all getting through that," he said.

"And their touch is getting better."

Taking the reins from Greg Bartlett, who guided the club to back-to-back premier league titles for the first time since 2012-2013, May will be looking to blend what has proven a winning formula with a few new ideas.

The constraints of the circumstances created by the coronavirus pandemic has meant he has had to reassess things a bit though with getting them match-ready the biggest, and most immediate, challenge.

With the competition slated to kick-off in mid-July, they will likely have only had a couple of training sessions with contact before their first game.

"And fitness wise, you can do as much fitness as you like but you can't replicate match fitness," he said.

Normally, he said, they would play a 45 minute game between the first and reserve grade squads every training. Usually pretty "full-on", they are unable to do that at the moment.

But everyone is in the same boat.

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