It’s never easy to shake off a grand final loss, but Wangaratta Magpies believe themselves to still be smack-bang in the premiership window.

After their 15-point loss back in September, the Magpies have taken time to reflect on their processes and season, said goodbye to some established players, and topped up on talent across the park to give them the best chance of returning to the Lavington Sports Ground in 2026.

Magpies senior assistant coach Damien Lappin said it was a clean-slate outlook coming into preseason.

“To take the next step, everything resets back to zero – no spot’s safe, no one’s position is safe,” he said.

“If you want to be part of that senior side consistently, it’s about doing the work to give yourself every chance to be part of it.

“That’s where that competitiveness at training comes in, that’s where you see the most growth out of the young guys, but not only that, a couple of the older, more experienced guys that we have, they feel that pressure coming up from underneath, and that’s where we get our growth from.”

The club’s new names have been getting around the group, whether it’s the Showgrounds at official preseason, or at the club’s satellite camp for Melbourne-based players.

“Lachie Di Sebastiano, he’s very much a lockdown defender, and we needed some help there - Bords [Michael Bordignon] and Grossy [Matt Grossman] are very much undersized most weeks, but credit to them for the job they did, but we had to find a little help for them,” Lappin said.

“Losing some of the midfielders, a couple of the local guys who will end up staying in Geelong, it just creates opportunity for more young guys.

“Guys like Macca [James McClounan] and [Brady] Bartlett, Cam Green coming back through from the O&K, they’re just good guys, they’re great to have around.

“Whatever level of football they can produce this year, the most important thing is you just want good people at your club, and they certainly fit that bill.”

Lappin said the group would enjoy their break before cracking back into preseason, intraclub matches, and full-blooded practice hit-outs in the new year.

“As a group we’ll be back on 13 January, but as most clubs do these days, they’ve all got their programs to follow every week anyway, and judging by the amount of content that goes into the group chat, everyone seems to be doing their fair share,” he said.

“I’m sure they’ll turn up in good nick and be ready to go.

“The way that it’s structured, it won’t be long until we’re playing an intraclub and practice matches against a couple of other clubs, we’ve got a couple of those pencilled in already.

“It’s all going to come around really quick again.”