FOR the first time in living memory, there is a degree of uncertainty surrounding Maffra on the eve of a football season.

Heading into most seasons, the Eagles are generally bookmarked as a top-three side, or finalists at the very least.

This year however, with the number of outs outweighing the number of ins, there is some feeling in league circles that Maffra could be in for a so-so season.

The Eagles will be without prolific goal kickers Mitch Bennett and Curtley Nettleton, young guns Hudson Holmes and Tom Jolly, and experienced midfielder Lachlan Channing.

Clearly, the loss of certain players will present a challenge.

But then again, Maffra loves a challenge.

They love the challenge of competing in a major league with a team of all local players.

And they love doing so up against towns of much greater size.

The Eagles have done this successfully in the past, and flags have come one by one.

While the premiership window may be closed for now, there can be little doubt Maffra is working to ensure players among the current group will be there in years to come.

Knowing Maffra, they are looking three years, five years, and even 10 years down the track from now.

It has been this focus on longevity that has delivered success in the past, and returning coach Anthony Robbins said a big part of this year would be about putting things in place for the long term.

“With the turnover of personnel, and the kids from the Under 16s and 18s side both made the Grand Final (last year), I think we’ll probably be looking to establish the next crew for the next number of years,” he said.

“We need to start developing some more youth and reinvent ourselves because that 20-year period is probably over and we’ll look to build the next one.

“It’s going to be pretty tough (the competition) but if you can see the light at the end of the tunnel in terms of having junior players coming through and guys that are going to stick around and be part of the next crew without having to go and recruit a lot of guys from outside, it’s been a tried-and-true model for us, we’ll be looking to invest in those kids.”

That 20-year period mentioned above was built on local players staying loyal to Maffra, and delivered nine senior premierships between 2002 and 2019.

As they say in the entertainment industry, ‘what goes up must come down’, and while the Eagles have provided their audience with plenty of entertainment over the years, they will be hoping the down component doesn’t mean a crash landing.

This is unlikely to be the case, as Maffra still has experienced players such as Danny Buthcer, Daniel Bedggood and Winston Gieschen to drive high standards.

Gieschen will act as a playing-assistant coach to Robbins, working alongside respected former Maffra players Ben Bathalla, Kal Kiloran and Nigel Sellings.

North Melbourne premiership player Stuart Anderson is also on board as an Eagle assistant.

With all this considered, Maffra’s position doesn’t so much appear to be a rebuild, but more a renovation.

In some respects, the age demographic could work in their favour, as young players generally carry two things: Pace and keenness.

These were aspects Robbins said could become a feature of how the Eagles went about their football this season.

“The game keeps changing and evolving, it comes down to the skillset of the people you are working with in terms of how you tweak all of that,” he said.

“We’ll probably look to play a little bit differently again, maybe now that we are going to have guys with more leg speed and maybe a little less experience but certainly a little bit more enthusiasm, so we’ll see how it goes.”

Now that a young team is set to wear the red and black, the million dollar question for Maffra is who will be the Danny Butcher’s, Daniel Bedggood’s, David Adams’ and Daniel O’Brien’s of the next generation?

Maffra

Coach: Anthony Robbins

In: Kieran Jones (Boolarra), Brayden Monk (Williamstown), Nathan Pollard (Lindenow Sth)

Out: Hudson Holmes (Sale), Mitch Bennett (Heyfield), Tom Jolly, Jamie McIntosh (both Boisdale Briag), Curtley Nettleton (Orbost), Ryan Auld (Springvale), Harry Gravener (South Barwon), Lachlan Channing (Stratford)

Durks’ verdict: Clearly in a transition phase. Think eight wins is achievable, might have a surprise up their sleeve.