The Eaton Boomers' womens team are itching to get on the ground and play Bunbury in round one of the South West Football League 2021 season.
After finishing seventh with just one win, coach Craig Bourne said the team has a few more young players which would provide a boost.
He said with no junior feeder team, the Boomers found it hard to recruit and keep the young players.
"We have relied on word of mouth and this year we have been able to keep most of our players which is good," he said.
"The girls just love to play and be involved in the club so success will come after."
Bourne said the girls improved in each game they played last year so 2021 was looking more positive with more experience.
Eaton have a wide range of ages and talent with a couple of players over 40 and six under the age of 18.
"I have been really impressed with how well they all play together," Bourne said.
He said the Boomers would have a tough ask in round one when they take on Bunbury.
Busselton's women side proved they were a top team after reaching the grand final in the 2020 season.
Coach Aaron Beckett said he didn't want it to be a one off and expected the girls to perform again this year.
"We have most of the girls who played last year with us again as well as some new players as well," he said.
Beckett said it was an exciting challenge to have 29 players in the squad to balance into a team of 20 for match day.
Busselton travelled up to Bunbury last week to play the Bulldogs in a scratch match and Beckett said the Magpies showed some good signs against a strong competitor.
The Magpies will take on Harvey Brunswick Leschenault in round one and Beckett said he was mainly focused on what his team could control.
"We just worry about ourselves, they will hunt us down a bit but if we play our game style it will be fine," he said.
Beckett said the main thing for his team was for the players to take the game on and enjoy being on the field together.
Harvey Brunswick Leschenault's new coach Anthony Edwards said he was really happy with the number of players for the squad.
"We have had a good core group of players for about four years now," he said.
He said it was great to see the girls play in a scratch match against South Bunbury who are the best in the league.
The new man on the mark rule could be challenging as the players have to learn to do the opposite of what they have done previously, Edwards said.
"We don't want to get a 50 metre penalty because in a women's game that could be two to three kicks," he said.
"It is hard to simulate a match at training as well."
With a few players coming across from soccer as well as a couple who have never played before, Edwards said the team was enthusiastic.
"They showed will good endeavour and attack on the ball during the scratch and kept playing for the full four quarters which is great to see," he said.
Edwards said he expected last year's top three to be strong again in 2021 but it didn't mean his team can't improve on where they finished last year.
"You always want to improve on the previous year but I haven't set any expectations on the girls," he said.