THERE'S no shortage of new faces at Port Fairy - but it might be the club's existing players who are benefiting most.
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The Pirates - undefeated after two games - have been boosted through the form of mainstays Jason Perera and Aaron Williams early in the campaign.
Just three more players - George Macdonald, Max Green and Niahl Dwyer - were regular fixtures this past season.
The club's targeted recruiting spree - which netted new skipper Alex Jennings - has secured several key planks to lead Port Fairy's revival under new senior coach Brian Medew.
There's been no negativity and we all communicate well. We've got experienced players to bounce ideas off.
- Alex Jennings
Jennings told The Standard the season felt like a fresh start for all at the club.
The Pirates slumped to a 10th place finish this past season but this summer they are already just one game from equalling their win record.
"It's been quite a welcoming place," Jennings said.
"I think there's been six or seven new players in division one and they seem like they've been at the club for a while.
"It's not only for them, it's a fresh start for everybody and is pretty exciting."
Jennings said Port Fairy's start, while encouraging, was no cause for complacency.
"It's been a good start but we've still got a long way to go. We're not getting ahead of ourselves," he said.
"We're really trying to look at each game as it is.
"We've got a defined game plan in that every player knows what they're supposed to be doing and that's something we'll try to tinker with."
Port Fairy - who has lost just five wickets across its two matches so far - sits atop the Warrnambool and District Cricket Association ladder.
It's a shared league leader in wickets taken, having claimed 20 alongside reigning premier Brierly-Christ Church, and is just one of three teams yet to lose.
Jennings, 20, said taking the club's captaincy was a learning curve but felt staunch support from the Pirates' senior players.
"Just because I'm a young and new to the club, it's been good how everyone listens," he said.
"There's been no negativity and we all communicate well. We've got experienced players to bounce ideas off.
"There's never any push for me to do certain things, the decision is up to me. It's just been exciting and I'm learning a lot."
The Pirates will battle Nestles at Avery's Paddock on Saturday. Factory are vying to bounce back from a shock loss to Wesley-CBC, in which they posted just 32 runs at Walter Oval.
Factory is fourth overall, with one win and one defeat from its opening fixtures.
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Nick Ansell
Nick Ansell is a sports journalist at the Warrnambool Standard.
Nick Ansell is a sports journalist at the Warrnambool Standard.
