Warrnambool's build under senior coach Dan O'Keefe has been shored up with a core group of senior and reserve players re-signing at the club for 2024.
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Up to 30 of the Blues' current list has put pen to paper for the 2024 Hampden league season in recent weeks, including their entire leadership group, while another 10 to 15 have reportedly verbally committed to next year's cause.
"That's an amazing thing to have right now for our football club," O'Keefe said. "We hope to retain everyone and by the looks of it we will. They can see the vision and can see it's headed in the right direction. It's an exciting club and place to be at... and we feel like with not too much change we're going to be a really exciting club to follow next year."
It is a stark turnaround from last season, with no player signed on for 2023 when O'Keefe arrived as coach in October.
O'Keefe said the re-commitment of the Blues' leadership group - made up of captain Sam Cowling, Jye Turland, Jackson Bell, Mitch Bidmade, Darcy Graham and Dan Weymouth - had set the stage for a number of teammates to recommit.
"The leadership group all signed up one night after training," he said. "Then they got up two nights later at Thursday night training and told the players what they had done... that really supported the vision of our club." Emerging key forward Harry Ryan has also signed on, as has reserves captain Nick Cowan.
O'Keefe said the club's Northern Territory recruits - Heath Morgan-Morris, Steven Lampton, Ryan Warfe and Nick Hooker - had also committed to remaining Blues in 2024, and would forego the Northern Territory Football League season to complete a full pre-season training at Reid Oval over summer.
"They will continue to reside down here and be a big part of club," he said. "That's a massive feather in the cap from a club-culture point of view."
With finals a stretch for the Blues this year, O'Keefe said the aim was to win their final three games.
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Meg Saultry
Sports journalist at the Warrnambool Standard, with a strong interest in Australian rules football, basketball and women in sport.
Sports journalist at the Warrnambool Standard, with a strong interest in Australian rules football, basketball and women in sport.
