The home zone, the Lions reached the Richardson Shield final before being outgunned by Central West.

Only a handful of that squad are backing up with several regulars from recent campaigns moving on.

“Obviously a lot of guys are making their representative debuts and a few are stepping up from the 20s,” coach Luke Stephen said.

He said they are lucky that a lot of the players have played a lot together and is hoping that those existing relationships will help them, firstly against Western Plains.

Barbarians’ half-back Will Chapman will lead the side and be a key link between the forwards and a backline that boasts plenty of pace.

“We know historically we’re not as big as our competitors. It’s about playing a brand of football that’s smart and plays to our strengths,” Stephen said.

“We have got a quick backline. We’ll be looking to get the ball into the hands of those strike players as much as possible.”

Stephen said both squads have been training hard. 

The Colts have had a good couple of years and will contest the top tier.

Stephen said the change in age from 20s to 19s has posed a few difficulties, but added it is the same for every side.

“We had to see who was under-19 and then work from there,” he said.

“We’ve still got a good competitive side.”

He highlighted Harry Wardle, who is the only returner from last years side, Jack Lane and Tyson Waters as a few of the players to watch.