However, coach Mick Grass is confident his team will again challenge for a top four spot.

"We've lost a few players from last season,'' Grass pointed out.

"That's the cycle we go through - we have players who have to leave the area to go to uni or for work. So we start again and rebuild.

"Courtney Anderson and Layni Fens won't be there so we've lost a bit of spark up front. We've lost Jess James as well. But our midfield is looking pretty good.

"We'll have a number of 15 and 16-year-olds in the mix this year, so we're going to have a young squad, but we'll be okay.''

Eight sides will again contest the league, with Mid Coast the only team not based in the Newcastle area.

Grass said the draw looks more equitable for his side this season.

"We won't be having that block of games in Newcastle, which is good,'' he said.

Mid Coast worked their way into the top four midway through last year when the competition resumed after the pandemic lockdown. However, four consecutive matches in Newcastle proved to be too big a hurdle.

Mid Coast lost three of the four, the only win coming against last placed Thornton. Eventually Mid Coast finished just out of the playoffs. The reserve grade side made it through to the semi-finals.

Grass said numbers have been solid at training. This year the majority of players will be from the Football Mid North Coast area (Forster-Tuncurry to Kempsey).

In other seasons players have come from as far as Tamworth and Coffs Harbour.

"Em Knight will be our only player from Coffs and we won't have anyone from Tamworth this year,'' Grass confirmed.

He said in theory at least, that should make it easier for the players to get together for training.

"Let's hope that's how it works out,'' he laughed.

There'll again be a sprinkling of W-League players in the competition, but none with Mid Coast.

"That's pie in the sky stuff for us,'' Grass said.

"The only way that would happen would be if one of those players moved here. That's not going to happen.''

Mid Coast will again play all their home games at the Taree Zone Field, which Grass said the players prefer because the surface is superior to the Wayne Richards Field at Port Macquarie.

He expects defending premiers Newcastle Olympic to again be the benchmark.

"We played Broadmeadow Magic in a trial game the other day. We lost 3-1, but we were right in it and Magic was one of the top sides last year,'' Grass said.

"So going on that I'm confident that we'll be competitive.''