United were due to host Boambee at Dixie Park, however, the Port Macquarie flood clean-up has continued which forced competition organisers to move the game north.

Coach Nathan Wade conceded his team could again be playing catch-up after the departure of a number of players in the off-season.

Captain Matt Bale will miss the first month of the season due to non-football commitments while Josh Casey, Ethan Perry, Bayden Schumann, Simon Granfield, Kaleb Langbein and Ben Oakley have departed.

As a result, Matt Broderick and Eli Wade have been awarded the co-captaincy duties.

"They're experienced guys so hopefully they know what is expected of them and can lead the way," Wade said.

"We've only had the one FFA Cup game to see some of our new guys, so it's hard to know who to pick to get the right combinations for the first game."

Wade admitted his side were two games short of where they would like to be.

Saints will have to hit the ground running in a clash with last year's premiers Coffs City United on Saturday evening.

They won't have to wait long to see where they fit into the pecking order this season, but coach John Goodman has admitted in the pre-season that his 2021 side is arguably better.

"I've got five really top class senior players who run it, they don't need me," he said.

"We'll give everybody a run for their money this year for sure."

What else is happening in news, sport?

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: