Cessnock coach Todd Edwards is quietly assembling a squad which will be more than competitive in the coming Newcastle Rugby League season.
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But don't expect him to make any bold predictions of success even in the annual Charity Shield against arch rivals Kurri Kurri at Cessnock Sportsground on Saturday.
The Goannas have lost the past three Charity Shield clashes and were bitterly disappointed after their much vaunted side last season failed to fire in the annual grudge match or the season proper.
"We've still got some bodies to come back who won't be playing. Harry O'Brien has a bit of a hammy, he could probably play if it was a comp game but I stood him down to give him another week," Edwards said.
"Paul Carter's got to come back, Joe Woodbury has a groin problem so he won't play.
"This is a trial, and it's how we want to treat it. We just want to improve. We've done a lot of stuff pre-season, but we need to be better, we need to improve.
"Our attitude, overall our attitude can be better. We need to have a bit more patience with the footy. Instead of looking for the big play too much, we need to build some pressure and be patient.
"Patience equals points.
"Play reasonably low-risk footy, don't put pressure on the support runners, take your medicine and just get ready to hold your gloves up when you kick down field.
"It's little stuff we've done to date. The Nines was good, it was a good guide. The boys did a lot of stuff that we spoke about and worked on since December. It was a good performance, we need to carry it into Saturday now."
Three of the Goannas key recruits - Lachlan Stein, Steve Waetford and Lincoln Smith - have been named in Cessnock's squad for Saturday's game, but others such as former South Sydney Rabbitoh Tevita Cottrell may get time coming off an extended bench..
"Tevita played in the Nines but he needs time. He needs minute,"Edwards said. "He may get on later in the night, we'll just see if he can get through some minutes in the twos if not he will play the full game of twos.
"He was with South Sydney in 2016 and in 2017 was mainly with North Sydney their reserve team. He played NSW Under-20 Origin 2016 so he can play. He is an Australian Schoolboy so his no mug. But he is a bit underdone."
