NEW Temora Dragons coach Chris Wallace will use this weekend's West Wyalong Knockout as a chance to blood some young players as they look to build their depth for the long term.
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Wallace has made it a focus to invite up-and-coming juniors to training in an effort to field more local players going forward.
The Dragons begin their Knockout campaign against Leeton on Friday and are confident they can do some damage in the weaker half of the draw should they overcome the Greens.
"We're going to give some younger fellas a go, we want to give them some experience, but obviously we want to go over there and be competitive," Wallace said.
"We've been bringing a lot of 14s and 15s to training to to try and guide the young blokes along and create some depth for the next ten years or so.
"We're feeling the backlash of the last few years where we had some guys come into the team and a lot of local blokes didn't get an opportunity.
"If you look at sides like Gundagai and Southcity, they do a good job of blooding their locals and bring in some quality players to strengthen them up."
Wallace is keen to bolster the forward pack before the Group Nine season starts, with Zach Starr not returning this season after moving back to Cowra.
"We're hoping to strengthen our forward pack and we're talking to a couple of guys at the moment, so hopefully we can confirm them in the next couple of weeks," Wallace said.
"We've got a very strong back line with guys like Sammy Elwin, Hamish Starr and Jock Ward."
Wallace said he is excited by the promise of young centre Tyler Madden, a "rangy and very fast" player he feel can make an impact in Group Nine.
He also hopes stepping down from the coaching role will lift the burden off playmaker Elwin.
"He just has to get the boys back and enjoying playing footy again, that's the most important thing," Wallace said.
"Hopefully he enjoys his footy, it takes a lot of pressure off him obviously and he can just turn up and play.
"He's very competitive and likes to control things, he still wants the boys to play the way he likes to."
Fellow Group Nine teams Southcity, Kangaroos and Young will also compete in the West Wyalong Knockout, with the 14-team event also featuring Group 20 and Canberra teams.
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