Last year: Premiers

First round: Kooringal Colts

Gains: Nil

Losses: Jeremy Rowe, Warren Clunes, Nathan Cooke

Coaches: Joel Robinson and Nathan Cooke

Captain: Luke Gerhard

The captain says: "The core group is still thereabouts, still seven or so players who have been here for many years.

"We're hoping (all-rounder) Chase Grintell will be back this year, he'd be a good boost. In the young brigade, (opener) Jake Scott went to the next level last year but there's other young guys who are now ready to step up.

Verdict: The Blues have won two of the past three premierships and will be one of the heavy hitters again this summer. The hopeful return of Chase Grintell would help offset the loss of all-rounder Nathan Cooke (ACL), but they will put the faith in young players to generate most of their improvement.

Prediction: Premiers

Last year: Grand finalists

First round: South Wagga

Gains: Zach Starr, Harrison Starr, Chris Saunders

Losses: David Bolton, Marc Vincent

Coach: Craig Footman

Captain: Keenan Hanigan

The captain says: "We've moved on (from the grand final loss) but we'd love another opportunity, that's what we're aiming for. We all play cricket to try and play in the grand final at the end of the year. I feel like South Wagga and the Cats will be up there again.

Verdict: Losing David Bolton in particular is a massive loss for the Colts. At times they struggled for top order runs and everyone will need to lift to atone for his absence. It's easier said than done. The acquisition of Hamish Starr's brothers Zach and Harrison will help, as will the return of quick Hayden Watling from injury.

Prediction: Third

Last year: Preliminary finalists

First round: Wagga RSL

Gains: Tim Kross

Losses: Angus Grigg

Coach/captain: Josh Thompson

The captain says: "We've had a pretty long bracket to train in so everyone's keen to get into it. We've got a pretty strong group to pick from.

"Kross is going to be a good team man but also adds to the people I can rely on. He's got a good cricket brain, he's going to be handy for us first up with the ball and he hits it hard down the order. That's two things we lacked last season we've picked up in one player.

"We've got a lot of individual players who can play big roles in our team this year.

Verdict: The Cats still have the artillery to be there at the business end again. By all accounts Kross is potentially one of the handier recruits across the competition this season. They fell victim to a batting masterclass by David Bolton and Hamish Starr in last year's preliminary final, but have a balanced team capable of advancing to the decider.

Prediction: Grand finalists

Last year: Beaten in minor semi final

First round: Wagga City

Gains: Rikki Bovey

Losses: Todd Henderson

Coach/captain: Sam Perry

The captain says: Rikki Bovey will be someone to watch, if he can score some runs we'll go a long way to contending for the comp.

"We've got some young fellas who have been around the scenes in recent years like Brad McMillan, Jack Carey and Ethan Perry and it's their time to step up. What we've lacked is scoring enough runs so if they can do that, we'll look good."

The verdict: Kiwi recruit Bovey arrives at the club with impressive credentials, having twice been named The Marlborough Express' club cricketer of the year. Can also bowl more than useful spin, and could be the ideal replacement for departed top order veteran Todd Henderson.

Prediction: Fourth

Last year: Fifth

First round: Lake Albert

Gains: Angus Grigg

Losses: Beck Frostick

Coach: Mark Grigg

Captain: Dave Garness

The captain says: "We're trying to build something, and getting Mark (Grigg, coach) here will be massive for us.

"It wasn't a great season last year and we struggled to finish off games, but hopefully we can get back to playing finals. We're very strong in the bowling department so it's up to the batsmen to put the runs on the board."

Verdict: Saint Michaels is one of a handful of teams this season who need to fill the void left by a departed top order gun. Whether they can do so is the big question mark which will make or break their finals hopes.

Prediction: Fifth

Last year: Sixth

First round: St Michaels

Gains: Nil

Losses: Josh Coyte, Lachlan Kendall, Tom Doig

Coach: Matt Tansey

Captain: Isaac Cooper

The captain says: "We've had a bit of a turnover of players, we've lost a few blokes so we'll be pretty young.

"We've got a lot of juniors who played a bit last season who will get more of a chance. For us it's more about promotion from second grade last year and have put some emphasis on a couple of older guys stepping up.

"Alex Tucker, who was our second grade captain will take the gloves and bat in the top order, and it's not like the guys coming up haven't played first grade before."

The verdict: On face value it looks like Lake Albert will find it tough to make finals again this year, and their fortunes will largely rest on whether their youngsters are capable of making the step up. If not, at least they'll have a solid year of first grade under their belts to help their development.

Prediction: Sixth

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